Magyar Egyház, 2006 (85. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2006-07-01 / 3. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 3. oldal Bishop’s Council Meeting of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America New Brunswick, NJ June 24,2006 The Bishop’s Council of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America made very important resolutions in the service of the denomination. Regular members that were present on the meetinng: Rt.Rev. Andor Demeter,Bishop; Mr. Anthony C. Beke, Chief Elder; Rt.Rev.Sandor Szabó, Ecclsiastical Secretary and Dean of the Western Classis; Mr.Zsolt Demeter, Chief Elder of the Western Classis; Rev.Barnabas Roczey, Dean of the Eastern Classis; Rev. Ferenc Varga, Dean of the Central Classis; Mr.Mihaly Szokol, Chief Elder of the Central Classis; Ms.Priscilla Hunyady, Treasurer of the Synod; Mr.Robert Zambo, Controller of the Synod. Advisory members: Rt.Rev.Alexander Forro, Honorary Bishop; Mr.Istvan Szabó, Honorary Chief Elder; Rev.Dr.lmre Bertalan, Ecumenical Secretary; Rev.Balint Nagy, Editor of Magyar Egyház-Magyar Church. Guests: Rev.Dr. Attila Kocsis, Perth Amboy,NJ; Rev. Arpad Drotos, New York,NY; Rt.Rev.Stefan M. Torok, Carteret, NJ; Mr.Charles Okos, Member of the Judicial Committee and Synod Representative, Rev.Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director of Bethlen Communities; Mr.George Dózsa, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hungarian Reformed Federation; Mr.Charles Quinn, Legal Advisor; Rev.Dr.August Molnár, President of the American Hungarian Foundation, New Brunswick,NJ; Rev.Leslie E.Martin, New Brunswick, NJ. After the reports of the Elders of the denomination and Deans of the Classes, the most important decision was made regarding the election of the new officers of the Synod. The Bishop’s Council accepted the proposal of the Resolutions Committee for the office of bishop, cheief elder and other offices. With thanks and blessings for the outgoing bishop Rt.Rev.Andor Demeter, the Bishop’s Council nominated the following pastors for the Bishop’s position: Rev.Barnabas Roczey, Dean of the Eastern Classis, Rt.Rev.Sandor Szabó, Ecclesiastical Secretary and Dean of the Western Classis, Rt.Rev.Stefan M. Torok, honorary Ecclesiastical Secretary. The Comittee nominated the current Chief Elder, Mr.Anthony C. Beke to the Chief Elder’s position. On behalf of the congregations of our Synod we thank the Magyar Reformed Church of New Brunswick,NJ for its hospitality and ask for God’s blessings on the congregation. Chief Elder’s Report of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America I would like to start my report by expressing my appreciation to Bishop Demeter for his support, not only during the past year, but ever since we were each elected to our respective positions. We have enjoyed a good working relationship during the past years and it was a pleasure to serve with him. Should it be the will of God that I be re-elected as Chief Elder of the denomination, I look forward to continuing this type of cooperation with whomever is elected to serve with me. One of my major projects this past year was the coordination of efforts between the Hungarian reformed Church in America and the Calvin Synod-UCC in republishing the catechism book. 1 would like to thank all of our clergy that participated in this effort. I recommend that the General Fund purchase sufficient copies to provide one to each of our congregations for their consideration. If they should decide to use it, they could order whatever quantity they need for themselves. During the past year I visited several congregation, mostly on an informal basis or in attendance of an anniversary or other church function. Conditions remain the same as reported in past years. Most churches are maintaining their properties but, except for a few, membership and financial resources are slowly diminishing. You do not need me to tell you this. You all know that these are the facts. The time has come to stop wringing our hands and saying what a sad state of affairs and start doing something to rekindle the growth of our congregations. The perplexing question remains, what can we do? I have offered several approaches for consideration over the past years. 1 will give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you have considered then and found them to be flawed. 1 never claimed that my recommendations were full proof. I have a few more for your consideration. Perhaps one on them will be found to have some merit. a. Have each elder be responsible for his percentage of the congregation. For example, a church with 100 members and 10 elders would only require each elder to call ten people an at least a quarterly bases to see if they have not been to church because of illness or if there is anything with which the church can help. If the are hospitalized, this is a tremendous moral booster to promote camaraderie. This is not an overwhelming task. b. Send birthday and anniversary cards to church members at the appropriate times. A church with 100 members would only average about two cards a week. This is not a budget buster. Encourage special interest groups, especially the youth, to work toward the achievement of some goal or project such as a church maintenance project or attending the church youth camp. Assign elders as greeters for church services. This is especially beneficial for strangers or church members who become infrequently. It is important that you make them fell welcome so that they will come more often. e. I continue to urge the ministers to devote one Sunday per month to a sermon that explains the fundamental beliefs of the Reformed faith and how it differs from the practices of other religious persuasions. We have for too long instilled in our members that there is no significant difference between the various religious orders making it all too easy for them to leave our churches to join another simply for convenience. We must reeducate our members in these differences and make sure that they understand that in joining another denomination, they are embracing certain principles that are contrary to those of the Reformed faith. The time has come for us to regain that knowledge of what we believe, know why we believe it and instill in our congregations the resolve of the galley slaves and other forefathers who were the martyrs of the Hungarian Reformed Faith. I would like to commend Rev. Kocsis for his efforts in organizing the humanitarian trip to Hungary. It certainly has given the youth of the Trenton, NJ church a goal toward which to work. I have even heard comments to the effect that similar trip involving adult members may have sufficient support to be successful. Finally, I would like to remind all of you that there is a web-site (www.hrca.us) where denominational news can be posted. I urge the Bishop, Deans and Chief Elders to send any information you would like to have posted to me or John Molnár, Chief Elder of the Trenton church. Anthony C. Beke, Chief Elder of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America '
