Magyar Egyház, 2005 (84. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-04-01 / 2. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 7. oldal World Alliance leaders moved by resilience of Reformed churches in Hungary, Transylvania Leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) expressed support and encouragement for the suffering experienced by Reformed churches in Hungary and Transylvania during a pastoral visit May 11-16. WARC president Clifton Kirkpatrick and general secretary Setri Nyomi visited member churches in Budapest and Debrecen in Hungary, Oradea and Cluj in Romania and Voivodina in Serbia to hear about their mission and challenges and discuss the Alliance's recent 24th General Council. Throughout the trip they met with church leaders, worshipped in Reformed churches and visited theological institutions. They were accompanied by Duncan Hanson, Europe secretary of the Reformed Church in America, Bertalan Tamás, ecumenical officer of the Reformed Church of Hungary, and Balázs Ódor, a member of the WARC executive. Among the church leaders they met was Bishop Gusztáv Bölcskei, presiding bishop of the Reformed Church of Hungary. "We were deeply moved during this visit by the resilience of the people of Hungary and Transylvania who have been through so much and continue to witness in their communities and maintain their commitment to stand together," said Nyomi. The Alliance leaders were also impressed with the strength of church leaders in Hungary who suffered a great deal at the hands of the former communist regime. Even now, 15 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, many continue to suffer. "We were particularly grateful to see the strong ministry of the Hungarian Reformed minority churches (in Romania, Ukraine and Voivodina) but are deeply concerned that in many cases their rights are not being respected," Kirkpatrick said. "On behalf of WARC it was a privilege to join our voices with theirs in calling on their respective governments to return all properties that rightly belong to the Reformed churches to them and to respect the basic human rights of all the people in these countries." The two WARC leaders said that in Serbia the church in Serbia-Montenegro has been through the Balkan war and the subsequent NATO bombing, both leaving them with many difficulties to overcome. They said the leadership of the churches in the Carpathian basin have, however, taken some good steps toward working together as Reformed churches, facing together a painful past while positioning themselves to face contemporary issues. "We affirm the good work being done in these churches in spite of the challenging circumstances and encourage the churches to avoid yielding to the temptation of seeing other churches as competitors," Nyomi said. The visit culminated in the Pentecost celebration of worship at the Reformed church in Feketic, Voivodina, where Kirkpatrick preached about the breakdown of linguistic barriers that characterized the first Pentecost and offered a model of cooperation for Reformed churches today. WARC is a fellowship of 75 million Reformed Christians in 218 churches in 107 countries. John P. Asling Executive Secretary, Communications World Alliance of Reformed Churches web: www.warc.ch World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release Washington State Woman Allowed to Keep Bible-Referencing License Plate Washington State officials have told a Christian woman she will be able to keep her Biblereferencing automobile license plate, despite a complaint filed against her by another Washington resident. Back in 1984, Jane Milhans placed a vanity plate on her car that read "John 3 16." She has had the plate on all three vehicles she has owned since and has never known of anyone having a problem with it. Recently, she was informed by the Department of Licensing that someone had complained and that the department would be reviewing the plate. The incident became well publicized, however; and after a public outcry, the officials dismissed the complaint. Milhans feels this was the right outcome. "I believe that the separation of church and state does not mean the removal of God from our life," she says, "and I have my right to freedom of speech and religion." The owner of the "John 3 16" vanity plate says she often feels people are intolerant of Christian expressions and "sometimes things get carried a little bit too far." Agape Press 1 ».•'r m i 1 l PRAISE ' LORD' mtu. give , * thanks to the Lord with my1 > »whole heart... Psalm 111:1 l1** * J Mainline Churches No Longer Dominate Mainline Protestant churches no longer dominate a list of the 25 largest American church groups, according to the National Council of Churches' 2005 "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches." Pentecostal and African American churches made significant gains, the yearbook reported, and the Southern Baptist Convention with more than 16 million members and a growth rate of 1.18 percent remains the second-largest denomination in the United States. The data for the report was gathered by churches in 2003 and reported to the yearbook in 2004. The yearbook provides information on 217 national church bodies with 150 million members, including brief church histories and contact information for church leaders, according to an NCC release. Mainline Protestants have increased their mission activity for the first time in a quarter century, the report said, and American Christians are "attempting great things" in missions. Mainline church agencies reported an increase of 600 missionaries over the number reported in 1966, the release said. Of the roughly 6 billion people on earth, about 33 percent consider themselves Christians. Baptist Press
