Magyar Református Egyház

INVITATION!

THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH of FAIRPORT HARBOR, OHIO

cordially invites you to a special celebration of our 100th Year Anniversary serving our Lord!

OCTOBER 9, 2010
1 PM Reception

3 PM Worship
Hungarian Reformed Church

607 Plum Street

Fairport Harbor, Ohio 44077

6 PM Celebration

Gala Banquet

Hellriegel’s Inn

1840 Mentor Ave,
Painesville, Ohio 44077

Family Style Fine Dining

Gala Banquet includes tossed salad, 2 entrees with potatoes, vegetables, rolls & butter, dessert, coffee, tea, soft drinks.

Cash bar and wine-by-the-glass available.

Dinner is $22 for adults, $11 children up to 13 years of age.

Please call to reserve:
Church Office 440-352-4836
John Evanko, Chairman 440-639-8372

The Magyar Reformed Church Perth Amboy NJ Pulpit Committee has submitted the following letter that can be downloaded at the link:

Pulpit letter Magyar Reformed Church Perth Amboy NJ

Summary:

Rev. Dr. Attila A. Kocsis submitted his letter of resignation as Pastor of Magyar Reformed Church, Perth Amboy, NJ effective 1 October 2010.

The Pulpit Committee is now receiving resumes from prospective successors who are fluent in both English and Hungarian to fully serve the congregation.

The Committee hopes to gather enough resumes by September 15th to begin their search.

Resumes may be sent to:

Pulpit Committee

Magyar Reformed Church

331 Kirkland Place

Perth Amboy NJ 08861

Deadline: September 15, 2010

Dear Pastors and Layleaders,

The attached is the sermon by Rt. Rev. Koloman Ludwig preached at the funeral of Rt. Rev. Dr. John Bütösi on July 17, 2010. This is slated to be in the Sept./Oct. issue of the Calvin Synod Herald, but it is deserves to be shared.

The photos are of the interment and graveside ceremony Aug. 6, 2010 in Ligonier, PA. The first photo is of the Ballas Family during the interment service. The 2nd photo is of the ministers in attendance surrounding Rev. Butosi’s headstone, left to right: Rev. Jozsef Posta, Rev. Alexander Jalso, Rev. Ilona Komjathy, Rev. Imre Bertalan, Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop Emeritus, Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi, Bishop Emeritus, Rev. Gabor Nitsch, Rev. Albert Kovacs.

Peace and blessings,
Tunde Garai

Funeral Sermon for the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Bütösi
(December 18, 1919 – July 12, 2010),
preached on July 17, 2010, at Bridgeport, Connecticut
Scripture readings: Psalm 103, John 14: 1 – 3, Romans 8: 31 – 39

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” Psalm 103.

My condolences this morning to my good friend Ann, my colleague Jim, their children Matthew and Erica, and other members of John Butosi’s extended family.

So also my sympathies to his extended family here in Bridgeport – those of you who have known him for so long – some of you for 34 years, some for 50 years or more.

The immediate Ballas family lost someone who was an everyday part of their lives; many of you have lost a pastor, a teacher, a friend. For each of us The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi meant something different, and affected our lives in a different way.

Ann, your father called you “Sweetie”. What a fitting name! It betrayed that special affection he had for you. I am sure he was very proud of you when you were honored this past May as “Employee Of The Year” from amongst over 3,000 persons at the hospital where you work. We know that girls tend to be closer to their fathers, and as they choose a life mate they search for and find a husband who has their father’s best qualities. Your father was a giant of a man in many ways, and you chose Jim as your husband. Jim is a fitting “giant”, both physically and following in the footsteps of his father-in-law.
Jim, I don’t know if you were aware of the expectations Ann had for you, but you surely fulfilled them, which is why I consider you a “colleague”. Ann chose wisely!

Matthew and Erica, you came to bid farewell to your grandpa. He was very proud of the two of you, and spoke of you often. I hope you come to know who he was, and how important he was to the world! The many people in this church this morning didn’t come to bid farewell to grandpa; they came to honor The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi.
There is a story of a man who won the Noble Peace Prize, and when the day came for him to fly to Sweden to accept it, his wife was unable to accompany him. So we went by himself, and when he returned home with the award, he set it on the coffee table, unwrapped it and showed it to his wife. “That’s very nice, Dear”, she said, “But it’s still your turn to take out the garbage.” Today we do honor “grandpa who takes out the garbage”, but we also honor someone who was much more important to many people in the world!

