Missouri Union Presbytery » Hungarian Church Partnership

Missouri Union-Hungarian Partnership Update

VickiSchildmeyer — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:10:15 +0000

Roma children

Hear about MUP 2010 Mission Trip to Hungary and Ukraine

Missouri Union Presbytery’s mission trip to Hungary and Ukraine offered wonderful insights into the work our partners in faith are doing to share the gospel of God’s love. Members visited Reformed Church schools, partner churches, and Roma settlements where the church is actively involved in promoting Christian education. For more pictures visit www.flickr.com/photos/muphungary.

Hungarian Reformed Church-Basic Information

CecilCulverhouse — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:50:09 +0000

The population of Hungary is less than that of the state of Illinois, but the Hungarian Reformed Church has almost as many members as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Some members of the Hungarian Reformed Church live outside the current borders of Hungary, as the denomination extends to territory that was Hungary prior to 1923. There are 9 church districts in the Hungarian Reformed Church, which include 64 sub-districts (similar to our presbyteries.) In 2009 a unified constitution will be presented, hoping to solidify unity among the Reformed Christians in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Transylvania (Romania). Each church district has a bishop ( a minister) and head curator (an elder). The term of office is 6 years; a person may serve 3 terms. Congregations elect commissioners and the districts elect delegates to the General Synod. Bishops and Head Curators are elected there. A new term will begin in 2009.
The partnership of Missouri Union Presbytery is with the Cistibiscan Church District (Tiszaninneni), the northeast quadrant of Hungary. Their bishop is Jozsef Csomos. Tibor Abram is the Head Curator and Hajnalka Domokos is the head of the office staff. David Pandy-Szekeres, a missionary of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, is our primary contact in the Ukraine.
A major focus of Missouri Union Presbytery’s partnership with the HRC district has been the Academy at Sarospatak, founded in 1531, and now consisting of a primary school, a high school and the seminary. Missouri Union Presbytery also has a partnership with the church district in Ukraine. Missouri Union Presbytery congregations have partnered with these Hungarian Reformed congregations:

Coates Street Presbyterian in Moberly is the partner church of Avas Del
First Presbyterian, Fulton helps support churches in Encs and Vizsoy
First Presbyterian in Jefferson City is partnered with Scerencs
Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marshall with Atany
First Presbyterian in Mexico, Missouri, with Avas Church in Miskolc

2008 Mission Trip-Hungary, Ukraine & Romania

CecilCulverhouse — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:53:23 +0000

By Cecil Culverhouse

1. My first impression on returning to Hungary this year was of great activity. Bishop Csomos met us with many of those who work in various areas of church life. I remember when meeting with the bishop was a quiet affair. Bishops attended functions at the churches (such as ordinations), and encouraged the pastors in their work, but very little was happening. Now the office is bustling.
a. A few years ago the Cistibiscan and Debrecen Church Districts bought a radio station, which reaches 80% of the two districts. It provides significant church programming interspersed with commercial programming.

b. The church district has purchased a new conference center that has a current capacity of ninety beds. The district has two major conferences each year, with 1500-2000 attending each. It also has conferences for retired persons, for women, for those responsible for church music, for youth, and other activities.

c. Examples of how the church district continues to strengthen its educational program are:

* The new primary school at Sarospatak continues to add a grade each year, making a complete educational opportunity possible at Sarospatak. The Academy at Sarospatak has a new CEO, Vegh Balozs, who was present for our meeting. He coordinates the work of the various institutions and oversees finances.

* A special primary school for arts is opening in the town of Goncs.
* A University Chaplain is functioning at the University in Miskolc.
d. The church district is engaged in a mission to the Roma or gypsies. A young woman minister, Anita Borghasi is in charge. They intend for this ministry to be congregationally based and five small ministries are functioning.

e. Other ministries continue to function. For instance, the Maon Center for mentally handicapped adults is at capacity. It has twenty full-time residents, and others come for the day. It is a happy place full of activities.
* This year the district has a social worker on staff to organize help for the needy throughout the district.
* There is a new church development at Avas Estates.

* A youth center begun by Sandor Szabo is next to the church offices and is functioning well.

It is hard to describe the difference a few years have made in the work of the church district. For many years the church could do very little while living under the restraint of a hostile government. Once freedom came, it has taken time for the church leadership to have the vision and skills to move forward. Now it is flourishing.

2. My second impression is that congregations are alive and growing. An example is the Avas Del Church new church development in the Avas Estates District in Miskolc. This district consists of Soviet block apartments housing 40,000 people; it reminds me of the now demolished Pruitt-Igo housing in St. Louis. The church does not yet have a building; it meets in a Jesuit high school. It started with 20 people, and grew by knocking on doors. It now has 120 members, with two services each Sunday and about 120 in attendance at each. The young pastor is Andras Dande. His wife is also a minister. The church is partnered with Coates Street Presbyterian in Moberly.
The Encs church started in 1994 in a town that had no Reformed Church. It began with 100 members and now has 500 and a beautiful building. They have about ten young people confirmed each year. Marie Balsky is pastor, and the church is partnered with the Fulton Church.
The Vizsoly Church (also a partner with the Fulton Church) has been mainly a museum. It is where the first Bible was printed in Hungarian in 1590. The pastor was essentially curator of the museum, because there were very few members. This time, however, we found the church bustling with activity. They are engaged in two building or renovation projects: a youth center and a guest house.

