Magyar News, 2001. szeptember-2002. augusztus (12. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2002-02-01 / 6. szám

OUR FATHERS IN HEAVEN ARE CRYING

Top: The children on the stage. On the left is Judith Balogh, President of Pannónia, on the right Julianna Poznan at the piano. Bottom: Four teenagersJoin in the festivities. The stage backdrop was made by Ildikó Makos Conley Photo: Krisztina Kakas Rocco

The holidays always bring out memories, emotions, many times a lot of things to think about. This is what happened to me when I was at the children’s Hungarian Christmas celebration in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Every year the Pannónia American Hungarian Club organizes this event. Not having their own building, they rely on - what else - the local Hungarian churches for the use of their hall. In this case it is really self-explanatory: The event is religious and Hungarian. This is where immediately a question pops up. Why doesn’t the Club get together with the churches, probably in a joint effort, to celebrate such an outstanding religious holiday in a Hungarian style. At this point “our fathers in heaven” shed the first tears. Those fathers, who date back four generations, with hard work and sacrafice built these churches and established the congregations to serve the Hungarian community, from above they see a changed world. They compare the present with the Hungarian religious life of their time. Then Sunday School attendance was up to a hundred or more, and the Summer Schools were up to several hundred. These were individual churches. Today, if you put all the churches together and make a headcount, you will be in a range not worth to be mentioned.

The Pannónia Club took. on this Christmas obligation many years ago because, on one hand, the celebrations in the churches switched to English, dropping not just the Hungarian language, but, in the second place all Hungarian traditions. We understand this trend, or may I say this track that has been layed out by the melting pot concept, meaning that many good traditions got lost. Who did the damage? The Hungarian community. People just forgot that in the “backward country” of the Hungarians there is a culture several thousand years old. Something that should be cherrished for the benefit of mankind.

Let us get back to the line of problems. It was tough for the organizers to get the 20 performing children onto a stage. It wasn’t because it was hard to get children to perform. They came and did the job with joy. The difficulty was finding a place for the event. Among the Hungarian churches one is no longer under Hungarian leadership, the other is still set up for Bingo, the school and a hall on the hill is used for other purpose, down the street a hall is rented out to a nursery school. The most suitable hall for a celebration would cost the audience $4.50 or more per person.

Everybody understands that the use of any fascility means that there are expenses that have to be covered. Our churches are no longer in the position to take on more financial burden than what they already have. They are in a need of help. The committee finally settled with St.

Emery’s hall under the church. When I heard that St.

Emery’s Church offered a very reasonable deal, I concluded that you get what you pay for.

Parking is a problem, specially for out of towners. Also the little stage in the church’s basement was used for storage, no backdrop or anything, and there is no piano. I pretty much had my reservation about it.

I must admit that I was wrong. The event turned out to be a great success. The organizers spirit and congenuality and the children’s fantastic devotion to their Hungarian performance filled every heart to its fullness. This small and less fancy place reminded me that two thousand years ago something great happened in a stable. It is a very appropriate thought. This time our fathers in Heaven were showing tears of happiness.

The performers deserve their names to be mentioned. In the order of appearence: Horváth Dayton, Pongrácz Stanley, Máthé Viktoria, Horváth Tarren, Kovács Veronika, Flinta Andrea, Magyar László, Magyar Gabriella, Muzsi Jonathan, Rocco Tyler, Horváth Tarren, Póznán Attila, Varga Alissá, Kovács Veronika, Pál Botond, and teenagers Máthé András, Póznán Krisztina, Sörfőző Krisztina, Both Mária. Program was designed by Enikő Jónás. The prayers were given by Rev. Dr. Alexander Havadtőy and Fr. Louis Pintye, also, Rev. Béla Póznán invited everybody, for the following Sunday to the Calvin Church for the Hungarian service that

includes Christmas gifts to the children and Hungarian performance. This time too, there were tears of happiness.

I have to mention the members of the members of Pannónia Club who with hard work organized the event. Following the program they had a reception with hot dog and pastry. The poppyseed and nut rolls baked by Irma Koszta were outstanding. It tasted just like in Hungary.

It was uplifting to see all the young couples with their many children in the audience. I wished that they all participate in our Hungarian churches. I also wished that all the Hungarian churches would join together at the religious holidays with other organizations to bring together the young people and the children. This would strenghten the Hungarian community and probably give a boost to the churches that have a shrinking congregation.

I would like to see that our fathers in heaven have only tears of joy. As it is now more tears of sorrow than of joy are mixed together. Let us think about it, maybe next time we could make the tears of our fathers in heaven be only of joy.

Joseph F. Balogh Page 1