Magyar Egyház, 2000 (79. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2000 / 2. szám
4. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ the taking of the Official Oath of those elected by the Assembly including all those who were elected last year and were absent from the meeting. The Oath of Office was administered by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Forro, Bishop. Upon the announcements of important upcoming events in the congregations and setting up the date for the Annual Assembly for next year, which hopefully will be held by the Roebling, NJ Hungarian Reformed Church upon the approval of their church council, the Assembly concluded its official business. An invitation was extended by the host pastor, Rev. Barnabas Roczey to attend the Fellowship dinner prepared by the host congregation. Benediction to conclude the 2000 Assembly of the Eastern Classis was offered by Bishop Forro. THE DEAN’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR OF 1999 As Dean of the Eastern Classis of the HRCA, I consider it a high privilege to extend warm greetings to all present: to Bishop Alexander Forro; Chief Elder of the General Synod, István Szabó; representatives of our member congregations, both clergy and lay leaders; to my fellow officers; to the invited guests; and to all who came from near and faraway places to attend the first assembly of the Classis in the 21st century. A word of sincere appreciation is due to the New Brunswick congregation for graciously inviting us and hosting our meeting this year. The report is entitled: Why should we belong, with the subtitle: Each a part. On the bulletin board of one of the churches in my neighborhood, the name of the congregation is announced with a pointed identification: “Independent, Evangelical, Non-denominational.” I often wonder: Independent from what? The obvious answer seems to be “independent from the rest of the church." Now, it is a fine congregation that nurtures faith and shares the Gospel. It just makes a point of saying that it does not have any denominational affiliation, or simply it does not belong to the wider church. But, in my opinion, this is a problem. As part of the body of Christ, we belong to one another. Local congregations do not exist in isolation but are connected with one another, sharing in fellowship, mutual support and mission. We believe in connection, in interdependence, rather than independence although the name of our denomination at the outset carried the word “independent”. Belonging to a denomination is not like being part of a dues-paying organization. It is about belonging to one another - to congregations in Bethlehem, Carteret, Linden, Miami, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Roebling, Trenton, and Washington, DC. There are practical considerations in the state of belonging to one another: there are things that we can do better together than doing separately, i.e., finding pastors, equipping elders, establishing materials for Christian education, youth work, assuming missionary tasks, providing a common set of rules called bylaws, and procedures that make for fairness in government on congregational, Classis and denominational levels. Furthermore, just as each of us needs family to give us deep and trustworthy roots in life to provide support and care in times of trouble and companionship, so it is with the companionship of the congregations within the Eastern Classis of our denomination. Indeed, the original meaning of the word Classis is a fleet of ships. As one ship struggles in the winds of a mighty storm, the other ships stay close to help. Each a part. This is the legacy of the church of your fathers and mothers: The name Hungarian Reformed goes with great warmth of belonging, of encouraging, and of sharing in laughter and in tears. In the century that is behind us, we have had large churches. Membership trends were assured by natural growth, which meant the retention of the second and the third generations. At the outset of the 21st century, the HRCA is a denomination of predominantly middle-sized or even more of smaller congregations. We are told that small congregations are helpless in the waves of demographic tidal waves that threaten to sweep away our churches, especially smaller churches. Yet, our church history teaches us differently. From our small churches we learn that success is not synonymous with size. Success means faithful worship and faithful living, and that happens in small congregations just as well as in large ones. Success means commitment! And commitment runs deep in our churches. Commitment that does not grow out of the size of the budget, but out of a deep sense of gratitude for God’ grace and a desire to serve God as a response to His grace. History of the Eastern Classis teaches us that while small congregations are associated with financial burdens, yet they persist. In my lifetime, I have known 30 some Hungarian churches belonging to the Presbyterian Conference within the PCU. Today there are two or three. During the same period, we did not hear of any church closings in our Classis. On the contrary, we have witnessed new openings. Let me remind you that 50 years ago within the boundaries of our Classis there were four churches: Perth Amboy, Carteret, Trenton and Roebling. In 1952 two new congregations: Bethlehem and Linden were admitted. In 1959, Miami, Florida was added to the rostrum. In the recent past, Washington D.C. and New Brunswick gained
