Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-11-01 / 3. szám
n\E HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE DAYS on December 7, 1896. The congregation was strong and active. They were the first Hungarian church in America to start a Sunday and Daily Vacation School. In the April issue of the Magyar News Reverend Havadtoy wrote a lengthy article about this. After seven years of fruitful service Reverend Kalassay moved on and Reverend Ernest Komjáthy was elected to replace him. Originally Reverend Komjáthy came to America to serve at the church in Toledo, but he was detoured to Bridgeport. After two years he went back to Hungary to bring his fiancee with him. During his short absence, the disagreement of which organization to belong to flared up and he decided to seek another congregation. After his resignation Reverend Stephen Harsanyi, from Toledo, became the new pastor. Despite the problems the congregation was in need of expansion, and decided to build a bigger sanctuary, the second on Pine S treet. It cost them $35,000, ten times what they paid for the first one. Reverend Alexander Ludman lead the congregation for thirty years, till 1940. During his time the ground was laid for a reformed church in Fairfield. It was difficult to attend S unday services in Bridgeport for the parishioners in Fairfield, because of the distance and the bad, muddy road. The First Magyar Reformed Church used the property donated by Annette Fiske in memory of her father, on Kings Highway in Fairfield to build a temporary church to solve the problem. In 1937, as assistant pastor Reverend Emil Nagy joined Reverend Ludman at the Pine Street church. It was Reverend Nagy who delivered the first English service on May 1,1938 — forty-four-and-a-half years after the founding of the congregation. For almost a half a century only Hungarian services were held in this Hungarian church. Two years later Reverend Nagy was elected as the new pastor. Talking with John Koi, former Chief Elder, we learn about the new minister. Reverend Nagy came from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where his father was the minister. He was American born and schooled. He travelled to Hungary and spent a year there to study the language and the culture. Reverend Nagy lead the congregation through the hard times of WW II, he buried Reverend Ludman and organized the great undertaking. The government was funding the construction of the new highway system. 1-95, the Connecticut Turnpike, was to cut through the West End of Bridgeport affecting the Pine Street area. With this it was destroying the location of the Hungarian Community, scattering the Hungarians into other neighborhoods, mostly into Fairfield. Naturally the First Magyar Reformed Church had to find a place and erect a new church. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the Anniversary of the Congregation in 1957, and the new building, the third edifice, was dedicated on May 3,1959. At that time the cost exceeded a half million dollars. Typical of the vitality of the congregation, in 1967 they celebrated the burning of the mortgage. Reverend Nagy had the longest service, 42 years. As he retired, he married Ann Wargo and spent his last four years in Florida. A young minister, Reverend Anthony Szilagyi was elected pastor on June 28,1981. He is a local young may who was brought up in the United Church of Christ on North Avenue. Reverend Szilagyi personally experienced the problem of the shrinking Hungarian Community and the struggle of our Hungarian churches. He also witnessed the end to the Hungarian service in his church. His visions of shaping the future and strengthening our local Hungarian Protestant Congregations left its imprints in many people’s mind. We wish Reverend Szilagyi, Chief Elder Louis Babycos, and their 100-year-old church, the First United Church of Christ, a flourishing future and a success in serving the Lord and the Hungarian heritage. Homecoming celebration for service men and woman. Rev. Nagy at the table. Young People's Christian Organization with Rev. Ludman, 1933. Young Hungarians in costums, 1957. page 3
