Calvin Synod Herald, 1989 (89. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)

1989-07-01 / 1. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 3 -REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

BISHOP’S GREETINGS---------Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The grace and peace of the Almighty be with all of you. May He surround you with His love and strength, for you are His people. I am deeply moved, honored and humbled by your trust of electing me your Chief Executive. I do consider this the greatest trust and honor that you could have bestowed upon me. I do need, more than ever, your prayers and support.

I will try my best to be fair, loving and caring as your Pastor’s Pastor, the first among equals, in my office. As Henry Thoreau, the great New England philosopher so aptly put “If the rights of any of my brothers or sisters are violated, my rights are violated. If the human dignity of any of you suffers, my humanity and its dignity suffers.” I always keep this in mind, for we are one in Christ.

Cod bless and strengthen you in your service to Him and to the benefit of all. Thankfully and affectionately your,

Zoltán D. Szűcs, Your Bishop

‘Curriculum Vitae’ of the Fourteenth Chief-Executive, the Sixth Bishop of the Magyar ‘Calvin Synod’

The New Editor’s

Introductory Words

Our Synod’s Annual Meeting made an important resolution by saving our Paper the second time in its H __ ?# history. At the threshold of the 90th year of our publication’s existence and the forthcoming Centennial of our churches in America the elimination of this our oldest Periodical would have been the most woeful act at the most inappropriate time.

Synod again drafted me to be editor. With our new bishop as editor in chief the Herald will now not only survive but leap into new birth at this historic moment of our life.

Since no Issue has been published in the first half of the current year we will automatically extend all subscriptions by half a year as a compensation.

The July-August Issue has arrived and so will every Issue hereafter on bi-monthly schedule.

We do now ask all our ministers, churchleaders and readers to cooperate wholeheartedly by renewing subscriptions on time; by sending churchnews without delay; by mailing pictures of important events (in black and white.) promptly.

Our primary aim is to make our bi-lingual Paper the very mirror of the life of our congregations. This — of course — can only be done by all of us working together in our fold. I am trusting in your enthusiastic help at this Centennial crossroad.

As an ardent believer in predestination I accept this call from God. He just did not want some important highlights of our history disappear. In posession of some great documents and historic facts it gives me an opportunity to have them published for the future before we all transfer from this life into the other, and all of us, who are still in the book of‘Who is Who?’ will evidently enter into the Volume of “Who was Who?”

Glory to God, and to Him alone!

Dr. Stephen Szabó

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Zoltán Daniel Szűcs was

bom on October 29, 1935, in Ipolypásztó, Bars-Hont Megye (presently Czechoslovakia). His father, twice deported, was a Pastor of The Hungarian Reformed Church for 43 years and died with his boots on June 20, 1968. He is the second son of four children. His mother Irén Varga is a presbyter and organist of The Reformed Church in Szeged, Hungary. The family was kicked out of Czechoslovakia with a 100-lb. allowance in November of 1948. Zoltán was wounded at the end of the Second World War, in 1945 by the schrapnel of hand grenade.

His middle school education was in Hódmezővásárhely at the Bethlen Gábor Gimnasium. In 1954 he graduated, Summa Cum Laude, from the Reformed Coll, of Pápa, Hungary. In September 1955 he entered The Reformed Theological Seminary of Budapest, Hungary, where his studies were interrupted by the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Because of his participation and wounds, he was forced to leave the country in December of 1956. In 1957 he was working as Counselor of Refugee children, for the World Council of Churches at Steinbach, Austria. During the ’57/’58 academic year he continued his theological studies at the University of Vienna, Austria.

In 1958, August 8, he immigrated to the U. S. A. From September of 1959 to June 1962 he continued his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, from where he received both his B.D. and his Masters degrees in Theology. During this time he was working as Student Assistant at First and Central Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Delaware and as supply pastor of the Free Hungarian Reformed Church on the east coast. After seminary he worked for the Presbytery of Philadelphia, PA, till his election as Pastor of St. Georges & Delaware City Presbyterian Churches, Delaware. He served as Pastor there until 1973. He also received his M. Ed. Degree in Counseling Psychology from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA in 1959.

In the summer of 1973 he was elected as Director of Campus Ministry at Texas A. &

M. University, College Station, Texas, where he served for five years. While at College Station he completed his course work and examination for a Ph. D. degree in Counseling and Social Psychology and the Almighty also granted him two beautiful daughters Ildikó and Anikó. His wife is a teacher of English and Fine Arts, the former Barbara Cecil Kizer of St. George, South Carolina. During this time he also served as interim pastor at The First Presbyterian Church of Sealy, Texas.

In the beginning of 1978 his dream came true when a Hungarian church, The Southside Presbyterian Church in Niles, Ohio called him to be their pastor. He served there for two years when on November 25, 1979 The Lorain Hungarian Reformed Church, Lorain, Ohio elected him to be their Pastor, where he is serving since. The Lorain church was part of the local Western Reserve Association of the UCC and transfered its membership to The Calvin Synod by the unanimous vote of the congregation in February of 1983. At the 47th Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod, in May of 1985 Pastor Szűcs was elected as General Secretary of The Synod, serving for four years. On May 25, 1989, at the 51st Annual Meeting of The Calvin Synod the delegates honored and entrusted Pastor Szűcs with the responsibility and trust of electing him Bishop of The Calvin Synod Conference. He was sworn in at that date together with the other officers of The Synod, the oath being administered by The Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Szabó, but the solemnization of his installation will be held on September 17, 1989 at 4:30 p.m. at The Lorain Hungarian Reformed Church, due to the fact that the Rt. Rev. Dr. Elemér Kocsis, Presiding Bishop of The Hungarian Reformed Church, Hungary will be here for this occasion. It is a very great honor for the totality of The Calvin Synod, for in the life of the Hungarian Reformed churches in the United States this is the first occasion that the Presiding Bishop of Hungary will be participating in person in the solemnization service of the installation of a Hungarian Reformed Bishop in the United States. (Ed.)