Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-05-01 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 2 The Call of the Living Church Dear Friends: In our church life we are again in the season when we look forward to Pentecost, the “Birthday of the Church.” Interesting how birthdays are celebrated. Gifts are purchased, parties are held, and the event is commemorated, then on to the next day. Unfortunately, we often let things go at that. Pentecost is a celebration that should remind us that we have been given a very special gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which remains with us even to this day. The commemoration should be an occasion to recommit ourselves to the power that was bestowed upon the disciples and upon all Christians who turn to Christ in true faith. We need a reminder of this because as we get a little older, we tend to forget that we are still Called by our Lord for a task in the church, not just to watch the dates on the calendar. We have a task. Your congregation has a task to perform. The task is not to survive; the task given us is to preach the Gospel both in word and in action. This is the one and only task we are called to do. If that is not the main activity of your congregation today, then your congregation must re-examine its reason for being. Three years ago I was privileged to be called by the congregations of Calvin Synod to be their bishop. Obviously I was not worthy, if we consider this position “an honor.” But I did not consider it an “honor”; I considered this position as a responsibility, an opportunity for service. And we must recognize that every person in the scriptures who was Called by God for a responsibility was “unworthy,” yet God called them at a specific time in His plan for us to fulfill a specific responsibility. I feel that my responsibility to God and to Calvin Synod is to look to the future of our congregations. I was determined not just to “mark time” as a bishop, but to strive to strengthen our churches in order that the next generation would have the same opportunity to meet the Lord as was given to me by His Grace, and by the faith and dedication of those Christians who came before me. And as we pass on this wonderful gift of God, we in Calvin Synod also have the opportunity to offer those that follow us a wonderful Reformed faith, we are also privileged to offer a tremendous example of how God worked in the lives of our Hungarian ancestors, we are called to show how he still works in the lives of the faithful today. But I am not different in my calling from anyone else in the Church of Jesus Christ. Each of you is also “Called” with these same privileges and responsibilities. You are called to make your local congregation a “Living Church,” a “Living Body of Christ.” Not “preserving the faith” as the Egyptians preserved their dead, treating the church building like a mausoleum, devoid of life and irrelevant to the rest of your life. Don’t forget, anything in a mausoleum is dead! Christ will not be found in such a place, for we keep him out by our very actions. The Church must be a place of LIFE! Our Annual Synod Meeting is coming up in the next few weeks. This is the opportunity for each of us to come together in our trans-local congregation and share our dreams of how our congregations can better fulfill their Calling to the Lord. This is the place where we can share our plans, and prepare to work together for the “building up of the saints,” the task we were all Called to fulfill. Our goal can never be to “survive,” for this immediately recalls Jesus words, “He who wants to save his life will lose it.” (Matthew 16:25) Our common Calling is not an “honor,” it is a responsibility. By accepting the saving Grace of Jesus Christ, you have also accepted this responsibility. Let us join together in our celebrations by strengthening our churches as Jesus would have us do it - by a “living faith.” Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop Lakeside Classis Elects New Dean The Spring Meeting of the Lakeside Classis took place on Saturday, February 10, at the Hungarian Reformed Church in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Rev. Csaba Krasznai, pastor of the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Walton Hills, was elected as the new Dean of the Lakeside Classis. Mr. Eugene Ruskowski from the Hungarian Reformed Church in Lorain, was elected as the new Classis Presbyter. Rt. Rev. Karl Ludwig attended the Lakeside Classis Spring Meeting. Also pictured is Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Fairport Harbor, Ohio Grace Shupp (Hungarian Reformed Church, Fairport Harbor, OH), Rev. Gabor Nitsch (Old Troy Pike Community Church, Dayton, OH), Rev. Zsolt Ötvös (Hungarian Reformed Church, Columbus, OH Attendees at the Lakeside Classis Spring Meeting
