The February meeting of the Presidium of the General Convent was hosted by the Transtibiscan Reformed Church District, where the Bishops and Lay Presidents discussed preparations for the Unity Day Celebration in May and the current situation of the Hungarian Reformed Diaspora.
“It is a great gift that 65 Reformed Presbyteries in the Carpathian Basin are able think together and prepare for the Anniversary, so that this celebration could really be the celebration of the Hungarian Reformed Community,” said Bishop Károly Fekete in his report on the preparatory meeting of Unity Day celebrations.
As part of the celebrations, the Common Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church will take place in Debrecen on May 17. The next day, May 18, all are invited to join in the various programs which will include cultural performances, podium discussions, folk music and youth programs, as well as a joint open-air worship service in front of the Great Church at 3PM. The offerings taken at this time will go to support the work and mission of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia.
The Presidium also listened to reports from all the Reformed Churches in the Carpathian Basin. Government Commissioner of the State Secretary for National Policy, Mr. Péter Szilágyi, informed the Presidium of the available programs supporting Hungarian communities living in diaspora, including the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Scholarship.
General Secretary András Gér gave a presentation on the activities of the Reformed Church in Hungary in diaspora, with special attention to the developing relations with the Hungarian Reformed Communities in Western Europe and North America. Based on the recommendations of the Diaspora Conference in 2008, he reported on the work that has been done in the last decade, and the plans for the future.
The Presidium has decided that in the future, each meeting will focus on a topic and external experts will be invited. In the future, they also plan to address the topic of Roma mission, demographic changes, and ecumenical relations among others.
Ecumencial Office
Based on the article written by Zsuzsanna Farkas
Photos by László Gonda, Gábor Zila