Calvin Synod Herald, 2018 (118. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
2018-01-01 / 1-2. szám
2 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Official Organ of The Calvin Synod - United Church of Christ Founded in 1900 AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Volume CXVIII JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 NO. 1-2 Official Organ of the Calvin Synod United Church of Christ - Founded in 1900 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD (ISSN 0161-6900) is published bi-monthly $15.00/year for individual subscriptions; $10.00/year for groups, 50 or more copies Please make checks payable to the Calvin Synod Herald Editor in Chief: Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba G. Krasznai, Bishop 14530 Alexander Road • Walton Hills, OH 44146 Tel.: 440-221-5334 • Email: revkrasznai@gmail.com Co-Editor: Rt. Rev. Stefan M. Torok, Auxiliary Bishop 68 Cherrywood Drive • Somerset, NJ 08873 Tel.: 732-917-4566 • Email: sctorok@comcast.net Interim Hungarian Editor: Rt. Rev. Stefan M. Torok Business Manager: Wilburn A. Roby, Jr. 264 Old Plank Road • Butler, PA 16002 Email: warajr@embarqmail.com Newsletters prepared by: Cathy Paksi 419-733-5829 • cathy.paksi@gmail.com Newsletters printed by: Gazette Printers 724-349-3434 Periodicals postage paid at Butler, PA POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 264 Old Plank Rd„ Butler, PA 16002-3810 Manuscripts and photographs are not preserved or returned Send all correspondence to the Editor The views and opinions of the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the magazine or Calvin Synod. CALVIN SYNOD HEADQUARTERS: Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba G. Krasznai 14530 Alexander Road • Walton Hills, OH44146 Tel.: 440-221-5334 Email: revkrasznai@gmail.com OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS • Beaver Falls, PA • United Church of Christ of Bridgeport, CT • Cleveland, OH - West Side HRC • Columbus, OH • Dayton The proper procedure is for all interested ministers to send their completed PROFILE (as provided by the United Church of Christ) to the Bishop’s office: Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba G. Krasznai 14530 Alexander Road Walton Hills, OH 44146 Tel.: 440-221-5354 • revkrasznai@gmail.com We Can versus We Can’t “ Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12) Dear Calvin Synod Congregations, Dear Brothers and Sisters, This is the beginning of the New Year 2018. This is a very important beginning in our personal lives and in our churches’ and Synod’s life, as well. I strongly believe that every good beginning results in a more positive outcome. There are motivational and inspirational sayings and quotes in English about I; “beginning”. For example: “Winning starts with beginning” (Robert H. Schuller), “Mighty things from small beginnings grow” (John Dryden), “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (Chinese proverb), “A hard beginning maketh a good ending” (John Heywood), “The beginning is the most important part of the work” (Plato), “A good beginning makes a good end” (English Proverb). I bet you have been in life situations, and found that at the beginning of a work or task, you said to yourself with great enthusiasm and passion, “Yes, I will do it. I can do it.” However, other times you said, “This is impossible. I am unable to do it. I cannot do it.” You know, this kind of approach to different things applies not just to our personal daily lives, but also to our church’s life. Each individual has their own ideas what church is all about. However, let us look at two types of churches. Let us look at the difference between a growing church and a declining church based on the teaching of Carey Nieuwhof pastor and Christian author. This teaching was introduced and discussed at the last August Presbyters’ Association Meeting in Ligonier, PA, which really caught my attention. The first difference, between these two types of churches, that pastor Nieuwhof presents in his article is entitled, We Can versus We Can't. Perhaps the biggest difference between growing churches and declining churches is the attitude around what is possible and what is not. Growing churches believe they can perform that certain task or accomplish that goal. However, declining churches believe they cannot. They are both right. It may sound weird and strange at first, but let us look at why both churches are right. The intention and practice of growing churches is that they find a way when there is no way. Actually they