I met Rev. Dr. Butosi 42 years ago, and very early on for me he was the model of what a person in the Christian Ministry should be like in virtually everything he exemplified. Yet we each come with our own memories and thoughts this morning.
I would be very easy to give the kind of talk this morning that people love – a glowing portrait devoid of specifics, in which we would listen to the wonderful attributes of the person we are remembering and honoring. You have all been to such funeral services. After all the praise by the preacher, and the service is over, many who come by for the final viewing of the body look to make sure they were at the right funeral – because the person they knew wasn’t nearly the person portrayed! I say it would be easy because if I were to do that today, all of you would know exactly who I am talking about – John Butosi – pastor extraordinaire! But the Rev. John Butosi would be disappointed. I think we would better remember his life if we examined why one could fill this sanctuary with the kind of words many would love to have said about them. Besides, we shouldn’t praise a person – John’s autobiography was entitled “Praise the Lord, O My Soul!”

I think that is a good starting point to discover the secret to John’s life. He learned that only the Lord is worthy of praise – and he actively endeavored to bring this to life in all he did.

I was honored to be asked to proofread Dr. Butosi’s faith journey, and while doing this I discovered what I consider some gems of faith and wisdom which begin to explain this servant of God who was able to focus his life following what he believed.

First, of course, his discovery of Jesus the living Savoir. Young John says this happened when he was 14 or 15 years old. He was reading a religious pamphlet in which his eyes were opened to the fact that not only did Jesus live 2,000 years ago, not only did Jesus die 2,000 years ago, not only did Jesus rise from the dead 2,000 years ago and not only did Jesus ascend into Heaven 2,000 years ago – all history – Jesus lives even now – today!!! Even now He lives amongst us, even now He walks amongst us, and He is here even now. Not history, not myth, not just a “confession of faith” – this is fact – He is here now!

One would say this was his meeting of a personal Savoir. Young John became Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi because of this awakening in his life. Jesus is not confined to the Bible, nor to this sanctuary, nor to Sunday morning. He is always with us. This became the very basis for everything John did after that moment in his life.

John realized that “Religion” was meaningless unless one was in total adherence with that power which the religion espoused. As a result, as a seminary student John was even suspect, because he took Jesus too seriously!

But that was the big difference in his life. He understood that just knowing about God, just knowing about the Creeds, just knowing about Christianity – this is not what Christianity is about. If that is all our Christianity is in our lives, then, as Paul says in I Corinthians 15, “we are of all men most to be pitied”. John came to realize that in all that we do, Jesus IS with us! John knew this, and welcomed Jesus as his partner for life.

The next step was giving God all the recognition in life. John was a man of many talents, many gifts. But he knew that these are meaningless, even futile, without his partner Jesus, and it was just logical that if Jesus is the reason for his life, then so Jesus is the one who deserves credit for the successes of life.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul” was not just the title of his autobiography, it was his motto in life. Praise the Lord for all the things He provides, both good and less desirable. During the war, working in a hospital, he found God’s presence, and even then learned of God’s power and grace. And he praised God. Praise the Lord for all the things He provides, success in school, a journey that led him to a new land, a wonderful loving wife who would be a partner in his Calling – a fitting partner, as it were, as if the two were created by God with His plan in mind that they would be united as one in marriage. That is what Christians believe, isn’t it? Their meeting was not an accident – it was planned by God himself! Then John was blessed with a loving family: Praise the Lord for his blessings!

John did indeed live the 103rd Psalm. He praised the Lord, he did not forget the many benefits, the many blessings, the many gifts he received.

He was cognizant and attributed to God all that he experienced in life. And indeed he was healed of his diseases, his life was redeemed so that he received not only the proverbial “threescore and ten”, not even “fourscore” years spoken of in the 90th Psalm, but more!

When other men his age faded away into retirement, John began a new career as a seminary Professor – his strength and zest for life was indeed “renewed like an eagles”! And life was good, because Jesus was always his companion.

Early in life he had pondered the question: “What would happen if we would voluntarily take up our cross, and follow him?” John struck out on that path – but he was not alone, because he knew that Jesus would always be with him. John got his answer: It was a difficult life, but a wonderful, full life – never ceasing to be a challenge, but never a time when the Lord was not there to make the burden bearable; always the Lord was there!

