Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1993-04-01 / 8. szám
Margaret Fekete Csóványos The Spirit of a Hungarian Girl Dedicated to the South Norwalk Hungarian Reformed Church. The shrill whistle of a speeding train. To save her life was all in vain. Her spirit soared high into the air, The Lord embraced her in His care. 'Twas the year of eighteen eighty-nine. Her spirit lingered like a shrine. Inspired her kin to organize A House of Worship small in size. Hearts turned back to their native land. To call Gabriel Dokus on demand. In eighteen ninety-three they arrived The Hungarian Reformed Church since survived. In eighteen ninety-six they dedicated The church which grew as members emigrated. The spirit of a Hungarian girl For ninety years shines like a pearl. 1983 THE BIRTH OF A POEM FOOTPRINTS Continued In 1967 the “basement” of the church was remodeled to provide eight Sunday School rooms, a chapel, and a modem parlor-meeting room. Even though in 1968 church membership was declining as well as attendance at worship services, there was cause for celebration. Rev. Paul Kantor was ordained in Buffalo, NY as the ninth ministerial son of the congregation. Also in that year our Diamond Jubilee was celebrated. As part of the celebration the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod was held in our church. In October our anniversary culminated with special services being held where three plaques in memory of the deceased pastors of our church were unveiled. This was followed by a banquet at Chatham Oaks in Norwalk. Rev. John Butosi resigned in 1976 after many years of dedicated service to accept the call of pastor at the Bridgeport church (North Avenue). Rev. Butosi was succeeded by our sixth pastor, Rev. Zoltán Szabó who served until 1984. During his ministry, we celebrated our 85th Anniversary in 1978. Two anniversaries were celebrated in 1979: Ladies’ Aid Society - 60 years, and Senior Choir - 90 years. In 1980, the 30th Anniversary of ourChurch’s Christian Churchmen’s Brotherhood was celebrated. In 1982, Ellen Chahey, our tenth ministerial son, was ordained in the United Methodist denomination. Ellen is related to three ministers who were ordained in our Church - the late Rev. Samuel Horvath, the late Rev. William Horvath, and Rev. Dr. Theodore Horvath. Rev. Zoltán Szabó resigned in 1984. Rev. Eugene Szabó became our seventh minister in 1984. He had great hopes of resettling us to a new location, until he suffered a stroke in December of 1987. In September of 1988 he took an early retirement and moved to Fredericksburg, VA. Our Church was without a minister from September, 1988 until May of 1990. During that time, our Church thrived under the direction of our Chief Elders, Ernest P. Virgulák and Frank A. Dudás, along with the cooperation from the entire congregation. In May of 1990, we elected our eighth pastor, Rev. Joseph Vásárhelyi who came to us from Delhi, Ontario, Canada. Rev. Vásárhelyi was installed on December 1, 1990 with a celebration service and a luncheon. During Rev. Vasarhelyi’s ministry, efforts were made to relocate, but due to circumstances beyond our control, this was not to be. Rev. Vásárhelyi resigned effective September 30,1992, to take a position in New York City. The congregation is now in the process of looking for a new minister and with God’s help they will find the right person for the Church. They are a very strong church body, as the occasion of the 100th year will attest to. Everybody is very grateful to God for all the blessings He has shown during the past 100 years. Page 4 When one walks into an old Protestant church in a Hungarian village, one finds the place tranquil, relaxing and very suitable for an honest meditation. There are clean white walls, there is nothing to disturb or distract the thought of the mind, and nothing to ruffle the soul. One goes there with a purpose and comes away with nothing else but the fulfillment. The same happens at the Hungarian Reformed Church in South Norwalk. It is an extension of the experience grained in the old country. This congregation in South Norwalk is celebrating its 100th anniversary. A hundred years ago this was the first Hungarian congregation on the east side and the third in the United States following Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The beginning was very unusual. In 1889 a little Hungarian girl was killed by a train in South Norwalk. The grief of the mother arose the attention of the local community and they realized that there was an increasing ethnic group among them which didn’t speak English, had no church, nor minister or any leader. The Ladies Missionary Society of South Norwalk immediately took action to obtain a Hungarian Bible reader. With the confusion about the Hungarian language a young Slav arrived. Fortunately he spoke some Hungarian but not enough to understand the underlying cultural problems. Despite the good will, his departure was evident. A big proportion of the South Norwalk Hungarians came from a village called Fony, from Abauj county. Still vivid in their memory was their teacher and spiritual leader in Hungary, Gabriel Dokus. An invitation was sent to him and was accepted, thus setting the ground for a new Protestant congregation for the Hungarians in the United States of America. Now these Hungarians were on their own with a leader who lived up to their expectations. Now after 100 years of community life and prosperity the little girl whose tragedy started it all, is still remembered. Margaret Fekete Csóványos wrote a poem in remembrance. GLOBAL TRAVEL MOVED THE OFFICE TO 161 Kings Highway, Fairfield, CT 06430, Grosso Mini-Mall, Suite 205 There is no interruption in services Tel: 331-1080
