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

2010-12-01 / 12. szám

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DEDICATED TO THE ■INISTERS AND THEIR FAMILIE' IN HONOR OF THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CHURCH

1905-1915 '

PAUL HAM50RSKY

1915-1916

F B KOVÁCS

1915-1916

LÁSZLÓ GE2ENDAY

1916 -1926

SIGISMUND LAKEY

1926-1942

CHARLES PAPr

942-1957

LOUIS BÁLINT

1957 - 1970

JOSEPH RASK1

1971 .

JOSEPH BODNAR

Hf§r

'" * PRESENTED IN 1986

BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN MEMORY OF

REV JOSEPH AND IRENE RASKY! ___________________________

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Bodnar in front of a mural created by the children of the church in honor of the church's I OOth anniversary; the spirit of the church captured in words and Hungarian motifs; a plaque honoring the pastors of the church; the church’s interior; a hand<rafted banner marking the church's 15th anniversary in 1918; a view of the tiles which decorate the ceiling above the altar

BatjarJ Street f* resbuterian Clburcb

22A Joyce Kilmer Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ

The Bayard Street Presbyterian Church is an example of an old Hungarian church that has survived by taking the spirit which formerly unified Hungarian immigrants and extending it to the greater community.

Founded in 1903, it was the first Hungarian congregation of any faith in New Brunswick and moved into the church in 1908. Its pastor for the past 39 years has been the Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Bodnar, who was baptized in the church and whose one and only assignment as a minister has been as its pastor.

While the church still participates in the neighborhood's Hungarian activities, including making noodles for the annual Hungarian Festival, it numbers few Hungarians among its current congregation. It survives by sharing its facilities with three other congregations—two Hispanic and one African-American. It also remains an active congregation by providing services to the community which it once provided to immigrants from Hungary: food, clothing and, at one time, shelter for those in need.

"We try to help people who don't have a church," Rev. Bodnar said.

18 ° December 2010 0 William Penn Life