The church at Kalosca in southern Hungary is pastored by Janos Hunyadi, who spent several weeks in our Presbytery when he was a student. His wife, Emoke Petri is also a pastor. She spent a year at Eden Seminary in St. Louis. The town of Kalosca is about 18,000, heavily Roman Catholic. It is a mission congregation. In the five years they have been there, the membership has increased from 140 to 272. There is a baptism almost every Sunday. An adult confirmation class that lasts eight months produces 8-10 professions of faith each time it is held. The congregation has many activities. Janos preaches at two other villages as well as in Kalosca, and Emoke teaches religion in the schools.

3. The third impression I had on this trip was how desperately needy Ukraine is. David Pandy is working hard (more hours than any of us could take) trying to help the church there. Some things are hopeful. The church at Nagydobrony was full of worshippers. The gypsy church was lively. The gypsy school is functioning. A new home for the elderly has been built, and the children’s home is still doing well. The school at Nagybereg continues to function, and the school at Tivalafalva is flourishing. However, the gypsy school in Nagydobrony has problems, and it is going to concentrate on Kindergarten and first grade.
The school at Nagybereg may lose space for its girls’ dormitory, which was leased from the town, and some doctors want to make it a hospital again. Beregszasz is full of beggars, and largely ignores its large gypsy population. The government is corrupt and uncaring. Unemployment is very high (80%). The church is poor, and lacks good administrative leadership. It is a sad and desperate situation.

4. We saw a good bit of the church in Romania, but did not have the time or ability to assess the situation well. The seminary in Kolosvar seems to be doing well, and we saw some flourishing congregations, but many of the churches are little more than museum pieces, with two or three members left to care for a large and historic building. An effort to force integration of the Hungarian population into Romanian society was begun some years ago, and continues. Many of the Hungarian communities have been scattered, which, of course, affects the church.

5. We were able to see many long-time friends: Bishop Csomos, Hoijni and Zoltan Domolos and their children, Sandor and Elizabeth Szabo, Gabriella Rackosi, Istvan Gyori, Daniel Szabo, Denes Dienes, former Bishop Kurti and his family, former Bishop Horkay, and others.

6. I was impressed at the evidence of the partnership with Missouri Union Presbytery: at Miskolc which partners with the Moberly Church and Avas Del; at the Roma (gypsy) ministry with the renovated apartment for a minister to the gypsies; at Encs which partners with the Fulton Church, and at Vizsoly with its partnership with the Fulton Church, and at Scerencs with its partnership with the Jefferson City Church; at Sarospatak with the house given for Daniel Szabo in his retirement, the dormitory we bought, the library repair and the many books we provided, the scholarships for seminary students, the fence around the new elementary school, and the published class lectures of the professors; in the Ukraine the gypsy school at Nagydobrony, a dorm for the students at the Secondary school, the food for the students, the heating system for the Secondary school, the dorm at Tivadarfalva, the renovated house for two teachers at Tivadarfalva. We have been and remain deeply engaged in the work of the Hungarian Reformed Church in that area.

Hungarian Mission Update

CecilCulverhouse — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:59:45 +0000

MUP Hungarian Church Mission Team met Sat, May 2, 2009 and approved an additional $7,190 toward a matching grant for mission schools of Hungarian Churches in Ukraine. So far in 2009, the HRC Mission Team has sent $13,016.59 to Hungarian Church Partners (of this, over $8,700 was doubled by the matching grant). Please pray for Mission Partners in the Reformed Church in Hungary and Ukraine. The hardship caused by the worldwide economic recession is especially difficult for the mission churches and schools in Ukraine. Two schools operated by the Hungarian Reformed Church to teach and spread the Gospel, have not been able to pay their gas bills. Gas service at one school was actually cut off for a time. School leaders have been able to restore utilities by asking parents to pre-pay May fees. Families, already struggling with a depressed economy, are hard-pressed to pay the fees so their children can study in a Christian setting. Please especially pray that God will continue to provide for the needs of these children and their families in Ukraine, which is experiencing hyper-inflation, severe unemployment and continuing political turmoil.

2007 Visit to Hungarian & Ukrainian Churches

VickiSchildmeyer — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:06:52 +0000

The most recent visit to Hungarian Reformed Churches by a group from churches in Missouri Union Presbytery was in August 2007. Those participating returned enthused about this long-standing relationship of shared ministry with fellow disciples.

Those participating in this mission trip included Bedford and Kathryn Knipschild (Covenant – Marshall), Dr. and Mrs. Robert Bullock (First – Fulton), Russell Greenhaugen, Karen Larvik, Dick Caplinger, Kent Burson, and Cecil Culverhouse (First – Jefferson City).

Partner Churches Sought

VickiSchildmeyer — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:15:47 +0000

During August 2007, representatives from Missouri Union Presbytery visited Partner churches in the Cistibiscan Church District (synod) of the Hungarian Reformed Church. Other Hungarian congregations wish to form partnership relationships with churches in the Presbytery of Missouri Union. Consider this ministry opportunity for your congregation. For more information, please contact Rev. Robert Bailey at bobannell@embarqmail.com or (573)634-8660.

Partnerships are open-ended commitments; each relationship develops in a unique way. Your communication to a partner church may be carried out via email, exchange visits or regular mail, but the personal connection with other Christians is a meaningful, mutual blessing. As we hear and learn from other believers, especially those whose faith was forged under official repression, we're challenged to evaluate our own commitment. As Hungarian Christians continue to emerge from a controlled society to witness to God's kingdom in a materiastic, post-modern world, we can share and follow Christ together.

Those visiting included Bedford and Kathryn Knipschild (Covenant – Marshall), Dr. and Mrs. Robert Bullock (First – Fulton), Russell Greenhaugen, Karen Larvik, Dick Caplinger, Kent Burson, and Cecil Culverhouse (First – Jefferson City).