Bethlen Naptár, 1989 (Ligonier)

Kálvin Egyházkerület

„The Eastern European work force of Hazelwood is represented by the First Hungarian Reformed Church (221 Johnston, completed in 1903), which bears the name of its architect, the fiercely original Titus Bobula, in elegant Art Nouveau letters on its cornerstone. The church has a seating capacity of 280, with a sandstone facade and buff factory brick on the side walls. The step-gabled facade is perforated by two strange ovoid windows left and right of the central tower. The Art Nouveau style is particularly marked in these windows and in the flower shape of the light-fixtures inside.

Only scant information is available on Bobula and no personal document beyond his photograph in .Palmer’s Pictorial Pittsburgh’ of 1905, in which he peers out enigmatically from under a hat, like Toulouse-Lautrec. In the spontaneity of his style, particularly his interest is languid, sinuous curves, his predilection for the clashing of smooth and rough materials, and his outrageous handling of the classical orders, Titus Bobula must be regarded as an authentic Art Nouveau architect — possibly the only true devotee of that style in the United States. He was evidently Hungarian, and his style suggests that he was trained in the Vienna Secession school. He worked in Pittsburgh from about 1900 to 1910, leaving behind three churches and designs for a group of free-flowing monuments that, if executed, would have made him a sensation among American architects.” (The Pittsburgh Press Magazine also published a full page color photo of our church in its April 10, 1988 issue.)

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It matters not how far you live from the church, but rather how close you live to God. It matters little how many years of history are behind us, but rather how many years the Lord will grant us in the future.

VINTONDALE, PA Beszolgálja: Kovács Zoltán Ákos

Ez a gyülekezet túlnyomó többségben nyugdíjas öregekből áll. Szaporulatra és erősödésre nem sok kilátás van, különösen akkor, ha figyelembe vesszük azt a szomorú tényt, hogy a bányák bezártak, s az acélgyárak részben, vagy egészben megszűntek termelni Johnstownban. A második és harmadik nemzedék kivándorolt Vintondaleből oda, ahol mindennapi kenyerük biztosítva van. Azok, akik megmaradtak, rendszeresen látogatják az istentiszteleteket, s anyagi erejükhöz mérten támogatják az egyházat. 1988-ban sem keresztelés, sem esketés nem volt. Eltemettük Béres Jánosné nőtestvérünket, aki az egyház alapítása óta egyházunk oszlopos tagja volt. Adjon Isten néki békés nyugodalmat.

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