Magyar Egyház, 1966 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1966-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 How many times have you been in church? You think you can take a vacation from God, too? Ung county in Hungary flowered into maturity in the heart of Kálmán Helmeczi’s second son; he heard God’s calling voice and started to follow his Lord. The second happy parent is the Duquesne Church. There must have been a wonderful church life here, a harmonious life of pastor and people to have made it desirable for this young man to go into the ministry. How blessed is such a congregation! The rite of ordination, the banquet and the guests who were present, made it a wonderful day of joy and friendship. They honored themselves and brought respect to the Hungarian Reformed name when they presented this young minister with his robe. Then, too, as a third happy parent, there was the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, the spiritual mother. How gratifying it was for her that — though the ordained young minister completed his theological studies at the seminary of the United Church of Christ in Lancaster, and has already been elected as pastor of one of their congregation — yet, he requsted that his ordination be held in his home church. We ordained the young minister according to the beautiful custom of our ancestors. We have poured the wine of our 400 year old Hungarian faith into the golden chalice of our tradition. This blessed tradition made the solemn occasion all the more beautiful. Could it have been for the fact that we were ordaining our dear, smiling and lovable Lester Helmeczi? . . . Not really. The representatives of his future congregation found it that way too, they honestly confessed that they never had seen a more heartwarming service than this Hungarian Reformed rite of ordination. Andrew Sapos, chief elder of the host church spoke at the banquet and presented to Lester Helmeczi a gift from the church. The Rev. Julius Paál bore witness to the fact that the new minister will bring a special flavor and value into his new congregation, the hallowed faith of the 400 year old Hungarian Reformed history. The Rev. Louis Illés greeted the ordained minister in the name of the host church. The Rev. Alexander Babos offered grace at the banquet. The ordination itself became more memorable because of the contribution of the choir and the solo by Paul Shigo. The people of the area turned out in great numbers. Lester, thank you, that you have confessed openly that you were born a Hungarian Reformed, and that you have started on your ministerial career with the prayer of your spiritual mother. We are very proud of you. God bless you in your wonderful service, and we pray, be our ambassador in your great denomination . . . Bishop Louis Nagy Charles A. Daroczy: THE CRISIS IN MINISTERIAL RECRUITMENT The religious revival of the postwar era has now ground to a stop. Denominational statistics have finally begun to catch up to the tragic fact that suburban membership gains have more than been offset by losses in the cities. Even suburban congregations now record fewer baptisms (due largely to the drop in the national birth rate) and, what is more alarming, far fewer new members from among the adult population. Behind these figures there is the basic change that is taking place throughout the entire world. The churches are losing their appeal to the modern mind. Witness recent bestsellers, The Death of God, The Secular City and a host of others. These authors are more to be praised than criticized. They recognize that the changes which are taking place must be recognized and understood for what they really are; the rapid growth of secularism. The churches face a particularly difficult problem in the area of recruiting new ministers. Ministerial salaries have not kept pace with the rapid rise in the cost of living. As a matter of fact, in terms of constant dollars, the average ministerial salary has fallen nearly 20% in the past ten years alone. At the same time the growth of related fields, such as education, has provided employment opportunities for thousands of young men who formerly would have considered the ministry as a vocational choice. In the June 25 issue of America, the Jesuit weekly, the Rev. Robert E. McNally notes that the time is not distant when in the Roman Catholic Church the priesthood will almost completely disappear. He notes that, “in the choice between the religious and the secular, the latter is winning.” Father McNally further comments on the failure of the Church to appeal to youth and its apparent irrelevance to modern life. The crisis in ministerial recruitment is a particularly tragic one in the bilingual churches. For many years the Hungarian Reformed Church, for example, was served by ministers of high caliber. Who will replace them in the future? If the signs of the times can be interpreted correctly, they may be the last generation of topflight clergy to serve their people. Our first task should be to make the ministry appealing to young men. Low salaries combined with lay indifference make today’s youth leave the ministry out of consideration when they plan their careers. Even more important, however, is a recovery of the evangelistic purpose of the church. Youth does respond to challenge, witness the success of the Peace Corps of our time. The church must set higher standards than ever before. The church must give its clergy more than Advisory Authority in the administration of parish programs. But most important of all, the people of the congregations must recognize that it is THEIR sons who should make up the ranks of tomorrow’s ministry. Unless they respond, the words of the Rev. McNally may well apply to all of us. Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.
