Calvin Synod Herald, 1979 (79. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1979-07-01 / 7-8. szám

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

7

on several steps, the delegates of the 40th Annual Meeting were notified on May 15, 1978 that under such circumstances referendum voting would be premature and unnnecessary, but as soon as the promised steps should have been completed by the HRFA, a clear proposal would be submitted for voting.

This was a derailment plan as on June 22, 1978 the national officers of the HRFA notified us that they are IN NO POSITION TO NEGOTIATE with the representatives of The Calvin Synod because of Resolution 19 — “the building is for sale” — but the Board of Managers of the Bethlen Home are expecting from Calvin Synod a written proposal specifying the terms to use the buildings as a Hungarian Reformed (Heritage) Center with option to buy. “We assure you,” the letter stated, “that if a written proposal will be submitted by Calvin Synod, it will be considered in the spirit of our common godly heritage.”

Supported by the resolution of the Hungarian Ref. Church in America, the written proposal (Memorandum) was presented to the Board of Managers on July 18, 1978 (not without a fight). In this proposal we requested to rescind “Resolution 19” in order to negotiate and reach an agreement to be submitted to Synod delegates; we also recommended thqt a Personnel Committee be formed for the purpose of defining the specific qualifications, the duties and obligations, the salary and the method of calling/electing a full-time Center Director; at the same time we suggested the composition of such a Committee, the scope and nature of the Director’s work, the operational budget for the first year, and guidelines of harmonious co-operation. (See Appendix)

On September 5, 1978 we presented this memorandum/proposal again to the Board of Managers, now in mimeographed form. Again it was favorably received and the Board of Directors of the Bethlen Home voted 14:10 in favor of submitting it to the Board of Directors of the HRFA. On Sept. 9, President George informed us their decision: “It was unanimously passed that within the framework of RESOLUTION 19, passed at the April, 1978 meeting of the Board of Directors, the HRFA is willing to enter into negotiations on the proposition presented by Bishop John Butosi... The HRFA is not in in a position to make a firm pledge to the project. Following the negotiations, the referendum vote of the congregations belonging to the Calvin Synod and the Hungarian Reformed Church in America be finalized by October 31, 1978.” (Resolution 23)

(TO BE CONTINUED)

The Roman Catholic Church, the nation’s largest religious body, and the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination, both grew faster than the population during 1977, reporting gains of 1.03 percent and 1.24 percent respectively. The Roman Catholics claim 49 million adherents and the Southern Baptists list about 13 million.

The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches made the largest membership gain — 12 percent — due largely to the affiliation of churches leaving the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recorded a 3.95 percent gain; the Church of God of Cleveland, Tennessee, a pentecostal body, was up 3.46 percent; and the Seventh-Day Adventists were up 2.46 percent.

Among the mainline Protestant bodies reporting losses were the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (—3.04 percent), the Episcopal Church (—2.19 percent) and the United Presbyterian Church (—1.77 percent). Losses from the United Church of Christ (—0.87 percent), the United Methodist Church (—0.77 percent) and the Lutheran Church in America (—0.25 percent) have nearly ceased, however.

Data for the Yearbook are obtained from the religious bodies themselves. Editor Constant Jacquet points out that membership statistics for various groups are not always directly comparable because some, such as the Roman Catholic Church, count children as members, while many of the mainline denominations count only teenagers and adults.

The aggregate total of U.S. church membership also tends to be less accurate than the figures for individual denominations, Jacquet warns.

The Yearbook is compiled by the Office of Research, Evaluation and Planning of the National Council of Churches. In addition to the statistical data, it includes an extensive list of the headquarters, addresses and officers of hundreds of U.S. and Canadian religious bodies, plus world, national, regional and local ecumenical organizations.

The 19$9 Yearbook lists for the first time in the U.S. directory the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Full Gospel Church. It also records a merger between the International Pentecostal Assemblies and the Pentecostal Church of Christ to form the International Pentecostal Church of Christ.

Dropped from this edition because of depleted membership or lack of reporting over a period of time were the