Bethlen Almanac 2001 (Ligonier)

Tóparti Egyházmegye - Lakeside Classis

DAYTON, OH

Old Troy Pike Community Church Dayton, Ohio

Pastor: Rev. Gábor G. Nitsch

Chief Elder: Andrew Dobo

Vice Chief Elder: David Karmosay; Secretary: Alex Sabad; Treasurer Pro Tem: Helen Clary; Trustees: Wilfred Straw, Joseph Johnston; Auditor: Gene Ballard.

2001 has been a special year for all of us. With its many trials and temptations, it will go down as one of the hardest years to hit the Hungarian Evangelical and Reformed Church in the past 100 years. In times like these, the best thing to do is to retreat to our past, our traditions, and our faith. We therefore give thanks to God for allowing us to praise His name in the greater Dayton area for the past 100 years. This is the 5th building we worship in, and the last was built in 1982. There are no immigrants coming to Dayton, since 1956. This is a 4th generation congregation, and being that, for 14 years an American Minister served here who Americanized our community even more. For the last 4 years we introduced Hungarian services again on the first Sundays of the month, but attendance is only about 30, mostly Roman Catholics, who had no Hungarian priest here for the last 45 years.

The congregation has about 80 souls, 56 voting members. Had it not been for Bingo, the church would have closed probably about 20 years ago. Unfortunately, Bingo is not as popular as it used to be, especially ever since Casinos are popping up left and right.

For many years now, the leadership has been searching for ways to bring people in, from the community, but they felt that the “Hungarian” in name of the church was a deterrent for local folks to join. We have seen many instances, when people walked in to the service, and when we recited the Lord’s Prayer in Hungarian, on the English service, they stood up and left.

Our centennial year, 2001, started with a cry for renewal, for change. The congregation voted unanimously to change the name of the church, and the new name chosen is: Old Troy Pike Community Church. This places us on the map, and opens the doors to everyone from the community to join. Four young professionals were elected as elders, and we are looking forward to a very exciting Centennial Year.

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