Bethlen Naptár, 1989 (Ligonier)

Kálvin Egyházkerület

and was finished by the middle of November.

With the roof being finished, interior work needed to be finished and furnishings secured. To this end the Chicago Southside congregation and Ladies Aid donated the Lord’s Table. And on Thanksgiving Day, 1932, the new sanctuary was dedicated begining with the 84th Psalm (,,How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!...”) as the Processional Hymn. In seven months the „impossible” had been acheived against all odds, in the face of the Depression, the discouragement of other congregations and the doubts all must have had.

But this wasn’t the end yet! The Ladies Aid decided the parsonage should be built then, while the men were working. So they went out and gathered donations so at least the walls and roof could be built before winter set in. This was accomplished with donations from many who had given the first time, and included the Hungarian Reformed Church congregations both in Flint Michigan and Whiting Indiana. The parsonage was officially dedicated July 30, 1933, with the proper celebration of dance and banquet.

What was the total cost of this building? Some $5,200.00. How? Through faith. Perhaps some would say this is a romantic interpretation of history; hard work was the only basis of success. Surely, hard work was involved. But in a real world, it took faith to expect that others, non-churchmembers and non- Hungarians, would donate their time for this little congregation. It took faith to start a project that was not fully funded so that others would have enough faith in the project to donate the rock for the foundation, or that Inland Steel Company would donate the beams used in the construction, or that they could purchase 10,000 bricks at $2.50 per thousand. It took faith for the Ladies Aid members, day in and day out, to make calls at every house, asking for donations. And that the ladies cooked so many thousand meals, for their church, was an act of faith, a labor of love. And faith brings Miracles. In those seven months of work by literally hundreds of volunteers, no one was hurt during the construction.

This is the history of this „wonder church”, located in Indiana Harbor, the first home for countless thousands of immigrants. Of course many other things followed. The garage was added almost immediately, the bell was installed in 1935, the basement paneled in 1938. By 1941 renovations were taking place, a new organ was purchased, and other items were replaced with new ones, all part of the growth of the local church. By 1943, through the combined efforts of the congregation and the ladies groups, the total dept of the church was erased.

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