Calvin Synod Herald, 1975 (75. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1975-11-01 / 11-12. szám

8

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS

IN REGARD TO ERDÉLY you should know the following developments :

(a) The American Hungarian Federation published the “Documents” on the human rights violations against the Hungarian minority in Rumania. (1. Denial of schooling in the mother tongue particularly on higher levels; 2. Discrimination in granting permission to settle in the cities of Transylvania and in the allocation of new housing units; 3. Forced denationalization policies; 4. Job discrimination and unfair censorship; 5. Persecution of Christians and denial of freedom of religion; 6. Hungarian written documents, church records, art objects are being transferred to archives where they may be lost; 7. Tourism is severely hindered, etc.)

(b) Our Conference Council submitted 15 copies of these documents to the UCC delegation attending the WCC Assembly at Nairobi, Kenya.

(c) Our Conference Council decided to launch an urgent appeal for the support of the Hungarian Reformed diaspora work in Erdély: WE NEED AT LEAST $830 BEFORE THE END OF 1975 FOR THIS WORK! Pastors and congregations are asked to have special collection or allocation from their Mission Fund for this purpose. Contributions must be submitted to Synod Treasurer before Dec. 31.

In ARGENTINA Rev. Imre Szabó is experiencing a devastating economic and political crisis. And now he has to take care of Montevideo, too. Thus he writes: “With an S.O.S. signal I turn to our North American friends. Pray for us! Send financial support for now even the daily food is a problem for many of us! ..Many of our pastors received an official letter from them and the Conference Council asks our congregations to send urgent financial help to them THROUGH THE SYNOD TREASURY.

From BRAZIL a letter of joy and thanksgiving arrived with the date of Nov. 11, 1975. “In gratitude toward God,” Rev. J. Apostol writes, “I am happy to let you know that today the Revs. István and Adrianne Csákány have arrived.” Rev. Csákány adds: “It is a miracle! From Eastern Europe we are the first ones who, with a diploma of agriculture, obtained visa

for permanent stay in Brazil.” May God bless them all!

OUR WINDBER CHURCH was gutted in the early hours of Nov. 3, 1975. The building is beyond repair. May God give courage to the congregation to bear the loss and not to abandon hope! Rev. Arthur Antal is the pastor.

THE MINUTES of our Annual Meeting are ready for mailing. Consistories are encouraged to devote special meeting for the study and discussion of these pages!

OUR VACANT CHURCHES:

(a) Buffalo, West Side is still vacant, but under the administration of Dean S. Szabó, the Revs. L.A. Larsen (in Engl.) and M. Kerekes (in Hung.) perform the essential ministerial services. Interested persons should call Bishop Butosi who visited the congregation on Oct. 31.

(b) Coatesville, Pa. is temporarily served by Rev. K. Faulkner, but they are looking for a permanent minister. Bishop gives further information.

(c) Gary, Ind. is still without a permanent pastor. Rev. L. Kovács of W. Lafayette is helping out, and Rev. Dr. M. Hathaway teaches the confirmation class of 10 young people. Dep. Bishop Desmond Parragh is the administrator: interested persons should contact him.

(d) Elyria, Ohio hopes to have a minister for Christmas, although no one was called yet. Mr. Steven Bako (216-324-5453) or the Bishop’s Office gives further information.

DR. KALMAN TOTH accepted the call of St. Andrew’s Presb. Church in Sherbrooke, Que., Canada. Thus Niles, Ohio became vacant as of Nov. 15, 1975. (Toth’s address is: 1162 Portland Ave., Sherbrooke, Que., Canada, J1H 1H9)—By the way: the Norwalk congregation decided to insert the Little Psalterium prepared by the Toths in the English Hymnal ... If interest warants it, the second edition can be published! ... Orders should be mailed to Bishop’s Office.

JOURNEY OF UNDERSTANDING TO HUNGARY. The United Presby. Church USA, under the leadership of Dr. and Mrs. Bela Vassady, sponsors a journey to Hungary from May 31 to

June 18, 1976. It renders a wonderful opportunity for Americans who are descendants of Hungarian immigrants, to become acquainted with the history and contemporary life of the churches in Hungary. For further information write: Martha Meister Kiely, Coordinator, 393 Lakeland Avenue, Grosse Pointe, MI 48230, or call the Vassadys (1-313-668-6482. ($1095)

DR. STEPHEN M. BÖSZÖRMÉNYI was presented a citation for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Ordination at the 108th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference on Oct. 11.

AS 1975 COMES TO AN END we ask our congregations to meet their financial obligations: administration quota, Our Christian World Mission assessment, Synod Appeals for Hungarian Reformed causes. Make your contribution to The Calvin Synod (220 Fourth St., Passaic, N.J. 07055) no later than JANUARY 10, 1976.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, began in the United States in 1908. Within a few years it spread throughout the world, awakening Christians to the reality of the tragic disunity which they had for too long taken for granted.

In addition to its primary goal of bringing Christians of every denomination together in common prayer, the great contribution of the Week of Prayer to the ecumenical movement is that it has made Christian unity an understandable goal to millions of people at the grass-roots level. While official conversations by theologians of various church bodies are making astounding progress, the Week of Prayer enables Christians of diverse intellectual and cultural backgrounds to celebrate their oneness.

The Week of Prayer is no longer a time when churches may consider their ecumenical obligation fulfilled for the year, after eight days of joint prayer and fellowship. It is rather an intensive period when churches not only pray for unity but also take stock of ecumenical progress and map joint efforts for the entire year.

The theme of the 1976 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “We Shall Be Like Him” (I John 3:2).