Fraternity-Testvériség, 2010 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2010-04-01 / 2. szám
Fraternity! Testvériség A Testimony of Commitment to the Hungarian Reformed Church By Pastor Rev. Zsolt Otvos “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) J hat same Advocate, the Holy Spirit, called me to minister j to the Magyar Reformed Church in New Brunswick, NJ I and I have been truly thankful for this opportunity. I feel that my preparation for ministerial life began when God blessed me with growing up in a Christian home. My father's dedication to his service as a pastor and my mother's life example was always a source of great inspiration for me. At the age of fourteen, I left my parents' house for the boarding school of the Reformed College of Debrecen, where many of our high school teachers were models of integrity and sincere faith. Their example continued to form my calling for the pastoral service. After my high school graduation, I started my seminary studies in Debrecen, Hungary. Receiving my pastoral diploma, I continued my studies in Decatur, GA at the Presbyterian Columbia Theological Seminary. During my scholarship year, I had the chance to get acquainted with the Hungarian Reformed Churches' lives in America. Experiencing the close fellowship and the great need for mission work in our immigrant congregations, I felt God's calling to serve our churches in the Hungarian diaspora, and I received an invitation for pastoral service to the Hungarian Reformed Evangelical Church in Toronto, Canada. After three years of pastoral work in Toronto, I continued my ministry in Columbus, OH for five years, and I have been serving the Magyar Reformed Church in New Brunswick since December of 2008. I believe that our Hungarian Reformed congregations in the United States are unique and distinct from our churches in Hungary. Congregations in Hungary are mostly homogenous communities with members from similar cultural and spiritual backgrounds. Our immigrant congregations in the U.S. are more diverse. Some of us are immigrants from different areas of Hungary, Europe or from other countries in the world. Members of our Reformed churches also come not only from Reformed but from other Christian denominations and religious traditions. Many of our faithful members were already born here and carry on their heritage as third or fourth generation Hungarians. We also have new members who joined us from our surrounding neighborhoods. I have always been amazed at how, in spite of the various backgrounds we come from, our longing for God's presence in our lives unites us and makes us one people. I believe that our Hungarian Reformed churches are wonderful proofs of the Holy Spirit’s ability to create faith communities and empower us for service as we share the same goals. New Brunswick is a wonderful example of that Christian fellowship. Our church, that is celebrating the 95th Anniversary of our sanctuary and the 105th Anniversary of the founding of the congregation, is a spiritual home for many people from various backgrounds. As a pastor, it is encouraging for me to see the strength of the important common goals that bind all of us together. Our members consist of those who were born here as children or grandchildren of immigrants, and some arrived in the beginning of the twentieth century or maybe only a few years ago. Others are from Reformed, Catholic, or Baptist backgrounds, but their commitment to God and to the church makes us all feel that the one Spirit works in us and can harmonize our efforts. Today I feel that we pastors have as our basic task and mission in our churches the same as it was a hundred years ago: to find and nourish the most inner spiritual needs that are common in all of us. With God's guidance, we continue to build a spiritual home where the fruits of a life in Christ, hope, love, understanding, and caring for each other are strengthened. This is a mission that I believe reaches beyond language or culture. These are times when many of our congregations are facing difficulties due to the declining number of Hungarian immigrants. Yet, I believe that God even today has an important goal for our churches. He has given us treasures that we can focus on and that are very much needed today. One treasure Pastor Rev. Zsolt Otvos 3
