Magyar Egyház, 1980 (59. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1980-09-01 / 9. szám
MAGYAR egyllAZ 10. oldal American-Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association 34th Annual Conference August 31st and September 1st, 1980 PRESIDENT’S REPORT together and increased our youth group. This together Greetings and welcome to the 34th American-Hungarian Reformed Presbyters Association Annual Conference, greetings to the Clergy in attendance, the Officers of the Presbyters, Members of the Youth Group, Members of the Association, and all Church Members that are with us today. As always, the year slips by us and it makes you wonder when you look back upon it and ask yourself “Have I done enough to further the Presbyters work.” The past year has gone by rapidly and in reflection I find that I was able to make the following visitations to other churches: 1. Sept. 16, 1979, Toledo, Ohio, for the installation and ordination of Rev. Imre Bertalan. 2. Oct. 7, 1979, Church Workers Conference at the Cleveland West Side Church. 3. Fall, 1979, visited our Windsor, Canada, church on 2 occasions. 4. April, 1980, while on vacation attended church services at Lakeland, Florida. This year the theme of our conference is “The role of ourYouth in our Churches Today.” It is a continuation from last year and it will always be with us. From a “Church Membership Study for 1980,” we note the following statistics for children under 14 years of age: Hungarian Reformed Church in America ... 675 Calvin Synod................................................... 1,150 Total................. 1,825 Adult Voting Members ................................. 33,500 From these figures you can readily see that there are 1,825 youth in our 2 denominations that are potentially available for our future. How can we nurture them, and bring them into the fold for our future church work. That is the question we must ask ourselves. The Youth Conference in Ligonier last year in 1979 had 56 in attendance. In 1980 the figure grew to 85. A definite increase, and a big step in the right direction. Not all of the 1,825 are of age and could attend the camp, but I believe that there are 300 to 400 of that group that are of Conference age. Our task is well defined. Have you done your part this past year? At the Allen Park Church, we had 9 youth and 3 adults attend the Youth Camp. While this is not a large number, it was a good representation. It seems that summer jobs kept approximately another 8 from going. Our youth group is very active and their numbers are increasing. The most gratifying thing is that the Toledo Church, Windsor Church, and our church youths seem to be drawing closer together. Reciprocal church visits were made during the year and there is talk that it will be an annual affair. Also, our church bus that went to the youth camp included members from all 3 churches. The Allen Park Church also sponsored for the 2nd year, a Womens Softball team, in a local church league. This has brought a lot of our youth closer ness also increased their attendance at other activities. Other youth activities and projects are being promoted, such as a Men’s Softball Team, Bowling Teams, etc. Not all is fun and games, although this does tend to bind the youth together. On March 30, 1980, Palm Sunday, the Allen Park Youth visited the Plymouth State Home for the mentally retarded at Plymouth, Michigan. The Youth Group made up Easter baskets prior to their visit. They spent the afternoon with them playing games and presented them with the Easter baskets. It was a very rewarding experience. The congregation has also approved obtaining an “Assistant Minister” whose duties would include working with our youth. This position, to date, and even with a great amount of searching in the last two years, has not been filled. I believe that the church youth need our spiritual guidance, financial support, and just support and involvement to show them that we care in order that they grow in number and strength. I wish that I could have visited more churches and become better acquainted with their members. But because of the great distance and work commitments it was almost impossible. Therefore, what I would like to stress and impart with you today is that, if you live within a short distance of a sister church, try to visit with each other, exchange ideas, both adult and youth, and help each other in order to establish good fellowship and Christian love, so that we can keep the ties that bind us together in the love of God, his son, Jesus Christ, and our beloved Hungarian traditions and faith. I have some announcements to make at this time of some upcoming events that I am aware of: 1. September 27th and 28th, Saturday and Sunday, weekend Church Workers Conference at Fairport Harbor, Ohio, Rev. Paul Kantor, Saturday afternoon — Sunday School Presentation by Ethel Molnár from Toledo, Ohio. Workshop in Sunday School Teaching to follow. Sunday afternoon —presentation by myself on Church Leadership. Workshop in Leadership Training to follow. I hope that many of you can attend. 2. May 2, 1981, Annual Youth Conference —Lakeside District—at the Cleveland East Side Church, Rev. Szabo’s church. Edmund Vig, President DEPORTED RUSSIAN MINISTER REPORTS RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION UP IN U.S.S.R. Montreal, Ontario, Canada (RNS) —A Soviet Baptist minister who was deported from his native land for alleged activities against the state says religious persecution has been stepped up in the U.S.S.R. following the invasion of Afghanistan. The Rev. Georgi Vins said persecution has increased “because there is no need for the Soviets to please the West anymore. ” He said activities of the Christian churches are very much curtailed, and believers who practice their faith openly are exiled from their families, lose jobs, and are often imprisoned.
