The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1977-11-01 / 11. szám

Presenting the HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY OF OF TOLEDO, OHIO:— Part I. — The Galvin United Church of Christ

OUR BEGINNINGS

We here at Calvin United have a glorious heritage! It is a heritage worthy of being cherished, honored and to be passed on to our children. It has been said, “unto whom much is given, much is required.” We have been given much. May God in his love and mercy find us worthy to carry on the work of the kingdom for many generations.

I have always been impressed by the concern and missionary zeal of our congregation. The beginnings were not easy; there were many obstacles in the way. The history of our church reads like a novel; filled with pathos, drama, laughter, on the brink of defeat, than triumphant.

Actually the beginning of our church goes back further than 1903 (the accepted year in which the church was organized). It goes back to the first pioneers that came to Toledo in 1891. Back to the homes of our Hungarian dwel lei's who felt the deep desire to worship God, and thus made a sanctuary out of their humble abode.

The beloved Stephen Molnár, first secretary of the Hungarian Reformed Federation and faithful member of Calvin United, wrote a very interesting article published in the ANNIVERSARY BOOK of 1913. In depicting the first ten years of Calvin United, he vividly describes the yearnings of the early Hungarian settlers to worship God. The unquenchable search for the Fountain, the mercy and love of God was found in a special way as the members of the household, composed of the husband and wife, their children, and boarders (ranging from 10 to 15 in number), set aside Sunday morning for silent meditation. This was the time when the spirit of cooperation and brotherliness was not a beautiful phrase but a living änd functioning reality. Mr. Molnár mentions the Year of Panic in 1893, when America was very poor, and the Hungarians poorer still. A time when it was almost impossible to get work. Yet, those who did work, practised the exemplary spirit of brotherliness by sharing everything they had with those who did not. The miracle came to the focal point in their sharing irregardless of religion. "Not one”, writes Mr. Molnár, "requested aid from the County Relief.” He portrays beautifully his experience in changing the silent Sunday morning to a vocal worshipping people. As usual, he was reading the Bible and the Book of Prayer and Meditation by Szikszay, when one of the Roman Catholic brethren asked him to read it aloud. Out of this venture came the regular worship hour when the Protestants and the Roman Catholics blended their liturgy in true Christian harmony. I am sure they heard the words of the Master, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

It is interesting to observe that our church grew out of, and received the necessary impetus from a society; namely, the John Calvin Society. The organization came into being in 1897. This society

was the very first amongst the American Hungarians to use the name of the great Reformer. God works in mysterious ways! After 65 years our congation official ly decided to use the name of Calvin.

The first recorded church service was held in the fall of 1893 by the Reverend Gustave Jurányi from Cleveland. Other services followed intermittently by Hungarian pastors. During these years the Rev. Elek Csutoros, pastor of the Cleveland Reformed Church, guided the people and gave counsel to the leaders.

On November 12, 1898 forty-five Hungarian Protestants came together to discuss the feasibility of organizing a Hungarian Reformed Church, Andrew Jakcsy, who with his brother John, spearheaded the movement and presided at the meeting challenged the attending brethren to organize and assume the responsibility in purchasing a suitable site for the purpose of building a church. Those present accepted unaminously the challenge and decided to go forward in the building project. The following consistory members were elected: A. John Nagy, chief elder; John Jakcsy, sub-chief elder, George Sztanay, Stephen Demeter, Sr., John Akos, Andrew Arvay, Marton Majer, Joseph Metti, Imre Torok, Louis Orosz, Stephen Kurcsak and Andrew Jakcsy as secretary-treasurer.

The elected members of the Consistory sought the counsel of the pastor of the Paine Avenue Congregational Church. They were anxious to find out if there is a possibility of securing financial assistance from the American Protestant brethren. The pastor-who with his congregation have given every cooperation and the free use of the church facilities — advised the committee to seek admission into the Congregational Church in U.S., and as a member of the denomination, financial assistance will be given. The committee did not give an affirmative answer. At this time there were only ten Hungarian Reformed Churches in America and they had no desire to break away from these churches. Instead, as in the past, they sought the guidance of Rev. Elek Csutoros. A meeting was held with Rev. Csutoros on November 20,1898. He advised those present that the Toledo group should not become a member of the Congregational Church but do as the other Hungarian Reformed Churches have done, join the Reformed Church in the U.S.A. He further advised that instead of starting to build the church, more money should be raised for the project. John Nagy and John Jakcsy visited the Hungarian Protestants for financial assistance and guidance as to their feelings about the building project. At a meeting on December 10,1898 the two collectors gave their findings: namely, a majority of those visited felt that the few Hungarian Protestants in Toledo were not capable of assuming the financial responsibility. The members at the meeting decided to put a halt to the building project and give back the