Calvin Synod Herald, 1988 (88. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1988 / 2-5. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD-18 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA September 19 to 33. This brings our appreciation to everyone who in any way contributed to the work and the success of this Convention. Conventions are a mixture of stress and relaxation, debate and fellowship. Thank you all for having helped make this Convention experience a good one for us. 10. that we urge the President of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America to schedule all subsequent conventions at such dates that they would not conflict with the dates of the Olympic Games. In case of irreconcilable conflict, our President could request the International Olympic Committee to reschedule their games. Opening Communion Service On Monday, September 5 and Tuesday, September 6, the American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association held its annual meeting in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Begining at 11 o’clock Monday morning with a joint worship service together with the AMERICAN HUNGARIAN REFORMED PRESBYTER’S ASSOCIATION, the Ministrial Association had a full schedule of meetings. Greetings were brought from the various church bodies, both in the United States and Canada. Presentations were given on timely topics of interest to all Churches in America, especially the Hungarian community. They included a presentation on the important mission programs which we, as Christians of Hungarian heritage, must be concerned about. Dr. John Butosi spoke about our responsibility to Missions, Dr. Alexander Havadtoy told us about the current - and complex - situation of the Hungarian refugees now escaping from Transylvania, resettling in Hungary and through-out the world in general. Also discussed were the topics of our South American Brethren, the current situation in Hungary, and Hungarian communities world-wide. Louis Medgyesi reported on the 1988 Summer Youth Camp which is sponsored jointly by the churches of the CALVIN SYNOD and the HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA, and supported financially by both the WILLIAM PENN fraternal organization and the HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA. Anthony Beke, President of the AMERICAN HUNGARIAN REFORMED PRESBYTER’S ASSOCIATION reported to the Ministerial Association about the topics of importance discussed at their meeting. A guest from Hungary, Alexander Berkesi, leader of the Debrecen Choir in Hungary gave a presentation on the 450th Anniversary of the “Debrecen Kollegium"; later in the evening he led the group in a “sing-along”. Also presented were two documentary films, brought from Hungary. One, made relatively early in the current exodus of Hungarians from Transylvania, gave us a glimpse into the difficulties that refugees from Transylvania faced, and the terrible human tragedy which the Romanian government is wantonly perpetrating on its own citizens, persons of non-Romanian ethnicity. A powerful film, virtually everyone who saw it was left sobbing, sharing the pain they saw on the screen. The second film was made at the spontaneous demonstration in Budapest held late in the Spring of 1988; a massive demonstration against the government of Romania for their treatment of Hungarians, it too was a moving work of art. The two films gave a hint of some of the earth-shaking changes in the areas of the Arts and societal restrictions which are now taking place in Hungary under the new government. Csurka István, considered the most well-known and respected screen writer in Hungary, gave an insider’s look at Hungary today, and what the hopes are of its current generation, the people, the writers, and the intellectuals. As in the past, the BETHLEN HOME was our host for the meetings and most of the meals. In return representatives of the Home and the HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA briefed the ministers on the most current status of the BETHLEN HOME II, planned in Ohio, and the MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES, being planned on the BETHLEN HOME grounds. The current officers, elected in 1987, are Rev. Paul Kantor, President (Calvin Synod); Rev. Dr. Csaba Baksa, Associate President (United Church of Canada); Rev. Alexander Farkas, Vice President (Presbyterian Church), Rev. István Torok, Secretary, and Rev. Barnabas Roczey, Treasurer (both of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America). OUR OWN "DEBRECENI KANTUS" AT THE MINISTERIAL MEETING
