Calvin Synod Herald, 2000 (101. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-05-01 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 7 The Concordia Choir Tours Hungarian Reformed Churches Forty-one singers and a Reformed bishop made up the entourage of Hungarians from the Felvidék border city of Komárom (Komarno, Slovakia), who sang for their supper in twelve Hungarian Reformed churches in northeastern America. Ecumenical in makeup, the renowned Concordia Choir was welcomed to the United States by both Reformed and Roman Catholic church members along the way, and enjoyed the hospitality of their homes and hosts. Arriving in New York on March 9th, the choir sang its first concert in Connecticut, followed by two in New York City, four in New Jersey, one each in Washington (DC) and Pennsylvania, and concluding with five in Ohio. They also took part in Hungarian Independence Day observances in New York city and Perth Amboy, NJ, where the Mayor presented the Bishop with the key to the City. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Géza Erdélyi, Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Slovakia, accompanied the singers on their entire tour. He was greeted upon his arrival by Calvin Synod’s Auxiliary Bishop Bela Poznan and Bishop Emeritus Francis Vitéz, along with Bishop Alexander Forro of the HRCA and Rt. Rev. Stefan Torok. Later, in the Midwest, Calvin Synod’s Bishop Louis Medgyesi extended the Synod churches’ welcome to him and the chorus. The three week tour afforded the visitors a glimpse at numerous interesting locales in America. Beginning with New York City, surrounded by its highways, industries and sprawling suburbs, they viewed the crashing surf on a frigid day of the Atlantic Ocean on the Jersey shore. Then the sights of the nation’s Capitol and Mall were left behind all too soon for a ride across the rolling hills and mountains of Pennsylvania. Stops during the tour at two Hungarian homes for the elderly provided a view of another facet of American life, its graying population. The flat fields of Ohio lay before them and the Cleveland area, where a trip downtown led to the new baseball field, several museums and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After a surprise extra concert in an “English” Presbyterian church, they headed homeward with a stop at the famed Niagara Falls as an added attraction. On their last day - what else - a trip to the Statue of Liberty and its 323 steps to the crown, attempted by most. They returned home with hoarse throats and tired frames on April 1st. The visit of the Concordia Choir was upon the invitation of the American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association, whose president is Bishop Medgyesi. The Elders’ Association, Mr. Frank Dudás president, cooperated in the local arrangements at many churches. Helping hands were also extended by the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America and the William Penn Association, who loaned the necessary upfront money to pay for the airline and bus expenses. Any late contribution may still be sent, marked “Concordia Choir Fund”, to the Rev. George Cseh, Treasurer of the ministers’ Association. The Rt. Rev. Stefan Torok, past President of the Association, coordinated the entire program from its inception to conclusion, and organized the churches and ministers, host families and transportation throughout the stay. The singers expressed sincere gratitude for the fine hospitality extended to them in the members’ homes and those who provided them with daily meals, transportation and other necessities. The fine concerts were a treat and well received wherever they sang, but other benefits were derived here as well. Ecumenical and inter-Reformed church relationships were enriched among Christians here, ethnic roots celebrated and affirmed, and new ties made bridging oceans, cultures and generations. The net proceeds of the concerts will be used in Slovakia to foster Christian education for a people too long stifled by tyranny’s boot, and to rebuild on ancient solid foundations the churches members’ faith in the Lord. Rev. Albert W. Kovács The Concordia Choir The mayor of Perth Amboy, NJ presents the bishop with the key to the city
