On February 6th, 2023, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck regions of southern Turkey and northern Syria. In response to the crisis in Syria, the Reformed Church of Transcarpathia (RCT) raised a tremendous aid package of 30,000 Euros to support the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) in its efforts to respond to this crisis.
The Refugee Ministry is a division of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA), assisting refugees with integration through various programs and services. Different divisions of the Refugee Ministry summarized their recent activities and accomplishments in these brief snapshots.
In June, clients at the Refugee Ministry organized a community picnic at the city park. Angela Canadey, the Swiss Church Aid (HEKS) Coordinator and Project Assistant for the Refugee Ministry’s Base Integration Program, briefly summarized the lively event.
Three thousand prisoners of Roma origin were executed at the Auschwitz Gypsy camp on the 2 of August 1944. On this day, the Roma of Europe commemorate the Holocaust, the porajmos as they call it, or in the Lovari dialect, the pharrajimos, the destruction.
The Common Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church met on the 13-14th July, 2023. During the two-day meeting, members of the Synod voted on the constitutional amendment and adopted the Hungarian Reformed National Strategy for the Carpathian Basin and the closing statement of the Synod.
Nearly five thousand visitors attended the Starpoint Festival, the Reformed Church's largest biennial youth mission project hosted for the last 20 years.
The Reformed Church in Hungary, in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (Ukraine), recently hosted the “Ukraine Future Conference” from the 14th-17th of July. To reaffirm their continuing solidarity, partner churches and organizations worldwide gathered in Budapest to listen to and discuss interpretations of just peace and reconciliation.
Partner churches and organizations from across the globe gathered in Budapest between the 14-15th July to attend the Ukraine Future Conference, initiated by the Reformed Church in Hungary in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (Ukraine)
When two congregations in Pennsylvania came together for their annual summer camp, they wanted to find a way to support the people of Ukraine. With the help of international partners, they purchased and sent 92 Luci Lights to congregations in Transcarpathia.
Since 2017, HEKS (the Swiss Church Aid) has supported efforts to make elementary schools maintained by the Hungarian Reformed Church more inclusive. Today, more than a dozen institutions carry out development aimed at inclusion, and their spring network meeting was hosted by the headquarters of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA). More than fifty employees from eleven schools participated in the all-day workshop on May 22.
The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary (ECCH) delegation visited the Holy Land on May 15-18 at the invitation of the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine.
The Synod of the Serbian Reformed Christian Church held its meeting in Bácsfeketehegy (Feketic) on 31 May, where the results of the national election held in the spring were confirmed and the newly elected officials took their oaths in a festive ceremony.
"True friendship is that we are brothers to each other in Jesus Christ," said Bishop Zoltán Balog, Ministerial President of the Synod of RCH. This was his message at the service of the Korean church in Budapest, where he preached, April 2nd. The congregation has been member of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
On May 4-5, 2023, the Area Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches in Europe (WCRC Europe) met in Thessaloniki, Greece, to discuss issues affecting member churches. Among those issues, Representatives of the European Reformed churches addressed responses to the humanitarian and political situation caused by the war in Ukraine.
Nationally and internationally renowned performers take turns on Pentecost weekend in and around Kálvin Square in Budapest: more than 60 events await audiences at six venues over three days, and all of them are free of charge. The Reformed Music Festival is set to become one of the biggest free music events in the capital.
Nationally and internationally renowned performers take turns on Pentecost weekend in and around Kálvin Square in Budapest: more than 60 events await audiences at six venues over three days, and all of them are free of charge. The Reformed Music Festival is set to become one of the biggest free music events in the capital.
Szabolcs János Bogdán has officially assumed the position of bishop in the Királyágómellék Reformed Church District. Religious and lay leaders gathered in the church of Kraszna for the inauguration of the bishop on December 9.
“The common goal of our Christianity is for Roma and non-Roma Hungarians to live in peace and love with each other,” said Bishop Zoltán Balog on the ‘We Belong Together — Roma Integration Day’. During the event, the participants reviewed the results of the social inclusion program and shared their aspirations in round table discussions.