Fraternity-Testvériség, 1996 (74. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1996-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY Page 14 1896 - 1996 PREPARATIONS for the 100th ANNIVERSARY YEAR of the HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION of AMERICA For the past one hundred years, the Federation has always been in the forefront when it came to supporting its members and the ethnic Hungarian community at large. In 1896, when the motherland, Hungary, celebrated its 1000th-year, a small group of Hungarian ministers and lay leaders assembled in Trenton, New Jersey, because they recognized the urgent need to create a bond of union among the widely scattered Hungarian immigrants in America. They discussed ways to organize congregations and worship centers to enable the immigrants from Hungary to practice their faith and to form a society which would not only support the financial needs of its members and their families in case of death or disaster, but also act as a financial base for the churches and congregations which were to be formed. They agreed that all this could be done if they established a benefit society, namely the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. The aims and goals of the Federation are stated in our early records and read as follows: “The aim of the Federation, beside giving material and moral support to the Hungarian Calvinist mission in America, is to pay a death benefit and funeral expenses to the heirs of the members. The Federation should begin to function when it reaches a membership of 500. Any Hungarian who will pay the $1 may become a member. Having reached the membership of 500, the Federation will pay $250 death benefit and $50 funeral expenses. The amount will be collected from the members through proportional assessments.” The Federation started with a modest base in 1897, i.e., 320 members and a working capital of $272.15. Most of the members were new immigrants from the northern and north-eastern parts of Hungary (Abauj, Zemplen, Ung, and Bereg counties). Very few of our founding fathers ever dreamed that the organization that they had started in 1896 would prosper into a fraternal benefit society strong in membership and in wealth only one hundred years after its inception. The Federation is economically healthy and rich in history. For the past one hundred years, the Federation has always been in the forefront when it came to supporting its members and the ethnic Hungarian community at large. Listing all the help that the Federation gave throughout its history is impossible; however, I would like to mention a few examples: >• In 1919 the Federation donated one-fifth of its surplus to the needy in war- tom Hungary. > Our loan program helped build most the Hungarian Reformed churches in North America. >- In 1921 the Federation founded the Bethlen Home in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, where we raised and cared for over 1,500 orphans. >■ In 1931 we added onto the Bethlen Home a home for the elderly. > “The Bethlen Home” is not only a home for the elderly but also a meeting place of Hungarian Reformed brethren in America and Canada. During the anniversary year, we are planning to hold celebrations on several local levels: In Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania - March 9, 1996 In New Brunswick, New Jersey - June 1, 1 996 Detroit, Michigan - June 9, 1 996 Greater Chicago District - July 1 4, 1 996 Cleveland, Ohio - August 3, 1996 Los Angeles, California - September 29, 1 996 The main event will take place on September 15, 1996 in Trenton, New Jersey, where the Federation was founded. The 100th Anniversary Celebration will start with a worship service at the Hungarian Reformed Church in Trenton, followed by a reception at the Beky Auditorium. The following day, Monday, September 16th, the Federation will open its 35th Quadrennial Convention in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we should look back at our history to learn and gain perseverance from our strong Hungarian heritage. By drawing on the resources of our past, we will assure our economic strength as a fraternal society in the future. George Dózsa, President
