Magyar Egyház, 1967 (46. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1967-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 At the springtime of the Reformation the tree of Christian diakonia also blossoms forth and then ripens the sweet fruits of manifold ministrations. Our first congregations take up with love the care of the poor and needy, helping them both as communities and individuals and thus, bearing one another’s burdens, they fulfill the law of Christ. They perform the pure and unblemished liturgy: the care for the widows and orphans, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers. They give their love undiscriminately, they lay their table for the strangers1 and share their bread with them. This unselfish love becomes, so to speak, the habitual attitude of the Hungarian Reformed Christian, so that centuries later, the Reformed poet, János Arany, in a poem of unmatched beauty, is inspired by the Biblical scene of a poor peasant family welcoming the tired stranger and receiving him into the fellowship of genuine hospitality. Then our Reformed Church becomes active in the development of Hungarian culture. In the plain schools attached to the manses the little children of feudal tenants learn the art of reading and writing. Then, very soon, secondary and even higher schools also come into being. And when we, at this extraordinary synod, tell you of our four centuries old Debrecen College that this school has been one of the useful instruments in developing Hungarian culture, then this is not boasting but thanksgiving in the Reformed way for the opportunities for service. The eternal way of the church engaged in service leads from Jerusalem to Jericho, just as that of the unforgettable good Samaritan. This is a narrow mountain road which calls for vigilant attention to the unexpected yet foreordained opportunities of variegated ministry. Alas, we are today at dangerous curves. In the deep ravines — in many places, war trenches, -— we see not a single wounded victim, as in the parable, but tens of thousands calling for our help. And many of them die before human compassion reaches them. We cannot preach the word to the dead, neither can our diakonia help them. But let us save those who are still alive! In the process of an identical interpretation of our responsibility, this imperative has now become the command of ecumenical unity, and the protest against war has become the ethical witness of the churches. Dangers had yet been showering upon the Jericho road, but the Samaritan faced the dangers, unselfishly, for the sake of the wounded man, his neighbour. Before your closed eyes you see the Christ of the Cross who sacrificed His life in carrying out the mission of peacemaking. Our text refers to an important phase of a purposeful activity. The woman takes the leaven, mixes it with the flour till all is leavened. Our celebration today reminds us of the decision of our fathers to adopt the Second Helvetic Confession and thereby to express that they had accepted the heavenly leaven. Yet neither the flour is for its own sake, nor the leaven, but both are to become bread by the industry of the woman. Bread, that is. life and blessing. Praise be unto God for the blessed one bread that has come into being from the three measures of meal, for the Hungarian Reformed Church, for the communion of saints, for the inspiring life of the exemplary fathers, for their fulfilled mission. And let us pray again, with confident faith, for the eternally new leaven of the Holy Spirit in order to perform the new ministry of our times! ENCYCLICAL ON CELIBACY DRAWS CRITICAL RESPONSE (The Hague/Tiibingen/Washington) — Pope Paul’s encyclical on celibacy has brought strongly worded responses from several quarters. The 16.000-member Union of Catholic Students in the Netherlands issued a statement which said, “We cannot find the message of Christ in the papal encyclical even though it contains quotations from the Gospel.” Celibacy, said the student group, is no longer a point in question for youth, “and the Pope cannot change this . . . certainly not when his contribution is built on presupposition.” Prof. Hans Kiing, Roman Catholic Theologian who lectures at the Theological Faculty of Tiibingen University, stated: “There will be no peace on this point in the Catholic Church until celibacy is left to the voluntary decision of the individual, as it origanilly was. This means rescinding certain church legislation which was introduced under very problematic circumstances.” Originally, he said, celibacy applied only to monastic orders. And the view is growing within the church that insistence on celibacy is “a radical interference with the rights of personality.” He advocated turning the question over to the new Synod of Bishops. LIGONIER CONFERENCES Magyar Egyház extends its greetings to the participants of the Elders’ and Ministers’ Conferences meeting in Bethlen Home, Ligonier, Pa., September 3-6. One of the main topics will be the discussion of the Instruction issued by the General Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary. John Nemesnyik, Passaic, N. J. will preside over the Elders’ meeting; Dr. Andrew Harsanyi over the Ministers’ Conference. May all have the mind which was in the Lord Jesus Christ. NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATIONS BETHLEHEM Pastor Kálmán Göndöcz was guest of honor at a dinner on June 11th sponsored by the Women’s Guild to mark the 20th anniversary of his ordination. The ladies presented the pastor with a robe during the thanksgiving service. The following ministers were present: Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, Gábor Csordás, István Kovács, Dezső Ábrahám, Ferenc Vitéz, Dr. Miklós Nyáry, László Hunyady, Barna Rőczey, Ed. H. Frey, Dénes Tamás. Among the many guests was John Nemish, chief elder of the Eastern Classis. The main speaker of the banquet was the Rev. Ferenc Vitéz, a former classmate of Rev. Göndöcz. CARTERET 180 persons1 gathered around the Lord’s Table on Whitsunday; a number neither too high, nor too low. On Children’s Day, however, a high percentage of the children received attendance awards and perfect attendance certificates. Vacation Bible School had a registration of 30 and was held for two weeks beginning July 5. Teachers and assistants included Miss Margie Summer School Class in Carteret.