Magyar Egyház, 1991 (70. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1991-03-01 / 2. szám
2. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING The Hungarian Reformed Church in America General Assembly was called together by Bishop Dr. Andrew Harsanyi on Saturday, April 13th at the Magyar Reformed Church of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Delegates have been arriving from every corner of this great land the day before. The General Assembly began its work at 9:00 a.m., with the Opening Devotions of Dr. Andrew Harsanyi Bishop, reading from the Book of Psalms. The spiritual preparation continued with the singing of praises to Almighty God, and by prayer asking for His blessed presence with us. Following the Official Roll Call by the secretary, Bishop Harsanyi declared the meeting duly constituted. The Assembly has accepted the prepared Agenda, according to which the meeting proceeded with the reading of the minutes from the last assembly held in 1986 — read by the secretary Alexander Forro. In the next minutes the Assembly heard the Report of the Bishop, Dr. Harsanyi. In the next few lines I would like to give free translation from his report: “giving an account on the manifold duties of the Bishop, I would like to report that to the best of my ability, I tried to fulfill all that was required of me. I have upheld the By-Laws of the Church, and seen to it that its articles were held in high esteem. I tried to be friendly with all the pastors serving our congregations, as well as with the elected leadership of each congregation. Four years ago I have accepted the Office of Bishop after much trials and tribulations within our ranks, once these have been settled. In the 1986 election I was selected unanimously by the congregations, the one vote against me was more so out of misunderstanding, then a true vote against my person. In accepting the Office, I have stated, that I accept the position only if in my manifold travels both inside and outside this country, I would be able to have my wife beside me. I would also like to note that neither my nor her travel expenses came from the denominational treasury, since I have received donations to cover these from outside sources namely through my son. I have not accepted any honorarium as Bishop. In the day to day running of the office my only assistant was my wife, who has done all this out of her heart without any compensation.” The assembly expressed deep gratitude both to Dr. Harsanyi and his wife for their unselfish service. Following the Bishop’s report Mr. Anthony C. Beke, Chief-Elder offered his report to the Assembly. Mr. Beke expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the good of the synod. Among other things, he reported of his manifold services and visits in almost all of our congregations. In his final remarks he said: “I hope I wasn’t a stumbling block, but a stepping stone in my service to the whole of the church. He also said that he actively did not seek reelection, and that he is not bitter in the new selection of a Chief-Elder. He also promised that if at any time, his help may be needed, he would be more than happy to offer his services. He expressed his congratulations to the newly elected Chief-Elder Mr. Stephen Szabó. The assembly has accepted the report of the Chief-Elder with deepest thanks. The General Assembly graciously accepted the opportunity to greet among its members the Rt. Rev. Kalman Csiha, Bishop of the Erdély Synod from Transylvania. The assembly welcomed him with joy, and also provided him with the opportunity to address the Meeting. Bishop Csiha expressed his personal greeting and the greeting of the Reformed people in Erdély to the assembly. In his deeply moving recounting of the events in Erdély, and the newly found freedom, he requested assistance toward the building of a new Reformed College and guardianship by the American Hungarian Congregations to the countless orphaned children in Erdély. While we applaud his leadership and his commitment to the cause of Christ and to his people, we are unable to relay all information in this report, therefore, in the next issue of the Magyar Church, we shall bring further information on the above subjects. Following a short lunch break the meeting continued with the greetings from the various guests. First among them was Dr. Imre Bertalan, president of the Hungarian Reformed Federation, followed by Rev. Paul Kovács, director of the Bethlen Home in Ligonier, Pa. and Rev. Dr. Francis Vitéz who expressed his greeting in behalf of the Calvin Synod UCC Eastern Classis. The assembly has expressed a special welcome to Rev. Attila Komlos being with us from Hungary, in behalf of the Hungarian World Alliance. The assembly requested him to speak to us on the fast changing circumstances in Hungary and of the up-coming world meeting of the Alliance in 1992. Special reports were offered on the following subjects: On our association with the Mother Church of Hungary and other Hungarian Reformed Churches outside the borders of Hungary and throughout the world, on the continued cooperation toward unity between the Hungarian Reformed Churches in the United States especially with the Calvin Synod UCC on the need of Sunday School material in the Felvidék, Czechoslovak Reformed Church, the newly opened church schools in Hungary. Report was offered on the official church publication the “Magyar Chrch.” In the remaining time the appointed committees made their report to the assembly. Due to the fact that all recommendations will be mailed out to the congregations, I will not list them individually. The assembly continued with the report of the nominating committee. The general election was held by the Congregations in the preceeding months and their results have been reported: The Hungarian Reformed Church in America has elected Dr. Andrew Harsanyi as Bishop for the next four year term. Mr. Stephen Szabó was elected Chief-Elder of the Synod. Other officers were to he elected by the assembly. The assembly unanimously elected the Rev. Pal Mezo as Ecclesiastical Secretary,Toronto; Mr. Zoltán Ambrus, Lay Secretary from Allen Park, Mich.; Miss Priscilla Hunyady as Treasurer from Linden, NJ. The elected officers took their oath in the Church. The Oath of Office for Dr. Andrew Harsanyi was administered by the Rev. D. Dezső Abraham, Bishop Emeritus, all other officers’ oath was administered by Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, Bishop. The assembly meeting was concluded in the late evening hour. Truly it was a time of good fellowship and spiritual soul-searching for all of us. The meeting was closed with the Benediction of Dr. Andrew Harsanyi. The host congregation at the conclusion of the meeting extended an invitation for a fellowship evening supper. SMT
