Fraternity-Testvériség, 1996 (74. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1996-07-01 / 3-4. szám
Page 10 TESTVÉRISÉG PAST PRESIDENT continued exactly 50 years ago, there remained only four large societies namely: the Verhovay, the Hungarian Reformed, the Rákóczi, the Bridgeport Szövetség and a number of smaller societies contemplating merger with one of the large ones. Today, there are two remaining: The William Penn Association and our own, the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. 1 am addressing at this point our sister society, representatives of the William Penn Association. There are only two of us left with the history, the aspirations and legacy of more than a century old fratemalism. How shall we handle such a precious legacy? From the very beginning each society was known by a name carefully selected from the pages of Hungarian history. The purpose of naming a society was its identification. At times the names of these societies were quite elaborate. For example, in 1912, in the daily paper Szabadság, a society advertized by using the following initials: Van Meter-i B.Sz.M.V.A.Á.R. és G.K.E.M.B.E. Now those who were familiar with fraternal circles immediately knew that the ad was that of the Van Meter-i Boldogságos Szűz Mária Védnöksége Alatt Álló Római és Görög Katolikus Első Magyar Betegsegélyző Egylet. We did more than just survive. We have not strayed from the original purpose set by the founding fathers in 1896. In name and purpose we remained H R F A the letters we often use as initials for our full name. What do these four letters stand for? “H” stands for Hungary from whence our founding fathers came. An anniversary like this suggests that we are not quite as isolated from the past as many would think. We have our own roots that are of great importance as we contemplate the future. Nowadays, many young Americans of Hungarian extraction find themselves in Hungary, in Budapest or in the small villages, for they feel that they too are a product of history, the history of their families. While searching for their roots, while looking at their own family tree, they gain a lot of information about the land of their origin. They find out what the millecentenniel observation of Hungary means, that our ancestors settled in the heart of Europe a thousand and one hundred years ago. “H” also stands for Heart. Any fraternal organization that does not have a heart is destined to oblivion. Not so with the HRFA, for the Hungarian Reformed Federation has a big heart in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, which is often referred to as the Heart of Hungarian America with its manyfold charitable and cultural services. I am very happy to pay tribute to our Home in the presence of Rev. Kovács Pál, the Executive Director of the Bethlen Home, which celebrates its diamond anniversary this year. “R” stands for Reformed, and Reformed stands for Religion. Those who established the Federation a hundred years ago were known as the Magyar Kálvinisták, Hungarian Calvinists. But from the very beginning the Hungarian Reformed Federation welcomed into its membership Godfearing people of many faiths: Lutherans, Catholics and Jews. They are listed among charter members of the society. Most of you will remember Irénke Sakalo, branch manager in Morgantown, West Virginia. She was of Greek Catholic faith, yet she was the caretaker, the “gondnok” of the Reformed Church, the heart and soul of an entire community, whose passion was to go about and do good to all people. But why should we quote the Morgantown of yesterday when we have the Chicago of today, where the fraternal service is being carried out by people of Catholic faith, under the patronage of Father Skerl, not to mention Máriapócs, our greater fraternal center in New Jersey. The letter “F” stands for Federation. It takes at least two parties to make a Confederation. July 4th 1896 is in American Hungarian history, the day of a very special Confederation. First, we start with the church. If it were not for the church, there would be no Hungarian Reformed Federation. On the first day, the church was bom. On the second day, the Federation was called into being, and the Confederation of the two was declared. I believe it was Karácsony Sándor, writer and educator, who was very gifted in putting great truths in simple words. At a conference he explained the meaning of the word “federation” as follows: Szövetség azt jelenti, hogy ketten vagy többen összeszűrik a levet. Hát Egyház és Egyesület 1896-ban jól összeszürték a levet. You can read the history of this very special confederation on the pages of the festive Anniversary Album, for which we are indebted to many; first of all, to those who wrote these shining chapters throughout a century, and then, to those, who with great care and love, collected and edited the historical documents, only to mention a few: our president George Dózsa, Dr. Julianna Puskás, Teri Pflum and Ken the master printer. “A” stands for America. Our society’s name in Hungarian has a better order. It starts with the letter “A”, thus putting America first: Amerikai Magyar Református Egyesület. It took the spirit of true democracy for fratemalism, which was deeply buried and dormant for centuries in the souls of simple country people, to come to the surface with creative force. It was here, in America, that the spirit of caring burst into action. It is not found in the records, but I am sure that the first fourth of July celebration did not end without singing in broken English but with unbroken loyalty: God bless America! “A” also stands for “Aspiration” and “Action”. We, at the HRFA, must constantly aspire toward higher and better goals. We cannot stand still. We cannot stagnate. We can aspire toward the establishment of a better and fuller service of the insurance need of our fellowmen. At a time when volunteerism is in decline, we can bring back the fraternal