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; and all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”. Psalm 103: 1-5

Indeed John not only read and kept these words in his heart, he lived his life with the power found in these words. He even created a mini “Eagle Theology”, as he called it: “Christian life is running; those who take it as a promenade will soon be dead tired and quit. But those who run in a goal-oriented fashion as an eagle will soon enter a new realm of the air with different laws and new opportunities.” That new realm with different laws and new opportunities that John referred to was this: We are freed from the debilitating bondages of sin by newness of spirit in Christ; We are freed from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of Christ; We are freed from the wisdom of the spirit of death – man’s wisdom – by the wisdom of the Spirit of Life – Christ’s wisdom. John’s Eagle Theology, the many benefits, and the power it indeed offers in life were real to him and sustained him.

I experienced the power of this faith this past year, as I visited him in the hospital, then at home. John was seriously ill, but there was never a complaint concerning his illness. The illness was his “Cross” to bear – and gladly did he bear it, and again, he was NOT alone!

The “Eagle Theology” was his life story, and sustained him in the difficult times. Aging makes no difference, John said, as he quoted Psalm 71:18: “Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come”. On his sickbed he praised God – not just for his many blessings in life, but for the trials he was even then enduring! Yes, Isaiah 40:29-31 said it right: “He gives strength to the weary.” And John believed and knew that the words of Lamentations 3:22 applied to those who believe: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail.”

John experienced difficulties and pains in his life, as well as joys. His own personal health was often an issue; His wife Lorraine left him at an inopportune time; He had to do what no parent wants to do – he had to bury his daughter Sarah. But he continued to Praise the Lord with all his heart.

John held of extreme importance the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism: “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” that I belong not to myself, but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”

And this is what The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi did; “Wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”
To John we bid farewell. “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the LORD, everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.” (Psalm 103:19-22) AMEN

Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop Emeritus

(Upon notification of Dr. Butosi’s death, the Dean of the Theological Seminary in Debrecen notified Ann and Jim Ballas that during his years as Professor in Debrecen, Dr. Butosi had returned all his salary to the Seminary and established a Scholarship Fund for seminarians, which totaled over one-half million dollars.)

Present at the funeral of Dr. Butosi were Rev. Ervin Betts, U.S. Navy Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Leila Havadtoy Gomulka, Retired U.S. Navy Chaplain Captain Gene Thomas Gomulka, Rev. Dr. Alexander Havadtoy, Rev. Leslie Martin, Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi, Rev. August Molnar, Rev. John Olson, Rt. Rev. Bela Poznan, Bishop, and former Synod Presbyter Lehel F. Deak.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Reflections on Camp 2010 by Campers, Counselors and CIT’s

• You could tell them (future campers)  that you can still have fun by learning about God. and he teaches you things through out the week. he introduces you to new people who can help you through the tough tim and any questions never be to shy to ask and let them float in your head being unanswered. he will teach you that these people are not only your friends but your family and that we all care about one another and stay in contact all year even though we only see each other once for a week and once for a weekend. - Roxanne (Camper)

• Camp is like Christmas. You look forward to it every year, and don’t want it ever end.…….  - Chelsea (Counselor in Training)

• Camp is fun and you should come join us and have fun with all of us there… - Jessica (Camper)

• A great place to make new friends, and not be judged, while connecting more with God in the process. - Alexis (Camper)

• its a place where it feels like God is more present in people and things all around, its really indescribable …I have absolutely loved camp every year i’ve gone,everyone is always fun, kind and caring.   - Matthew (Camper)

• A place away from worldly pressures where we all improve relationships with friends and with God. - Katie (Camper)

• This one week changed my life. I got closer to God and I made friends who I believe will support me even after ten years. -  Arnold (Camper)

• This Camp is a lovely place for lovely people! – Mate (Camper)

• It’s a place where you can go and just forget about everything holding you back and focus on why we were put here in the first place and just to praise our God. - Brandi (Camper)

• Camp, the dictionary describes as this: A place where tents, huts, or other temporary shelters are set up, as by soldiers, nomads, or travelers.

• Are (our) camp: set up by followers of the true God, looking to better understand the reason he has given his son for us, and why we were put here and how to make a better use of our time to serve him.

I took camp as a blessing in disguise this year, i took it for everything it was and listened to what everyone had to say, and now                i have read the bible every night starting at proverbs chapter 24 verse one, circling around it and will continue to read the                        bible over and over, Kathy, said that a great way to start reading the bible for new bible readers, (IE myself) was to start                            reading proverbs because you can read it anytime of the month and it will have a chapter for each day of the month. Kathy,                     Gabe, everyone, yes even you Drew haha have made a great impact on me, take camp for what it is, a blessing. – Gabe (Camper)

• A lot of Jesus, friends, growing, laughing, learning, fun and chicken paprikas  - Gretchen (Counselor)

• My favorite week out of the year. - Ashlea (Counselor in Training and Former Camper)

…..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.