Fraternity-Testvériség, 2006 (84. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2006-10-01 / 4. szám
Pastor Highlight: The Reverend Ilona M. Komjáthy In May of 2002, we witnessed the installation of our twelfth pastor, the Reverend Ilona M. Komjáthy. She brings to us over thirty-five years of church and community service. Reared in a Christian family along with her two sisters, Dorothy and Jo Ann, their parents Helen and Joseph Molnár were attentive to the transmitting of their own Reformed faith to their children as practiced in the Passaic Hungarian Reformed Church. In that ancestral church, she served as organist, Sunday School teacher and Confirmation Class instructor. Her mother, a research librarian for the city of Garfield, also brought her skills as a licensed teacher to their home church by teaching Sunday School and supervising the young adult group. Her father was treasurer of the home church for 35 years and later became treasurer of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. He served this group in various capacities for over 40 years. A faithful supporter of the Bethlen Home, both his mother and mother-in-law died in the nursing home as he did also. His parents were members of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, making this a five-generation affiliation. Rev. Komjathy’s educational journey commenced in her hometown of Garfield, New Jersey where she attended and graduated from Columbus Public School and Garfield High School. During her high school years, she also obtained diplomas from Newark Bible School and Hackensack Bible School. Her college of choice was Houghton College located in upper New York State. She completed her studies within three years rather than four years and was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education and a minor in Organ. She also wrote a Senior Honor’s Project: An Investigation into the Conflict of Marxist Philosophy as it Interfaced with Traditional Christian Morality in Post-World War II Hungary. Returning to New Jersey, she taught in the Christian Reformed School system. Her marriage to the Rev. Dr. Aladar Komjáthy took place in April of 1967. During a subsequent move to Trenton, New Jersey, she worked in the Trenton Public Library and was appointed Acting Head of the Children’s Library. During that time, she initiated an inner city reading program for the disadvantaged. In the fall of 1968, the Rev. Dr. Aladar Komjáthy accepted the call to become pastor in Montreal Hungarian United Church, part of the United Church of Canada. Residing there for twenty-one years, they were able through teamwork to serve the Hungarian Reformed Community. Rev. Ilona Komjáthy was accepted as organist and choir director and helped lead the spiritual and cultural organizations of the church and participated in the wider Hungarian and civic activities of Montreal. Her volunteer work included the World Day of Prayer, The American Women’s Club, the Montreal Museum Committee of Fine Arts, the St. James Literary Society and the St. Stephen’s Debutante Ball. Their home hosted nearly one hundred visitors representative of both the religious and cultural life of Hungary. The Hungarian Embassy of Canada presented her with an honor for her work on a series of lectures on Bela Bartók, the composer and Sz. Molnár Albert, the translator of the Genevan Psalter into Hungarian. She also served as substitute teacher in the Protestant School Board of Montreal. She decided her graduate work would be in Moral and Religious education at McGill University. There, she assisted in the teaching of an interdisciplinary course between McGill University and the Theological School. Her thesis was titled: A Study of Selected Symbols used in Religious Learning with Reference to the Cultural and Religious Categories found in the Hungarian Reformed Church. Later, she continued further graduate work at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. It was during these years that she served this Fraternity - Testvériség Page 13
