Fraternity-Testvériség, 2002 (80. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2002-10-01 / 4. szám
FRATERNITY Page 5 Holiday Greetings from The Bethlen Home Dear Members and Friends of the HRFA, It is a privilege for me to greet you in the name of our Lord as we enter this wonderful holiday season! The last two months of 2002 bring to the residents and staff of the Bethlen Home and Ligonier Gardens a mixture of sadness and joy. We are sad, because one of the important goals of the year has not been achieved. We had hoped to secure financing and begin construction of the new Bethlen Nursing and Dementia Care Center. Despite heroic efforts on the part of the consultants, the Board of Directors, the staff, and even the residents, financing has still not been granted, and it looks as though construction will be delayed until Spring of 2003. A positive consequence of this delay is the opportunity for the Bethlen Home to concentrate on its Capital Campaign goal of $3,000,000. Since the Capital Campaign was launched in July, it has been embraced by many supporters in very generous ways. To date, a total of nearly $500,000 has been pledged or donated. We hope to be able to triple this amount by June of 2003. Our trust continues to be in the Lord. The Board of Directors senses deeply, that this building project is a part of God’s will for the Bethlen Home. Throughout the planning and preparation, we have felt God’s guiding presence. As we have encountered earlier roadblocks, He has shown us the ways around them. We know that the timetable of events is in His hands, and that “Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). So we are not discouraged; we will continue to move forward. And, we will celebrate and give thanks! During these wonderful seasons of Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, we thank God for the many HRFA supporters and friends of the Bethlen Home, the Ligonier Gardens and the Retirement Community. We thank Him for the nearly 200 residents, who, in one facility or another, are entrusted to our care. We thank God for the nearly 200 exceptional staff members, through whom God’s love is shared as they minister to our residents. We thank Him for the Board of Directors and the many volunteers who dedicate time and energy toward the welfare of our residents and toward the strength of our institution. And most of all, we thank God for His Son, Jesus, and through Jesus, for the forgiveness of our sin and Everlasting Life! The residents, the staff and the Board of Directors join me in asking God to bless and be with all of the HRFA’s members and friends during this holiday season. May the Peace that Christ brings, known especially during this time of year, be carried into your new year of 2003. If you will be remembering the Bethlen Home with a gift at Christmas, we thank you in advance. Unless your donation is otherwise designated, it will be placed in support of the Capital Campaign. A Joyous Thanksgiving and a Blessed Christmas to all! Rev. Imre A. Bertalan Executive Director Péterffy Gyöngyi Mikor a lelkünk meghitt s olyan tiszta, mint a hó fehérje, vagy a jázmin szirma, mikor a terheink végtelenül nagyok, várod a Karácsonyt, várod - várod, nagyon! Mikor a fájdalom keserve a béred, napjaid tengődnek - hív angyali ének, szent sugallattal megtelik a lelked, várod a Karácsonyt, várod a kegyelmet! Karácsonyvárás Mikor már minden, minden ajtó zárva, hiába keresed kulcsodat nem járja - hiába kérdezel - elmarad a válasz, a réseken lassan fénysugara árad! Mikor már beszakad alattad ajég is, te sem tudod hogyan, megtörtént ez mégis, s ha feltámad szívedben a szeretet lángja, megérkezett hozzád a Karácsony fája! Megtalálod hol van az a titkos járat, ahol megbocsátasz a felebarátnak, ahol megszületik benned is a béke Karácsony jött hozzád, a lelked mélyébe! Bethlehem, PA, 1997. dec.2.
