Calvin Synod Herald, 2006 (107. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2006-07-01 / 7-8. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 What will be different at YOUR church if you vote to become “Faithful & Welcoming”? Mainly, things will remain the same. Our churches already practice the principles of a Faithful & Welcoming Church. You will just formally and publicly declare yourselves so. You will be registered on the website www.faithfulandwelcoming.,org. This will allow individuals who are looking for like-minded churches in the UCC to know what your congregation believes and is committed to. How do you show your wider community that your congregation is a protesting member of the UCC who opposes the agenda of the UCC? You or someone in your church’s leadership could write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper after your decision informing the public of your church’s stance. Your people can speak to their family and friends about their church’s newly proclaimed identity to help them overcome any sense of embarrassment around the actions of GS25. It is not embarrassing to be UCC when your congregation is seen as doing something to change things for the better. Being a Faithful & Welcoming Church is also helpful because it gives your congregation a spiritual connection to other FWC congregations. If UCC members visit other cities, they will know where to find like-minded UCC churches. If your church is listed, then it helps renewal-minded people locate a friendly church in your area. ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT The Bethlen Communities/HRFA Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, July 15, 2006, at Champion Lakes Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. All proceeds benefit the Therapy Department at Bethlen Home, the skilled nursing facility. Features of the tournament include a Million Dollar Shootout and chances to win great prizes, such as a Buick and vacations. The day will end with a Dinner held at the Club. Bethlen Communities is also welcoming Hole Sponsorships. To register or learn more, please visit www.bethlen.com or call Bethlen Home at 724-238-6711. / \ Calling All ‘56ers October 2006 will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. We would like to take this opportunity to include stories about this historic event in the Calvin Synod Herald. If you were there or if you learned about it from your family members who were in Hungary at the time, please send us short stories, photographs, or even poetry about the 1956 Revolution. We would like to include them in our September/October issue. Please send all submissions to CSChurchNews@aol.com. \_______________________________________________/ Calvin Synod Meeting Resolutions Ministers and delegates gathered in Somerset, Pennsylvania, in May 2006 for the 68th Annual Meeting of the Calvin Synod. The following three resolutions, of particular interest to the general church, were adopted. 1. Faithful and Welcoming The Calvin Synod overwhelmingly endorsed the Faithful and Welcoming Churches testimony and encouraged members to participate in the National Gathering 4-6 August at Shepherd of the Hills Church, Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. 2. Call for a Loving and Caring Witness Because Scripture reveals that any sin leads to eternal misery, it is necessary for Christians to warn those in danger. Excusing what ruins people can never be kind or loving. Being informed by nearly five centuries of heritage and being bound by the Second Helvetic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism, Calvin Synod testifies that those who do not turn from ungrateful and impenitent lives cannot be saved from eternal misery. Endorsement of sin, encouragement of behavior which kills, and promotion of liturgical practices which enable sin, exclude people from the Kingdom of God. Therefore Calvin Synod calls upon the United Church of Christ to repent of complicity in promoting practices which violate Question 87 of the Heidelberg Catechism and the clear testimony of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5-33; 1 John 3:14-24; and Romans 1. Therefore Calvin Synod also directs its Bishop to inform the executives of the United Church of Christ to call the denomination to repent. 3. Homosexuality and Practicing Homosexuality Being bom in a certain way is not a sin. Doing certain things like practicing homosexuality is. Sin destroys a person’s life. Our duty is to warn with love and call for repentance whenever we see people practicing sin. Dr. Edwin P. Elliott English Editor Amerikai Magyar Reformátusok Lapja Editor(a)CalvinSynod. org J Y Live each day so that you wifi neither 6e afraid of tomorrow nor ashamed of yesterday! \_________________________________r
