William Penn Life, 2010 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2010-12-01 / 12. szám

FROM TOP: The archway above the church's main entrance; the church's interior; ‘The Good Shepherd’ in stained glass; instructional materials paper the walls in one room of the social hall used for the Hungarian school; Hungarian crafts and artifacts on display in the church hall as part of New Brunswick's annual Hungarian Festival in June.

Magyar

Reformed Church

179 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ

The Magyar Reformed Church has been one of the fortunate few traditionally Hungarian churches to maintain its ethnic identity. It still conducts services every Sunday in the Hungarian language, hosts Hungarian dinners throughout the year, celebrates major Hungarian holidays like March 15 and Oct. 23 and actively helps plan and participates in New Brunswick's Hungarian events.

The congregation was established in 1905, and the church was built in 1915. The church's pastor, Rev. Zsolt Ötvös, says the church's membership numbers about 300 families and about 80 to 100 people attend the Sunday Hungarian language service.

What makes the church unique among its neighbors is that it houses one of the few Hungarian schools left in the country. Each Saturday morning, about 100 children ages three to 14 fill classrooms on the third floor of the church's social hall, attending the Széchenyi Magyar Iskola és Óvoda (Széchényi Hungarian Community School and Kindergarten). The church also conducts Hungarian language classes and English as a second language classes for new immigrants.

Rev. Ötvös attributes much of the success of the church's efforts to the cooperative spirit among the city's Hungarian churches and organizations and to the second generation of Hungarian Americans. "For those in their 20's and 30's, it is very important to them to keep the folk traditions alive," he said.

For a more extensive look at the church and it's history, log onto http://www.magynrreformedchurch.org/index. php?option=com_content&’view=article&id=2&Itemid=ll.

16 0 December 2010 0 William Penn Life