Calvin Synod Herald, 2002 (103. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)

2002-01-01 / 1-2. szám

8

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

and decorations, and so different from western churches. Christianity presents so many faces to the traveler, a reminder of Kipling’s famous verse, “East is east and West is west, and ne’er the twain shall meet.”

Islam: In Istanbul, Turkey, the famous mosque named Haggia Sophia was once a Christian cathedral and the “Ascension” of Jesus fresco was now covered by paint, peeled off here and there to reveal the old theme. I’d taken my shoes off, as demand by Muslim law, and donned them in the vestibule as I left.

While I was on my way to the United States, in the fateful year of 1941, I paused at a mosque again in Baghdad, Iraq, the city of “1000 Arabian Nights.” My stay there was abbreviated due to wartime tensions.

Hindu: I had a longer stay in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), than anticipated, where I visited a Hindu sanctuary. While I was still on my way to America, and in the air on the plane, Hungary had declared war on Great Britain, so I was detained as an “enemy citizen.” But I was released and witnessed an outbreak of Hindu-Muslim strife while I awaited transportation.

Buddhist: While there, awaiting means of travel, I also took a trip “On the road to Mandalay” to the Shwee Dagon Pagoda, where I had to get down to bare feet according to Buddhist law. A towering statue of Buddha and fantastic decorations turned out to be most unforgettable for human eyes.

Jewish: Right in Cleveland, Ohio, a visit with our Sunday School teachers led us to Mount Zion Synagogue, but Rabbi Silver asked our ladies not to enter the sanctuary, where only men were allowed. It was in this synagogue that Israel was declared a new nation.

Mormons: I paid a visit to the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, and more than once to their tabernacle in Kirtland, Ohio. This faith is a unique combination of Muslim and Christian beliefs, and its advocacy of polygamy in an avowed monogamous nation.

Bahai: A jaunt to Vilmet, Illinois, led to the grand Bahai Temple of a religious group that combines beliefs of all the major religions of the world. The main quotation on the front wall of the edifice is from Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life!”

Visiting so many and such great temples had an undoubted influence upon the building of the cathedral-proportioned First Hungarian Reformed Church, Cleveland, Ohio, during my pastorate. The writer of these lines, by the grace of God, has had the opportunity to enter innumerable Hungarian churches of all denominations on both sides of the Atlantic - of course mostly Reformed - visiting in others and worshipping in ours in spirit and in truth. It was a great blessing from God, the Creator and Ruler now and forever!

“Soli Deo Gloria!”

First Hungarian - Los Angeles Celebrates 75th Year (continued from page 5)

larly, celebrating holidays with hurka-kolbász dinners, a custom since at least 1938. In regular worship combining Hungarian and English elements, and a regular mission program, it strives to continue to serve the Lord in the tradition

of its forefathers.

The words of the present Chief Elder, Tünde Garai, close this article: In thinking of our future, our prayers are remarkably similar to what Reverend Antal Szabó wrote in the 1966 Yearbook, ‘Let us continue to build on the foundation that was sown, which is Jesus Christ, so that our lives are blessed, and that glory be given to God’s name.’ As we stand at the beginning of 2002, we at the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Los Angeles face the future with challenges, but also with goals, confidence and hope. Most of all, we face the future with God’s promise of His presence, and His promise to address us and to lead us as we are faithful.”

ORDERBLANK - MEGRENDELŐLAP

Rev. Albert W. Kovács 94 N. James Street Woodbridge, NJ 07095

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