Magyar Református Egyház

…..The annual meeting of the District Conference of Presbyters & Church Workers will be held at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Fairport Harbor, 607 Plum Street, Fairport Harbor, OH on Saturday, August 7, 2010 in the Fellowship Hall.  It begins at 12 noon with a luncheon (cost   $8.00) and continues until 6 PM.  Our guest speaker will be:  Rev. Imre Bertalan, director of the Bethlen Communities in Ligonier, PA.  The topic of his presentation will be:  “Revitalizing Our Churches, Part II” (Membership, Retention, Visitation, Church Growth, The Role of the Consistory and Congregation Members).  The meeting is open to all members of any congregation – youth to elder.  Please call (440) 357-5203 (church) with reservations by AUGUST 4, 2010.

Rev. Frank Juhasz Shepherd (on the left) with a group of youth standing in front of the pulpit at our church, the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Los Angeles.

Dear Friends in Christ,

After 55 years of Christian ministry the Rev. Frank Juhasz Shepherd was taken by our Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter God. Frank was ordained by the Presbyterian Church, he was affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the Western Reserve Association, and our Calvin Synod Conference.

The last years he preached the Gospel at the East Side Hungarian Lutheran Church of Cleveland, OH, and he was always available for pulpit supply in our Cleveland vicinity Hungarian Reformed Churches.

He was a musician, composer, he had education in psychology, and counseling.

In 1956 he was working for the Hungarian Refugee program in California.

Frank’s funeral service will be at the West Side Hungarian Reforned Church of Cleveland, OH at 11:30 am on Friday, July 30, 2010.

In the services of Christ:

Peter L. Toth
Lorain, OH

Read Rt. Rev. Dr. Butosi’s testimony “From Folk Religion to Christian Faith”

SHELTON (07/13/2010) — The Rev. Dr. John Butosi, pastor emeritus of the United Church of Christ of Bridgeport and bishop emeritus of the UCC’s Calvin Synod, died on July 12, 2010. He was 90.

Born on Dec. 18, 1919, in Nyírgyulaj, Hungary, to the late Michael and Elizabeth Becsei Butosi, he received his bachelor of arts degree from the Hungarian Royal Kossuth State Realgimnazium of Cegled in 1939. He began studying theology at the Tisza Istvan University in Debrecen, but was ordered into the Hungarian army when World War II erupted in Europe.

Somehow, he managed to complete his bachelor of divinity degree in 1943. Following the American liberation and end of the war, he received his master of divinity degree and certificate of ministerial qualification in 1946.

He arrived in America in 1947, studying at both the Austin Presbyterian Seminary in Texas and the Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, from which he received a master of theology degree in 1949. Though he intended to return to his home, he was denied re-entry by the communist Hungarian government, and remained in the United States. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1950s.

In 1953, while living in Indiana, he met and married Lorraine Nickel. The couple had two daughters.

Dr. Butosi was later able to return to Hungary in 1989, where he taught and chaired for eight years in the Missiology Department of his alma mater, Debrecen University, which awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

After serving Hungarian Reformed churches in Hammond, Indiana, and McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Rev. Butosi came to Norwalk, where he was pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Norwalk from 1960 to 1976. He came to the United Church of Christ of Bridgeport in 1976, and served there until his retirement in 1989.

He led the Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ, a non-geographical conference comprised primarily of Hungarian Reformed congregations, as secretary, deputy bishop, president for four years, bishop for eight years, and bishop emeritus.

In addition to his pastoral service, Rev. Butosi’s leadership was widely sought in the ecumenical community. He was the first president of the Hungarian Reformed World Federation, served on the executive councils of the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Rev. Butosi authored several books, mostly in Hungarian. He contributed the section on the Calvin Synod to Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ, edited by Barbara Brown Zikmund. His autobiography, Praise the Lord, O My Soul, was published in English in 2007.

He is survived by his daughter, Ann Elizabeth Ballas and her husband, James, of Shelton; his grandchildren, Matthew and Erica Ballas; and several nieces and nephews in Hungary. He was predeceased by his wife, Lorraine; his daughter, Sarah Joan Lynch; his brothers, Steve, Mihaly, and Michael; and sisters, Julie, Elizabeth, and Gisella, all of Hungary.

A service in celebration of Dr. Butosi’s life and ministry will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, July 17, at United Church of Christ of Bridgeport, North and Laurel Avenues in Bridgeport. The Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, bishop emeritus of the Calvin Synod, will officiate. Calling hours will take place on Friday, July 16, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm in the Lesko and Polke Funeral Home, 1209 Post Rd., in Fairfield.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the United Church of Christ, 963 Laurel Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06604; or to the John Butosi Memorial Mission Fund, c/o Calvin Synod, treasurer, 1836 Timothy Dr., West Mifflin, PA 15122.

Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig
General Secretary Calvin Synod

Other photos from the life and career of Rt. Rev. John Butosi…

The Sacrament of Responsibility by M. F. Sadler is a discussion on Infant Baptism according to the Book of Common Prayer. England’s Prayer Book had many links to the Continental Reformation. Bucer of Strasbourg helped Cranmer edit it. Peter Martyr Vermigli’s hand is found in the liturgy of Holy Communion which shares the same general outline as the Hungarian Reformed service of Word and Holy Commmunion.

The doctrine of infant baptism in the Book of Common prayer is easily misunderstood by Baptists and even other “Reformed” people as teaching something “Roman Catholic”.

Sadler’s book is an exposition of the early Reformation doctrine of infant baptism. This doctrine is not unique though to the English. When compared to the doctrine of baptism connected with the church that gave us the Heidelberg Catechism, we can see the two are quite similar when we compare Sadler’s teaching to this baptismal liturgy of the Canadian and American Reformed Church. This liturgy is a direct “descendant” of the liturgy published by the Palatinate Church (which gave us the Heidelberg Catechism) in the time around 1563.

It may prove quite helpful for modern Reformed people to consult in order to explain their practice of infant baptism.

The English translation of “The Elders Handbook” is now available. It is a worthy treatise on the duty of the Reformed “Elder” or “Presbyter”.

If, for some reason it is not visible below, please visit it at this link: The Elders Handbook

Elders Handbook

MEGHIVÓ!

Szeretettel hívjuk testvéreinket és barátainkat, valamint Chicago és környéke magyarságát a Norridge-i Magyar Református Egyház immár hagyományos Apák Napi Piknikjére, amelyet június 13-án, vasárnap délben 12:30-t?l kezd?d?en, az Istentisztelet után tartunk az imaházunk kertjében.

A pikniken finom szabadban készült magyaros ételek lesznek kaphatóak. Különleges élmény lesz a szabadban készített Kürt?s kalács! Üdít? italok és sör várja a közönséget.

A nap folyamán zene és néptánc szórakoztatja a kedves vendégeket, játékok nemcsak gyerekeknek, egyszóval a szórakozás biztosítva lesz kicsiknek, nagyoknak, vagyis az egész családnak.
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Norridge-i Magyar Református Egyház
8260 W. Foster Ave. Norridge, IL, 60706.

Lelkész: Trufán Áron 630 – 201 – 3916

Mindenkit szeretettel várunk!

INVITATION

You and Your friends are cordially invited by Norridge United Church of Christ (8260 w. Foster ave, Norridge, IL) on June 13th at 12:30 P.M. to our annual FATHER’S DAY PICNIC.

We offer pleasant music, great tasting food and fun games, not only for children. Let’s spend this day together, forget our everyday problems and celebrate the Fathers.

Norridge United Church of Christ
8260 w Foster Ave.NorridgeIL60706

Minister: Aron Trufan 630-201-3916.

The 64th. Annual Conference of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyter’s Association will be held at the Bethlen Communities Conference Room in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 28th. and Sunday, August 29th. All members of the Consistory, Presbyter or Church Council, their families and guests are cordially invited to attend.

The Theme this year is the Past, Present and Future of The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association. As my final year as President of the Association I would like us to visit our beginning in September 1946 to the present. To help us with this Theme will be the abbreviated minutes from 1946 thru 1996 that were compiled by the late past President Mr. Paul J. Szaniszlo. I will be asking and contacting past leaders and members to speak on these early meetings. We will also be discussing “On Being A Hungarian Reformed Christian” written in 1982. This will be your meeting. The Ministerial Association plans to join us.

A tentative agenda will be mailed after July 4th. Also enclosed will be a list of motels in the Ligonier area and other important information.

I am looking forward to seeing representatives from all of the various churches at this year’s conference. Please remember to pay your assessment, to the Treasure in advance or at the meeting.

Wishing each of you a safe and Happy Summer.

If you have any questions, please call me at 724-285-8851 or email me at warajr@embarqmail.com

Yours in Christ
Wilburn A. Roby Jr., AHRPA President
264 Old Plank Road
Butler, Pa. 16002-3810

Here’s video and more information from Norridge IL 2009 Gulyás Festival

Rev. George Van Popta of the Canadian American Reformed Church recently brought to light the Genevan Psalm Lectionary (in French) in his posting “Singing Through The Psalter”

He notes:

After the Genevan Psalter was complete, in 1562, the Geneva Church would sing through the whole Psalter twice per year during its three weekly services.

It is interesting to note that not all the songs had to “fit” homiletically according to the text or topic of the sermon; there were other considerations. Here the very large consideration was that the Psalter be sung through
regularly.

Notice also that whole Psalms were sung through except, of course, the very long Psalms.

Here is an English version to download:

Genevan Psalter Lectionary in English (PDF)

Here is the lectionary in French.

What is the history of the Calvin Synod, how did it emerge on the American scene? Former Bishop of the Synod, the Rt. Rev. John Butosi tells the story.

Calvin Synod – The Hidden History