Kool News of the Károli - 12

8/14/2019 Kool News of the Károli - 12

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kool-news-of-the-karoli-12 1/4

Kool News of the Károli Newsletter Date

Volume 4, Issue 1 (12)

March 6, 2010.

Email: [email protected]; Blog: www.annemariekool.org; Skype: amkool

Stranger in a strange land

Young people leaving Hungary

After the First World War,there was great poverty in

Hungary. Many children

were in a bad way. On the

initiative of Johanna and

Henriette Kuyper, more

than 24,000 children

travelled by train to the

Netherlands to regain their

strength with Dutch host

families. For a time, they

were strangers in a strange

land. Many Dutch families

opened their homes andactively demonstrated

what Christian neighbourly

love is. They provided these

children with hospitality. A

few weeks ago, theReformed Juliana School

in Budapest (founded by

Queen Wilhelmina of the

Netherlands!)

commemorated the fact

that ninety years ago, the

first train left for the

Netherlands.

At eight o'clock, 150

children were waiting for

me in the gymnasium.

During a moment ofreflection, we pondered on

the fact that today we are

often regarded as strangers

if we are Christians and live

a life which is dedicated toChrist. We also considered

what it means in the Bible

to be a stranger (Ex. 18:3),

and that essentially we are

all strangers on the earth.

But also that we are called

to love 'others', the

'strangers' among us (Lev.

19:18), and to practice

hospitality. . Who, today,

are the strangers around us,

whom we are called to

love? For Hungarianchildren, these are the

many Romanies, almost

10% of the population.

Christmas Eve is very

special in Hungary. After

four o'clock in theafternoon, public transport

stops. Everyone is with their

family. As per custom, I was

invited to Gábor and Kati's

home.

A few years ago, we used

to sit around the Christmas

tree singing carols with all

eight children. Now six of

the eight have emigrated

abroad. The eldestdaughter is married to a

Swede. Four have moved

to London, for work, study

or marriage. In January, the

eldest son, a highly skilled

violin builder, also left with

his family to go to London.

Gábor's explanation:

Nowadays it's impossible to

get by in Hungary with ayoung family without the

financial help of parents.

This situation is not unique.

Daughter Judit came on a

plane from London which

was full of young people

who were going to spend

Christmas with their parents.

Special Interest Articles

Juliana school

commemorates 90th

anniversary of Hungarian

Children's Campaign

Great openness for mission

among the Orthodox in

Belarus

'Together witnessing to

Christ': Plans for 2010

“Future of Christianity

depends on theological

education”

Highlights

Great openness for mission

in Belarus 2

Crisis, Possibility, Change 3

Future of Christianity

depends on theological

education 3

From my mailbox 4

From my diary 4

Personal note 4

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.annemariekool.org/







2 TYPE TITLE HERE

1. Two students

Great openness for Mission in Belarus

2. Tim Okroev and Alexander

Ogorodnikov

There I am at the airport in

Minsk, full of recollections of

the encounters of the

previous days. Together

with more than fifty

missiologists and missions

delegates from the Church

in Belarus, Russia, Bulgaria,

Ukraine etc., we reflected

on the future of mission in

the Orthodox Church.

Some had travelled by train

for more than two days tobe there. There were many

students, with a great

interest to learn about

missions close by or far

away. And then you

suddenly meet Alexander

Ogorodnikov, for whom

you regularly interceded

thirty years ago, because

he was imprisoned for his

faith.

You meet a group of youngpeople who call

themselves, the

'Brotherhood of

Transformation', who are

trying to find what faith in

Christ means for them.

There is a spirit of

dedication to Christ, a

meekness in serving Him

and a desire to live out their

faith in society. They have

been meeting together for

ten years now under theleadership of Olga, the

initiator and coordinator of

this consultation. Everyone

tries to apply the faith in

their own way. Valeria

interviews people who

were in the Gulag. Others

are following theological

courses through distance

learning.

The problems with which

the Church is struggling are

discussed openly. There is

much recognition. What

does it mean to witness to

Christ in an atheisticcontext, to be a missional

Church in 2010? How can

you help baptised

members who no longer

ever come to Church to

comprehend their baptism

and life in Christ?

The hospitality and love

were overwhelming. As one

of the two Protestants, and

then a Dutch woman at

that, there were reasons

enough to feel like the odd

one out, and to be treated

as such. The reverse was

true. One thing pained me:

that I don't speak a word of

Russian! I would like to do

something about that!

The international

consultation, 'Christian

mission in the 20th century:

an Orthodox perspective',

was organised from 4th -

7th February, 2010, at the St

Methodius and Cyril

theological faculty of the

Belarusian State University in

Minsk with the blessing of

Metropolitan Philaret of

Minsk.

