Bethlen Naptár, 1983 (Ligonier)
The Presbyterian Church in the USA
188 BETHLEN NAPTÁR The Presbyterian Church in the USA LAKELAND, FLORIDA Lelkipásztor: Szőke István The Sunday morning worship services are held at 9:45 AM in English and at 10:45 AM in Hungarian. Our church is located at north-west side of the city near the Interstate Highway 4, off West Memorial Blvd. (adjacent to Sambo Restaurant) at 1018 Neville Avenue. All correspondence should be sent to 1703 Sylvester Road, Lakeland, FL 33803. One of the main projects and aims of the pastor and congregation is to serve, spiritually and socially, not only the members but any and all of the brethren in Central Florida as well as all who come to visit us from the North. For this reason we hold two services (English and Hungarian) on Sundays, dinners on the first Sundays of the month, coffee socials twice a month and other social events. This means a lot of work for a small group of faithful members who give their time, talent and money; heading the group are the chief elder, Mr. Jesse Farkas, and his wife, Anna, the president of the Ladies Circle; Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Windisman, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Fiaton, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Domonkos, Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Toth, Mr. and rs. William Creech, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Litkowski, Miss Barbara Mihalko, Mrs. Ethel Palkó, Mrs. Irma Peck, Mrs. Babi Balogh, Mrs. Manci Kummer, Mrs. Margaret Gorfy, Mrs. Elizabeth Balazsi, and Mr. Edward Gorfy program director. Mr. Kalman Eisenchenk musician. On January 2, 1983, we commemorate the 25th anniversay of our congregation, which was officially organized on January 5, 1958, under the leadership of the founding pastor, the Rev. Louis G. Novak. In October 1960 the congregation purchased the property with a farm house on it, which was renovated and used as a place of worship. By the following year the new social building was dedicated (which is called now the Novak Hall). After 13 years the Rev. Louis Novak retired and the congregation called the Rev. Stephen E. Balogh as their pastor. Shortly after his arrival he started a building fund for a new sanctuary, which was dedicated in November 1973. The mortgage papers were burned in July 1976! In the same year, in October, the Rev. Stephen Balogh died suddenly from a heart attack. In 1977 the parsonage was purchased (now called the Balogh House) and the Rev. Paul Ferenczy was elected as pastor. He served the congregation for over three years and resigned in January 1980. Our present pastor, the Rev. Stephen Szőke, was elected in April, but did not take charge until November 1980. The congregation has a membership of 76, most of them faithful in their attendance of worship services, united and dedicated. We maintain a healthy mixture of the Hungarian heritage and the American way of life in a Christian fellowship.
