Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2002 (14. évfolyam, 4-45. szám)
2002-01-25 / 4. szám
AMERICAN Hungarian MEDITATIONS by Dr. Bela Bonis Pastor (562) 430-0876 First Hungarian Reformed Church, Hawthorne A California Research Group (George Barna, President) has reported that American adults who attended church as children are almost twice as likely to take their kids to worship services as adults who didn’t go to church when they were young. Some 63% of adults who attended church when they were young now take their own kids to church. In contrast, 33% of adults who did not attend church as youngsters take their children to church. "Attending a church appears to be more a function of one’s personal experience when young than a sense of responsibility to one’s own children", said Barna. The survey also found that adults who regularly attended worship services as children are more likely than those who did not to be involved in church-related and other spiritual activities. 71% of adults surveyed attended church as children, 61% of those who attended in their youth still are regular attendees. But 78% of those who did not attend church regularly as kids remain away from the pews now. Researchers also learned that adults who attended church when they were children are twice as likely to read the Bible in a typical week as those who tended to stay away from churches as kids. They also are nearly 50% more likely to pray to God in a typical week. Now I’d like to emphasize that the high reason for public worship is threefold: to come nearer to God, to yourself and to your fellowman. That God shall become more real to you; that you shall get a more honest look at yourself; that you shall become more aware of the fellowship of Christian believers; that your eyes shall be opened and your heart warmed toward all God’s children on earth; this is what you really want out of public worship and this is what you can have. If you come to the service with a singing heart and bring to it the listening ear, the unlocked mind, you will not come away empty. Not all services can have the same effect. It is not one service now and then, but the sum of all services, which will bring to the withering soul the freshness of the life of God and the blessedness for the family praying and staying together. Anyhow, never go alone to church if you can help it. Make a practice inviting others. In all of L.A.’s Hungarian churces Sunday attendance is not more than a few hundred people. Out of tens of thousands we would love to see many more! CALIFORNIA ETHNIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL The Romanian community of Southern California was recently honored by a visit from His Excellency Sorin Ducaru, Romanian Ambassador to the United States, for whom the Vittorul Roman Society organized a welcoming banquet on January 20th. The Society invited leaders of the California Ethnic Leadership Council - including Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Chinese, etc. - to participate. Among those extending a warm welcome to the Ambassador (at right) was CELC Communications Director Frank de Balogh III. Ethnic Hungarian Leaders React to Socialist Criticism of Benefit Law Pact (MTI) - The memorandum of understanding dealing with the benefit law and signed by the prime ministers of Hungary and Romania proved that reaching an agreement in the dispute is possible, acting deputy chairman of the Hungarian Coalition Party (HCP) of Slovakia Miklós Duray told reporters in Bratislava on Saturday. Duray was reacting to statements in which the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party (HSP) claimed that the government deceived and betrayed ethnic Hungarians with the pact made with Romania. In the memorandum of understanding Hungary abolished employment quotas for Romanian citizens, providing the opportunity for temporary employment in Hungary to all Romanians. Hungary's opposition reacted nervously to the agreement for no good reason, Duray said. He argued that Hungary's job market is not threatened more than before the agreement because the document did not change the provisions of the benefit law. HCP chairman Bela Bugar stressed that the Orban-govemment was prepared to help whenever ethnic Hungarians needed assistance. He praised the government for consistently sticking to the principles that the nature of help should match the specific requests of the ethnic Hungarian community and not imposed by the Hungarian administration, and that help should be provided as long as it complied with European norms. In Ukraine, Miklós Kovács, chairman of the Hungarian Cultural Association, was reluctant to directly react to the HSP position. He repeated the association's stand that the core of the benefit law was providing ethnic Hungarians with a clear legal status. He said the benefits themselves were merely "icing on the cake". CHICAGO, ILL - Governor George H Ryan held a send-off ceremony for the Illinois Army National Guard being deployed in support of "Operation Enduring Freedom", at O’Hare International Airport The members of the 66th Infantry Brigade were called to duty by President Bush to provide force protection and security at installations throughout Europe. I’ve always treasured the memory of my fiftieth birthday and its rewards, and I sort of expected something similar to happen on or around the sixtieth. Instead, September 11th happened and it turned the whole world upside down. I had made plans for September 27th, but we cancelled our flight reservations in the wake of the tragedies, and it turned out to be a less than ideal trip. And that’s why, as soon as we got back, I started to work on the next one. Planning is the easy part - it’s the execution that sometimes presents problems. I know where we want to go: it’s the Aladdin, as it was the last time and the one before that. We have not stayed anywhere else since it. first opened. We love its spacious rooms, comfortable beds, king size bathtubs and gentle air conditioning. We (make it “I”) love its great casino with the fun machines and attentive attendants, the fine restaurants and bars on the mezzanine, and the remarkable buffet called the “Spice Market”. But most of all, we love the view. The intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard (the “Strip”) and Flamingo Road has probably the very best of everything this great capital of fun and escapism has to offer. Its four comers are lined with the finest hotels and casinos. There’s good old Caesar’s Palace and beautiful new Bellagio on the west side, first and foremost Flamingo and traditional Barbary Coast on the northeast comer, once great Bally’s and bold new Paris on the southeast, and then, right next to the latter, there is Aladdin. Now, Steve Wynn’s brainchild, the Bellagio may well be the most elegant piece of architecture on the strip - the Venetian, though luxurious, seems to go a little overboard - I think the best property is still Aladdin, because from its rooms facing the Strip, you can see it all! The guests at the Bellagio can surely see the dancing fountains from their windows, but they can’t see it against the backdrop of their building with its outstretched arms, highlighted by the setting sun, reigning over the placid lake lined with small buildings that recall the north of Italy. That’s a spectacle only we, at the Aladdin, can admire in its full glory. And that’s what makes the Aladdin so precious to me. * * * In the hectic weeks before Christmas, everything seemed to conspire against me. I did all the work involved in a triple-sized special issue of my newspaper, and more. With the help of my diligent coworkers, I sorted out all billing issues and made sure the New Year’s edition was also in the mail before 1 left town. The thought of getting away for a couple of days gave me the strength to get through it all. Julius said he was not going to do anything special for New Year’s, so his restaurant would be OK without him for two days. No flight reservations were needed - in view of the recent events, we decided to drive. As soon as the Christmas issue was out, I was beginning to feel sick. At first it was just a little dry cough and an occasional headache. Then my throat became raspy and the cough got worse. Before long, I developed a full-blown head and chest cold. No time to go to the doctor, so I got out my stash of antibiotics from the old country, gobbled vitamin tablets, made linden tea with honey, and drank hot Theraflu before going to bed each night. Julius - uncharacteristically for him - showed great concern for my health and asked me every day, with a compassionate look in his eye that said, you are too sick to go anywhere'. “Honey, have you thought about Vegas yet?” I stood my ground and worked on getting better. However, the weather did not cooperate. Rain, wind and fog made life unpleasant for a while, which was OK sitting in the warm living room watching it on TV, but who would want to drive 300 miles under those conditions? Only days before Christmas, we had the nastiest storm of the season, and the wrinkles on my husband’s forehead became deeper as he asked me every day: “Honey, have you decided about Vegas yet?” Of course, he meant, have you cancelled the trip yet, you obstinate fool? When can I finally rest easy, knowing we don't have to go? But I did not cancel and would not cancel even if little devils were hailing from the sky, because this was to be my reward for the sweat of my brow, and I was going to get it, no matter what! If all else fails let Julius stay home and do whatever he finds more important than this. (TO BE CONTINUED)
