Magyar Egyház, 2008 (87. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2008-04-01 / 2. szám
2. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Dean’s Report to the Annual Assembly of the Eastern Classis of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America March 30, 2008 - New York, New York I greet the Assembly, the Bishop, all of the Officers, Pastors, and Chief Elders with the words of the 133rd Psalm - “How wonderful it is, how pleasant for God’s people, to live together in harmony.r At the same time, I am quoting another verse from Ephesians 4:3 - “Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. ” We have to realize, there is no harmony without peace, and there is no peace where there is no harmony. If we look around this world, we see more signs of disharmony than harmony; we see more war, crime and conflicts than peace. Unfortunately, it is not necessary to look out into the world, it is enough to observe our families and churches; we realize the unsafe situations, dangerous circum-stances. Easter is just one week behind us and we heard the great news: the One who broke the chains of death is alive and provides us His harmony and His peace. He greeted His disciples with these words - Peace be with you! - which means, no more fears, no more disharmony. The Diabolos, the Evil who stirs up life has no more power over life. Living in harmony gives us the greatest joy and the most wanted future. This is what I wish for our congregations, families and us in these days. This is my first Dean’s Report, so please forgive me if 1 make any mistakes or do not follow the traditional forms of the former Reports. Serving in this Classis since 2002 and attending the Classis meetings since 2003, this is the first time when we will speak not only about preservation but also about progression. I am, together with you, so happy to see a large number of delegates here and three new Pastors who serve in different geographical areas of the Classis. This is the first item that I want to touch upon. God gave us unthinkable opportunities in the past year. He provided two Pastors for this Classis through a special channel. Their wives received scholarships from different universities and they could come as husbands to follow their beloved ones. We know that South and North Carolina and Massachusetts are areas where there are large numbers of Hungarians. God created a perfect situation - the hunger for the Good News, the wish for Hungarian events, the solid financial background and the personal presence. The Pastors have started their mission work among the Hungarians in their regions, and they are here now to give you their reports of what they have done and what their goals are. The third Pastor received his second scholarship term in Atlanta, and he started to organize Hungarian services and activities there. We have started Hungarian services in Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; and Columbia, SC and Charlotte, NC. Special thanks to the Meyers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte where they host our people and also provide financial contributions to the mission congregation. Praise the Lord for all of these! The second item is to give a report of my personal work as Dean. I was fortunate enough to visit several congregations throughout the past year, namely, Carteret, Trenton, Washington, New Brunswick, Miami, New York and Columbia-Charlotte. During my Miami visit with the Revs. Lukacsi, we went to Daytona Beach and Sarasota to discuss the possible ways to establish new preaching points in these towns. The Rev. Dr. Csaba Osvath, who is a talented artist, in his recent letter, offered his help and service to minister our Hungarians in the Sarasota and Venice areas in West Florida. I was invited to participate in the installation service of the Rev. Leslie Martin in Livingston, NJ. 1 represented our Classis at the Eastern Classis Assembly of the Calvin Synod held in New York. Recently I came back from Hungary where I was asked to give lectures at the Theological Academy of Debrecen and also met with the Pastors of the Debrecen Classis. Thirdly, I inform the Assembly that we currently have 13 congregations in our Classis, 8 full-time Pastors, 3 Supply Pastors, 1 Lay Pastor, 11 others on the roll of Pastors, and 3 Missionary Pastors, if my numbers are correct. In Roebling, there are four Supply Pastors who do not belong to our denomination. Receiving most of the Annual Reports, I noticed the Chief Elders were reelected in each Congregation. According to the current Voting Lists, we have 903 members in our Classis. I am sure we have more people who are on our mailing lists, but these are the facts, please take them seriously. I attach a chart of our Classis’ membership figures; it might catch your attention to study it. It is good to know - this is my fourth point - that in most of the congregations there are services on each Sunday. Our members are eager to hear the Good News in English and in Hungarian, too. We have other activities in our congregations, like Women’s Guilds meetings, Sunday Schools, Confirmation classes, Youth Groups and a few Choirs, as well dinners and auctions. Let me mention our present host Church’s Albert Wass Circle - they perform on a regular basis pleasing the audience with poems and short performances. Congratulations to you! We also have to mention the Trenton Youth Group’s Mission Trips - 2006 Hungary, 2007 Dominican Republic and 2008 again Hungary. We know about and pray for your mission work and give special recognition to Frank Király and Gabe Csapó for your organizational work. I am not going into details to give reports of the congregations. I request that the delegates give your reports using your MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH APRIL - MAY - JUNE 2008. VOL. 87, NO. 2. ISSN 0360-5760 EDITOR IN CHIEF AND BUSINESS MANAGER The Right Rev. Sándor Szabó, Bishop 1053 East Sixth Street #32 ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA 91764 Phone: 909-981-9601, E-mail: revsand@aol.com EDITORIAL BOARD The Right Rev. Stephan M. Török, General Secretary 68 Cherrywood Dr. Sommerset, NJ 08873 Very Rev. Ferenc Varga, Dean 73432 Stacey Dr. Brownstown, MI 48183 Very Rev. Bálint Nagy, Dean 751 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90005 Rev. Attila Tobias, 114 Nash St., New Haven, CT 06511 attila.t.tobias@gmail.com OFFICE OF PRINTING "MEDIA PRINT" INC. 4002 N. 36th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85019 YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION: Group $5.00 Personal $6.00 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) by THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA Address manuscripts and editorial correspondents Address all subscription orders, renewals, payments, and change of address notifications to MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH, 1053 East Sixth Street, #32 Ontario, CA 91764 Tel: (909) 981-9601, E-mail: revsand@aol.com.
