Calvin Synod Herald, 2006 (107. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2006-05-01 / 5-6. szám
6 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Sunday School (continuedfrom page 5) qualified Sunday School teachers, Andrea Baltay for the younger children and Nanda Dyssou who teaches the older children. Mother helpers support Andi in the younger class with discipline, encouragement for the children and language support. Nanda teaches the older children with no addition support. Our classes are conducted in English with a portion of the hour set aside for a Hungarian language and culture lesson. Our program is a handson program, where the kids first listen to a bible lesson in simple, age-appropriate language and then are encouraged to participate in a project or craft to emphasize that lesson. Our Sunday School meets every Sunday at 11 AM and follows the regular school year. This year our classes started on September 11 and will end on June 25. The curriculum was based on introducing the children to God and Jesus by using the Bible as our guide. We began the year talking about God and Creation, the Power of God, How to talk to God through prayer, the birth of Jesus, Jesus as a friend, Jesus as a teacher, miracles of Jesus, why we should follow and obey God, and finally the role of the Church in telling the Good News about Jesus. Although each lesson is conducted in English, we are also introducing the children to their Hungarian culture by teaching them the Hungarian language and history. We’ve learned the Mi Atyánk, the numbers, and some feeling words such as Szomorú and Boldog. We’ve talked about famous poets and some of the history of Hungary. We also plan on teaching them words about the weather and the seasons. This year our children presented a Creation song in both English and Hungarian at the Fall Bazaar, at Christmas they performed a play in Hungarian about the birth of Jesus, and for March 15 they recited Hungarian poems. They will also be learning Hungarian poems and performing in our upcoming Mother’s Day Program. Next year, the faith-based portion of Sunday School will focus on Famous stories of the Old and New Testament. Our Hungarian culture and language portion is still evolving and next year we plan on having a stronger cultural and language curriculum that will run alongside our faith-based program. We are very excited about our Sunday School and invite visitors to our classes and to see what the children have been learning. We also ask that if you know of any children ages 3-16 that would benefit from Sunday School here in Los Angeles to invite them to join us any Sunday at 11AM. And in closing, we gratefully acknowledge our Pastor Rev. István Kacso’s guidance and leadership with our Sunday School. Jasmine Laubender Committee Chair - Christian Education First Hungarian Reformed Church of Los Angeles ~[n Live each day so that you wifi neither 6e afraid of tomorrow nor ashamed of yesterday! ^1___________________________________F Hungarian Reformed Church of Lorain Welcomes Rev. Peter László Toth as Their New Minister The congregation of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Lorain, Ohio, would like to welcome Reverend Peter Toth and his family to our church. On June 12, 2005, the Rev. Toth was elected as our new minister. He had visited us several times through celebrations over the years. When he heard of the opening for a minister in Lorain, he felt it was his call to apply. “My ministry is a celebration of life, as triumphant as it has been in the Lord Jesus Christ, ” explained Rev. Toth. “Human imperfections look l ike a distortion of the vision of fellow humanity - but the enduring Love of God in Christ is more powerful than this limited environmental effect. This short survey of a historical perspective has inspired the spirit of many to take the challenge and work delicately to make life livable for people regardless of their background. “A constant human urge is present in today’s life process to find values that are worthy to uphold and follow. I strongly believe that beside the physical needs of life, we tend to search for non-perishing values - why the people of the world are eagerly waiting for the appearance of the children of God. The Great Mission of the church we are commissioned to is to address these spiritual needs by the Gospel of Jesus. He is the one who could not be terminated by human errors, but over the limits set within the realm of this world, he represents the everlasting value of love. That is the healing force inspiring us to work. ” Rev. Peter Toth was bom in 1961 in Hungary. He received his MDiv in 1986 from the Reformed Theological Academy, Budapest, Hungary, and served two congregations in Hereg and Tarjan, Hungary, from 1986-1989. In 1990, he received hisM.Th in Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He was ordained by the Reformed Church of Hungary and has standing with the Hungarian Reformed Church in America and the Calvin Synod of the UCC. After finishing his education, Rev. Toth served the Hungarian Reformed Church of Carteret, New Jersey from 1990-2000. During his tenure there, they renovated all of the buildings of the church, he had Bible Study groups, and he reorganized the Sunday School and committees for them. He emphasized the importance of visiting the needs of the sick and elderly and regularly visited nursing homes and hospitals, looking after those with spiritual needs. Rev. Toth served the Norridge United Church of Christ in Norridge, Illinois from 2000 to 2005. Under his leadership, the church tripled the number of voting members. Rev. Toth has worked with the Billy Graham Association in saving a church in Tarjan, attended meetings of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, World Federation of Hungarians, World Alliance of Hungarian Reformed Churches, American Hungarian Ministerial Association, UCC Calvin Synod Conference and Local Ministerial Associations. He served as the president of the Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association’s Eastern Division and was Secretary of the Eastern Classis of the Calvin Synod. He has been a member of the Rotary Club and the Hungarian Cultural Council in Chicago, Illinois.
