Magyar Egyház, 2000 (79. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

2000 / 2. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

3. oldal

THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EASTERN CLASSIS

The Annual Meeting of the Eastern Classis of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America was held on Sunday, March 15, at the New Brunswick Magyar Reformed Church. Opening devotions were offered by the pastor of the host church, the Rev. Barnabas Roczey on Hebrews 10:19-25. Roll call showed the following present: The Very Rev. Imre Bertalan, Dean, Mr. Balint Balogh, Chief Elder of the Classis, Secretaries Miss Priscilla Hunyady and Rev. Peter Toth, Classis Treasurer, Mr. Andrew C. Lovász. Commissioners to the General Assembly, Mr. Robert Zambo, the Rev. Ambrus Batiz was absent. Members of the Judicial Commission: Rev. Barnabas Roczey, Rev. László Ujj were present. Other members were not in attendance.

Official delegates from the following congregations were acknowledged: Bethlehem Pa. Rev. Ronald Hari and Chief Elder, Mr. Robert Csizma, Carteret, NJ. Mrs. Helen Dodge and substitute pastor. Rev. Huba Nagymate, Linden, NJ. Miss Priscilla Hunyady, New Brunswick, NJ, Rev. Barnabas Roczey and Mr. István Dorko, Perth Amboy, Rev. Stefan M. Torok and Mrs. Priscilla Jenkins, Roebling, NJ. Mr. Allen Birkholz, Trenton, NJ. Rev. László Ujj and Mr. Joseph Jenei, Washington, DC. Rev. Imre Bertalan. Upon the recommendation of the meeting, all elders attending the Assembly were seated as corresponding members.

Greetings were extended by the following: Rt. Rev. Alexander Forro, Bishop. Mr. Stephen Szabó, Chief Elder of the Synod, on behalf of the host congregation by the Rev. Barnabas Roczey and Chief Elder Mr. László Borbas. On behalf of the New York Classis by the Rev. Arpad Drotos.

The first order of business was the reading of the minutes of the 1999 Assembly held in Trenton, NJ, which was accepted by the Assembly.

The meeting continued with the reading of the Dean’s Report, which was distributed to everyone. The Dean’s report also gave opportunities to the official delegates of the congregations to update information on their life. The report of the Dean was accepted with thanks and referred to the proper committee. Mr. Balint Balogh, Chief Elder of the Classis, also presented his report, which was accepted with thanks and referred to the proper committee.

Treasurer of the Classis, Mr. Andrew C. Lovász, gave an accounting of finances of the Classis, which was also accepted with thanks and referred to the proper committee.

The Nominating Committee made the following report:

1. The Committee recommends that the Rt. Rev. Stefan M. Torok, former Dean of the Classis, be honored by the Classis with the title Dean Emeritus. The Assembly unanimously approved the recommendation.

2. The Committee nominated Mr. Joseph Varga to fill the newly created position as Comptroller of the Classis. Recommendation was also unanimously approved.

3. The committee also nominated the Rev. Stephan M. Torok to serve the unexpired term of Classis secretary upon the transfer of the Rev. Peter Toth. Motion was unanimously approved.

The Recommendation Committee reported on the following:

1. That the Annual reports of the Dean, and Chief Elder be accepted with thanks.

2. That the theme of the Dean’s report “Why Should We Belong & Each A Part” be put into practice within the congregations of the Classis. Each church assigning one or two members to serve as coordinators of events who would also act as liaisons to the Dean.

3. That the Classis reestablishes the Christian Education Committee for unifying our religious education. The Committee recommended also Mrs. Judith Vincze-Quinn to be the coordinator of the Committee.

4. That Mr. Charles Olah who attends the New Brunswick Theological Seminary be accepted into the Lay Preachers program of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America.

5. That Fodor Maria Ildikó presented to the Assembly from Hungary be encouraged by the Classis to continue her theological studies.

6. That the Classis encourages each congregation to send representatives to the Annual American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association Conference in Ligonier, PA, during the Labor Day weekend.

7. That the Eastern Classis Elders Association should be reestablished and an Annual Meeting should be held in coordination by the National Presbyter’s Association on the First Sunday of October.

All recommendations were unanimously accepted by the Assembly.

The Finance Committee reported on the following:

1. The Committee recommended that the report of the treasurer be accepted with thanks.

2. That we continue to support the following causes: Magyar Egyház church newspaper, Bethlen Home, and mission projects here and abroad.

The Assembly paused with a memorial service to remember those dedicated pastors and elders who have been called to the eternal home. Memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Stefan M. Torok. One of the last official conduct of the Assembly was