Hungarian Church Press, 1950 (2. évfolyam, 4-13. szám)

1950-03-01 / 4. szám

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GOSPEL SERVICE AMONG HUNGARIAN reformed people TRANSFERRED FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA - From the Church weekly, az Ut -In fulfilment of a long-felt desire, we shall now write about the life of those brethren who, in the course of the population transfer, were evacuated to Hungary* In doing this, we are motivated by the double aim of galling on our • congregations to extend their brotherly love to these expellees, and of giving-Scriptural aid towards finding their way in the new situation*

Trie must realize that this population transfer was effected, before the revolutionary change in 1948, by the then prevailing system of President Penes, After the fall of this system and the victory of socialistic forces, these expulsions ceased,

Wa áust also realize that our government has done everything to give shelter, work to the transferred Hungarian population and to insure their future within the borders of thiB country# Yet it is no wonder that this experience of tearing up ancient roots and striking root in a new soil was a painfuj process, But our transferred brethren have already overcome many of their difficulties. What is still lefT of their wounds is their recurring homesickness which must be healed by the comforting word of the Gospel. This ie a service which our Church will still have to render to thoso people*

In order to take our share in this service, we a3ked our Bister Rebecca Balia, a deaconess, an expellee herself, to visit those congragátiona which, after their transfer from Slovakia* were settled in the iransdanubian part of the country* Sister Balia was glad to undertake this task of looking up ner brethren in Christ, many of whom she had already known in Slo— vakia# Her journey took three months. She visited 36 settlements She was welcomed with great joy everywhere. Her bible classes which had been previously announced were visited by great numbers# In many places, people were in tears when saying farewell to her#

The primary purpose of her vieit was to proclaim the Gospel. It turned out that it was a number of profound spiritual problems th£t hid underneath the complaints as to the harsh experience of the population transfer. As a proof of this assertion, one can point to the fact that there were seme relatively well-to-do people among the expellees who became estranged from the church, whereas some of the believing Christians among them, amidst their much less fortunate circumstances, happily and contentedly going after their work*

Many belonging to this latter group are from among the people who were, at one time, exposed to the influences of the so-called "Kiskoszmály movement”. Kiskoszmály was a Hungarian village on the bank of the Garam river with a Reformed congregation that sent powerful spiritual impulses into the life of the Hungarian congregations in Slovakia. Believing Christian men and women from the former Homárom and Bars

Hungarian Church Press