Magyar Egyház, 2007 (86. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2007-07-01 / 1-2. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 19. óidul Kalassay reunion in Ligonier, Pennsylvania (Letter from Rev.Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director of the Bethlen Communities) Dear Members of the Board, Colleagues and Supportive Friends, The mail you can read below heralds a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the history of Bethlen Communities. I have been in contact, over time, with Mr.Karl Kalassay, son of the first Director of Bethlen Home, Rev.Sándor Kalassay. Karl, who is in his 90's, has agreed to come and address our Board of Directors in its opening session on Wednesday, October 24th. Karl brings to us not only memories of the early days of Bethlen Communities, but also his personal experiences in serving with the US State Department, and especially his experiences as a laisson to Hungary. Even as we plan for and move into the future, we will have the opportunity to celebrate the past and remember those people who have been so important in determining the early direction of the Bethlen Home. To the representatives on our Board from the HRFA, I would offer that we invite the HRFA Board, which will be meeting through Wednesday morning, to stay for the opening of our meeting and the presentation by Mr. Kalassay. This would be an inspirational and unifying time for all of us. I will discuss with the family Bethlen's offer to assist in their reunion plans, as well as the best possible goal for their donation to Bethlen Communities. In any case, there will be much cause for celebration when we are together in October. Sincerely, Imre Letter from David Kalassay Dear Reverend Bertalan, As you may be aware, your generous offer to have our Dad speak at the Board of Directors meeting in October has spawned a full fledged family reunion. MM, with whom you spoke in Ligonier, is the focal point for the festivities. I have already arranged for blocked rooms at the Ramada for the weekend of 25 October. (And the hotel has already made a reservation for Dad for the day he speaks to the Board.) We would like to make a presentation (or several) to the Bethlen Community in the form of park/garden benches. They are five feet long and made from a sturdy teak-like wood, which is a renewable resource. If you would like to see a picture please go to www.benches.com and click on Personalized on the left side. The bench we would like to submit for your approval is the Oxford Garden Signature Series (OG005). The bench will allow us to have something "symbolic" laser cut into the center panel. Dad has suggested the Royal Hungarian Crest with his Father's name below. When you open the bench page there is a small icon to the lower left. When you click on it you can see samples of the "engraving". We hope that the bench meets with your approval. There is one drawback to our gift, however. It comes "flat packed" and would need to be assembled by your staff. We assume that you have several places where you could place the bench. And while I know for sure that you are going to get a bench, our extended family may contribute several more. We look forward to your input and approval. With kindest regards, we look forward to meeting you in October. David Kalassay Chaplain search for the Bethlen Communities Dear Members of the Chaplain Search Committee, Based upon our March 30th teleconference and the indication expressed therein, that interviews of Chaplain candidates will take place on Wednesday, May 1st, I have reserved rooms at the Ramada Inn of Ligonier for Tuesday night, on behalf of those committee members who must travel long distances to get here. Specifically, I have reserved rooms for Reverends Nagy, Ötvös, Torok and Varga. Rev. Komjáthy, I am assuming you will be driving in from Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning. If this is not the case, please let me know and I will reserve a room for you, as well. The three pastors who have submitted resumes thus far are the Rev. Florence Wood, the Rev. Monte Holland and the Rev. Gabor Nitsch. I am expecting another resume by this Friday, and perhaps one more, in the days ahead. I have mentioned the April 20th deadline to all who have expressed interest in the position. Unless someone has sent a letter of application to the committee chair or to one of the committee members, I am not aware of any other official candidates. If anyone does have another application for the position, please duplicate it and send it out to the other committee members and to me. In this way, we will have the opportunity to study all the portfolios in advance of the May 1st meeting. As the deadline expires this weekend, on Monday I will be sending out a packet to everyone containing the three or more resumes we will have received. Szabolcs, if I could ask that you set up the interview schedule for the day. You can then personally contact all the candidates, or, if you prefer, I could contact everyone, letting them know when they should be here for their interviews. If we begin our interviews at 9:00 am on the 1st, we should be able to finish the meeting by mid-afternoon. The committee can decide to recommend one of the candidates to the Board of Directors, who will be meeting May 2-4th, or, the committee can recommend that the search be continued and the position advertised further. I hope everyone has experienced a wonderful Easter celebration. May God continue to bless each of you in your important ministries! Thank you for your dedication to Bethlen Communities. Sincerely, Imre Christian Youth Expert Says Most Teens Swayed by society, Not God OneNewsNow.com reports that Christian author and youth expert Jeffrey Dean says many teenagers are caught up in a race to survive and are missing out on the abundant life promised by Christ. Dean, an author and speaker to teenagers at conferences, seminars, and retreats, says many Christian teenagers are confused at the messages they hear from secular media. In particular, teenage girls must see themselves as God sees them. "It is our desire to really help girls understand -- even Genesis 1:27, where it says, you were created in God's image — [that they] are the mirror of God. When he sees you, he sees something beautiful. And how are you mirroring that to the world? And let me help you understand -your definition of womanhood has nothing to do with the world's standards; it's not about your body size, your chest size, the color of your hair or who's taking you to the prom. It's about God’s created you for a purpose." Dean is also perplexed that so many youth do not have a daily quiet time with God.
