Magyar News, 2003. szeptember-2004. augusztus (14. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-06-01 / 10. szám
In winter time when one gets tired of the cold and the snow - specially if the snow has to be shoveled, and on the map the eye runs south along the coast of the East. That happened to us during this winter and we ended up in Pompano Beach. Splashing around in the water remained more-or-less a dream, but enjoying the walks on the beach in a pleasant temperature - was reality. As we got tired dredging through the sand, we looked for a spot to rest and still enjoy the splashing of the waives. The place we picked didn’t offer cold drinks but there was a lonely local paper left by somebody. For intellectual stimulant I started to look at it. It didn’t offer much, I was ahead of it regarding the news, and the local information for me was foreign matter. Not for long. As I turned a page my eye locked on a word without seeing anything else; the word was: HUNGARIAN. I never miss this! I saw a big size ad taller then half a page and in large letters it read: St. Elizabeth of HUNGARY Catholic School. My fantasy rushed with ideas like Hungarian speaking nuns, chicken paprikas being served followed by the good pastry. My eye didn’t come to a rest immediately because on the opposite page there was the word again. It was a smaller ad and it read: St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church. Well this was too much. I convinced my wife, Claudia, that we have to go and see these two Hungarian religious places. Sunday was just ahead of us, so Claudia said that we will attend Sunday Mass. So we did, but we were a bit late. Not knowing the area and finding out that we have to cross some inner water way made our travel a little longer. We entered the building complex on the side leading us through a hall where prepara-St. Elizabeth statue in the garden Page 6 Sunday Mass at the Church tion were made for a meal. Naturally I immediately phrased it in my head. These are good Hungarians, they are cooking and inviting for lunch. Not wanting to miss the service we just asked for entrance to the church. We entered the church. It was huge. We went around in it behind the pews but couldn’t spot a seat for two of us together. Full house. This was something I am not used to. In Connecticut it is noticeable that the Hungarian population is dwindling down. So is the church attendance. I will let the photos show what I experienced. The congregation is made up of 1500 families. The music for the service is provided by an orchestra. The school since 1959 serves Pre-K to eight grade. They have 30 active ministries. Probably the list could go on and on. Then came the wake-up call. Among all the names that were available I found Italian, French, Spanish and naturally English. No, I didn’t find one Hungarian. When I asked around I received a widen eye, a question on the face, and was asked why would there be a Hungarian. Well at least there was somebody, somebody who gave her name; Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. The miracle that made her a saint happened when she disobeyed and hidden in her cloths she was carrying food for the poor. She was stopped in her way and asked what she was carrying. She uncovered the food that miraculously turned into flowers. My thoughts were twoorling around jumping from one place to the other. On one hand I see Hungarian churches with a token of people, on the other hand I see a big church filled with many other nationality parishioners opening their soul to someone who is Hungarian. God bless them all. Joseph F. Balogh Life size statue of St. Elizabeth inside the building. Bottom: The school building.
