Magyar Egyház, 1997 (76. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1997 / 3. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal h. Bishop Chairman, the present Bishop and the Right Reverend Stefan M. Torok, who was substituting for Rev. Imre Bertalan Committee member. The Reverend László Ujj, future supply pastor for the Trenton Church, had successfully passed the examination of the Committee. May I add here, as I did last year, that the Bishop being the Pastor of three congregations: Poughkeepsie, Peekskill and Roseton, including the above, had participated in more than 62 meetings in the past year. (Church Council, Women’s Guild, Dutchess County Clergy Association, Chamber of Commerce and others.) 21. The Bishop attended the meetings of the Hungarian Reformed Ministers Association - Eastern Division, - on July 1st, October 7th, December 9th, February 3rd, March 3rd, April 7th and May 5th. I conclude my report with the words of the Master: “The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.” (Luke 17:9-10) I respectfully submit my report to the honorable Council. Alexander Forro, Bishop. NYÁRI GYERMEKTÁBOR KANADÁBAN Szokásunkhoz híven, ezen a nyáron is megrendeztük gyermekeink számára a Kanadai Magyar Református Egyesület nyaralóiskola táborát. A Haliburton fennsíkon fekvő gyönyörű helyet a United Church-től béreltük július első heteiben. 67 gyermek vett részt a nagy élményben, ahol két héten át—a 4-5 csak angolul tudó gyermeken kívül— magyar nyelven folyt a játék és a tanulás. A magyarul nem beszélő fiatalok természetesen angol nyelvű foglalkozásokon vettek részt. Köszönet a tábor vezetőinek: Vass Zoltán, Szabó Péter, Burián Erzsébet és Mező Pál lelkipásztoroknak. AMERICAN HUNGARIAN REFORMED PRESBYTERS’ ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE - LIGONIER, PENNSYLVANIA Once again, the Annual Conference of the American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association held over the Labor Day weekend in Ligonier, Pennsylvania generated enthusiastic dialogue focused on the future of our churches. The agenda provided opportunities for our fellow presbyters and elders from the United States and Canada to worship our Lord together, to hear reports from the churches and regional vice-presidents on activities and progress and to attend workshops and participate in discussions regarding challenges the Hungarian Reformed and Presbyterian Churches face as we move into the 21st Century. The featured guest speaker on Monday morning, was the Reverend Maria Papp, from Wellend, Ontario. She presented an interesting discussion on the History of Hungarian Canadians based on her recently published book, To the Canadian Hungarians.. . The Story of Your People. This year, as we did last year, we spent Sunday afternoon in workshops focused on the work of the 21st Century Committee, and the issues and challenges that our Hungarian Reformed Churches face as prepare for the 21st Century. As a result of the discussions in the 21st Century workshops, lists of strategies were created and grouped into two primary themes: STRATEGIES FOR INCREASED GENERAL MEMBERSHIP * Be friendly to longtime members, new, young and old . * Restore dignity to services by segregating social and financial announcements. * Speak positively about all aspects of your church. * Provide designated greeters at the doors, greet everyone and each other as part of the service. * Get everyone involved. * Visitations: pastor, lay and regular members, community and persons with Hungarian background, people who attend church functions regularly but are not members, institute Christmas carolling as in the past. * In all visitations, listen to people’s needs. STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN CHURCH LIFE Short Term (having immediate potential): * Get youth involved early (special age groups) * Youth Sundays in church * Use as ushers and for collections * “Love them to church”
