Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1983 (75. évfolyam, 2-24. szám)

1983-01-15 / 2. szám

6. oldal

1983. február 15.

their needs in a manner that they are able to understand?

It is my feeling that we should all be proud of our Hungarian heritage. In my three visits to Hungary and my lifetime association with Hungarian people, I have found them to be a beautiful and hardy group of people. Their lives had never been easy, but that rendered them more determined and resolute, as proven by the accomplishments of so many of our forefathers and even more so by our present generations. Those of our forefathers who were far sighted, tried to guarantee the continued ministry of our churches by providing the word of God to all people. These progressive churches are still in existence and are still bringing the good news to all who will hear. Those who have failed to make adequate provisions for the future, have either gone out of existence already or are diminishing in numbers daily. We should all strive to learn from the mistakes of the past and create within our churches a program of services which will serve our entire community.

I have just received a letter from the pastor of one of our old Hungarian churches that would have long been out of existence had they not realized their primary mission and taken steps to accomplish it. The letter is from the Pastor of The Huntsburg Baptist Church, in Huntsburg, Ohio. This church was a mission station of the Fulton Road Baptist Church which was one of three Hungarian churches in the City of Cleveland. The letter reads as follows:

“We the flock at Huntsburg Baptist Church, have much to praise and glory in our Lord, because we are indebted to, and appreciative for the many good works, and labors of love that were sacrificed for us by our dear brother, the Rev. Gabriel Petre. He helped to establish and continue the work of the Lord here in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Because of his untiring efforts in faithfulness to Chirst, we are able to have a testimony in this place now, to bring honor and glory to God. Many who stood and served with him here, have also gone to heaven, but praise God that the many miles traveled and the hours spent by

brother Petre with the saved ones here, the name of Christ continues to go forward to bear fruit in Ohio.

We present this note of praise to our Saviour in the Rev. Petre’s loving memory and honor.”

The Church Family of Huntsburg Baptist Church The Rev. Ban H. Garlich ***

The above letter proves that some of our more progressive efforts of the

past are still in being and are fulfilling the true calling of our churches to the winning of souls for Christ. At least one man as noted above had the foresight to create for the future a church that will outlive a system or a language. Is our committment today less than what it was years ago? Let us not preserve the work of God only to the few, whereas the harvest is ready for the winning of the souls of many.

Ernest J. Kish

DECEMBER AT BETHESDA

The last month of our year is probably the most beautiful of all months. The buildup to it starts on Thanksgiving and keeps building until the passing of our Christmas and New Year celebrations. Our Home is the same as any normal home where there are wide-eyed children anticipating the arrival of Christmas with all of the joys that come with it. Our “children” however, are somewhat different than most other children because they are mature enough to realize the real meaning of Christmas and yet enjoy

THE AMERICAN HUNGARIAN BAPTIST UNION RECEIPTS for the month of January 1983

Home Mission

Mr. and Mrs. A. Bartholomew, Los Alamitos, Ca. $10.00; Bethesda Retirement Home, Palm Bay, FI. $300.00; Silliman Church, Bridgeport, Ct. $47.50; Barnaby Halo, New York, NY. $50.00; Hungarian Church, New York, NY. $50.00; Bethesda Church, Palm Bay, FI. $100.00

— Total: $557.50.

Literature

Gospel Messenger, Treasury, $99.00; Mr. and Mrs. László Novák, Londonderry, NH. $100.00- Total: $199.00.

Special Mission

Bethesda Church, Palm Bay, FI. $35.00; Hungarian Church, New York, NY. $50.00 — Total $85.00.

Literature contributions sent to the Gospel Messenger Treasury:

Bethesda Church, Palm Bay, FI. $235.00; Rev. Charles Szabó $8.00; Mrs. Ida Bergers $3.00; Mrs. Mary Kirla $88.00

Louis Drescher, Treasurer

ERROR CORRECTION

In our February 1 issue (No. 3) the Bethesda Home contributions were reported as the American Hungarian Baptist Union receipts for the month of November 1982. We regret the error.

The proper date on Vol. 75, No. 2 should be January 15 and on Vol. 75, No. 3 the date should read February 1.

We apologize, for those errors.

the age old custom of giving and receiving. What a joy it was for us to watch them and to see the twinkle in their eyes as they received surprise after surprise. God has been good to us and has blessed us in so many ways. We were able therefore, to see to it that we made this Christmas another memorable one for all of our beloved residents. We received gifts from many sources which we then used to make happy even those who had no other family but our Bethesda family. We provided the little niceties which caused joy and happiness to even our most depressed loved ones. Our Home was beautifully decorated inside and out with lights and trimmings befitting our facility. Our meals were extra special to satisfy even the most critical appetite. Many of our residents refused to leave us for Christmas because they find our family atmosphere far better than that which they would have with their real families. Once again we invited our lonely aged neighbors to join us for our Christmas dinner. This is traditional with us and they looked forward to joining our family gathering at this season of the year. We not only provided for the physical needs, but we also saw to it that everyone knew of why we really celebrate Christmas. We did not let them forget that this was the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. On Christmas Eve, we held vesper services at wich time we invited our church family to join us and together we celebrated the real cause of our joys.

After our vespers, we all joined in partaking of the fine pastries that were provided by the ladies of our church. Dr. Biro as always retold the