Magyar Egyház, 1991 (70. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1991-07-01 / 4. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal AMERICAN HUNGARIAN REFORMED REUNITED KIRCHENTAG IN GERMANY PRESBYTERS' ASSOCIATION Now that the summer months are upon us, I wish to remind you again of the 45th annual meeting of the American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association. The meeting will take place on Sunday, September 1 and Monday, September 2 in Ligonier, PA. As in the past years, the Presbyters’ meeting falls on the Labor Day weekend. It has been customary for most families to use this weekend as an occasion for a family re-union. Instead of attending your immediate family picnic or re union, please consider coming to Ligonier and join God’s greater family for the meeting and the picnic Sunday evening. Your family is also invited to attend. The picnic will be provided by the Bethlen Home. At the meeting the delegates will hear reports of our sister churches’ activities and programs which can be helpful in promoting ideas and in a modiifed version could be used at iur home churches. A tentative program is enclosed. Paul J. Szaniszlo, President 45TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE TENTATIVE AGENDA Sunday, September 1, 1991 11:00 AM Worship Service in the Chapel of Mt. Moriah 12:00 Noon Preregistration for Conference 1:00 PM Lunch at the Bethlen Home Registration Call to Order and Opening Devotion Roll Call Secretary’s Report Treasurer’s Report President’s Report Vice Presidents’ Reports Reports from the floor regarding Individual Congregational Activities Break Guest Speaker Question and Answer Period (Guest Speaker’s Topic) 5:30 Youth Conference Report 5:45 PM Bethlen Home Report Appointment of Committees Adjournment until 8:30 AM, Monday Outdoor Picnic at the Bethlen Home Committee Meetings 2:00 PM 2:30 PM 2:45 PM 3:00 PM 3:15 PM 3:30 PM 3:45 PM 4:15 PM 4:25 PM 4:30 PM 5:00 PM 5:55 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM Monday, September 2, 1991 8:30 AM Opening 8:45 AM Miscellaneous Reports II World Conference of Hungarian Reformed Churches 9:00 AM Committee Reports 9:30 AM Open Discussion 10:30 AM Official Closing of Meeting 11:00 AM Divine Worship Service with Holy Communion 1:00 PM Lunch at the Bethlen Home Nearly 125 000 people attended the 24th German Protestant Kirchentag (church festival) from June 5-9. The Kirchentag, whose events were dispersed over four cities in the Ruhr region — Dortmund, Essen, Bochum and Gelsenkirchen -— was the first since reunification of Germany. Between 1963 and 1989. the Berlin Wall prevented Christian from both sides of the divide from holding a common Kirchentag. More than 10 000 people from the former East Germany were present for this year’s event. The Kirchentag was begun in 1949 as an independent Christian lay movement to bring together Christians in Germany to strengthen their faith, equip them for responsibility in their churches, encourage them for witness in the world and create awareness of belonging to a worldwide fellowship of Christians. The majority of those attending the 1991 Kirchentag were young (70 percent under 30) and Protestant (5 percent Catholic). Among them were about 2300 ecumenical guests from 50 countries. The program prepared for them included nearly 3000 different events. 600 with music and song. More than 550 stands in a ’market of opportunities’ offered information about a variety of church and action groups. World Council of Churches General Secreatry Emilio Castro was one of the principal speakers. He said that ‘if the conciliar process for justice, peace and the integrity of creation in Germany was mainly peace-oriented, now East-West “detente” has focused the interest on Europe and the ecological crisis”. But he warned: ‘Don’t forget the conflicts in Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Palestine. The overall theme, ‘God’s Spirit Liberates for Life’, was divided into four sub-themes around which the numerous discusion groups met: ‘responsible economy — for the sake of life’; ‘Germans in Europe — freed for togetherness’; ‘faith and culture — the Spirit takes shape’; ‘successful life — come, healing Spirit’. [EPS] PRESBYTERIANS REJECT PROPOSAL FOR NEW ETHIC ON SEXUALITY After months of controversy and six hours of debate, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) decided the church was not ready to consider changes in its official stance on sexual morality. In an overwhelming vote at its annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland (June 4-12), the 600 commissioners rejected by a vote of 534 to 31 the report of a Special Task Force on Human Sexuality calling for openness toward sexual relationship outside of marriage. They reaffirmed the ‘sanctity of the marital covenant between one man and one woman to be a God-given relationship to be lived in Christian fidelity’. The General Assembly also restated its 13-year official opposition to the ordination of homosexuals. [EPS]