The liturgy on Sunday

morning was so different

from a Protestant Church

service. Still there was the

acknowledgement of the

sacrifice of Christ, of the

necessity of the forgiveness

of sins, and the common

desire in following Him todedicate our lives to Him

and His service. There was

also recognition of the

desire for the renewal of

the Church. Please pray for

the young people of

Belarus. Pray for wisdom in

how to follow-up these

contacts. Read more :

www.annemariekool.org.

(search: minsk)

“'There is a spirit of

dedication to Christ, adeep humility in serving

Him and a desire to live

out their faith in society.”






3“Crisis, Possibility, Change”

4. Spread of Christianity in2010 from Atlas of Global

Christianity (2009) Future ofChristianity

depends on

Theological

Education

During the winter months, a series of lectures took place

at the Gazdagrét Church under the title, Crisis,

Possibility, Change. The aim was to invite speakers to

make known the results of their research and to help us:

1. not to shrink from courageously facing up to

this multifaceted crisis,

2. but to see which positive possibilities this crisis

provides and,

3. finally, to bring about a change in us, which

prepares us for the future.

At the first evening, a physicist spoke about issues

relating to the sustainability of the earth. Then a brain

specialist came to talk about egoism and social

isolation. Finally, a doctor spoke about the mental state

and the physical condition of Hungarians.

Each meeting was attended by about a hundred

people. Many came to the church for the first time. A

conscious decision had been taken not to make these

meetings explicitly evangelistic. But issues were

discussed from a Christian perspective.

3. Drawing of András Simon

and Ecumenism is starting.

Important steps forward

have also been taken in

the development of the

Master's programme in

Missiology. We are working

towards enabling this to

start in the autumn as well.

We will be pleased to send

you more information as

soon as this becomes

available. We would also

be happy to hear from you

if you are willing to support

these programmesfinancially.

“Proper theological

education is of strategic

importance for the future of

Christianity.” This is stated in

a study about the future of

theological education. The

study goes on:

“Theological education is

the seedbed for the

renewal of the Churches. ..

If theological education

systems are neglected …

over the following decades

the Church will experience

a decline in the

competence of Church

leadership.” (see

www.oikoumene.org).

For years, this concept has

motivated us at the Mission

Institute to set up

programmes which link in

with the important

missionary challenges of

Central and EasternEurope.

In the past months, great

progress has been made!

In the new academic year,

an English-language PhD

programme in Missiology



4 TYPE TITLE HERE

3. With Dóra and Emi on my birthday CIMS is still fully dependent on outside funding.

If you would like to support the ministry of the Central and Eastern

European Institute for Mission Studies of the Karoli Gaspar ReformedUniversity (KRE) you may send your tax-deductible gifts to:

The Magi, PO 43, Byron Center, MI 49315

We are pleased to inform you that we are able to process online

donations (for U.S. residents). Please visit www.themagigifts and

click on the “donate NOW” link. If you have any questions please

call Susan Zuidema, Director by phone at 616-272-4209 or by email

at [email protected] .

Please make out your gift to The Magi and indicate on a separate

note that this donation is for the KRE/CIMS, otherwise we will not

receive your contribution. Please do not write our name on the

check itself.

The Karoli Gaspar Reformed University / CIMS,

Kalvin ter 7.II,

P.O. Box 73,

1461 Budapest, Hungary.

Tel. +36 1 216 20 54/106.

E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].

.

From my mailbox

Upcoming events

Personal NoteI am getting on really well.

At the end of December, I

enjoyed a 'missionary

birthday', as someone

called my celebration with

neighbours, colleagues

and friends from the

Church. Recently progress

has been made on our

annual plan for 2010,

'Together witnessing to

Christ', and the

construction of the website.

I notice very clearly that I

approach my work

differently than before my

illness. Living out of the

deep conviction of Missio

Dei brings much relaxation.

Our work in the Kingdom is

ultimately God's business.

Through His Spirit, He

enables us to do what He

calls us to do. He calls us to

put our all on the altar, and

transforms us with our weak

efforts into instruments of His

glory. Do watch my blog for

updates?! Thank you for

your support and prayers

for our team (Eph. 6: 10-18).

Anne-Marie

28th-29th April: Ministry

among the marginalised of

society, with Rev. Arthur

Thangiah, for clergy and

those working among the

Romany

11th April: Elections for new

parliament in Hungary. And

so to prayer!

For more information and

to registration: [email protected].

See also:www.annemariekool.org

CIMS courses.

Peter writes: what struck me

in your presentation was

your fairness and the

courage to speak so open

about this topic in front of

all these delegates. In fact

you have really something

to say and it is a privilege to

have you here in Eastern

Europe.

Today I read also your

article "Leadership Issues in

Central and Eastern

Europe: Continuing Trends

and Challenges in Mission

and Missiology". Thank you

so much for this. I love it to

see that you are from the

West but you understand

both sides (East and West).

Very often people from the

East don't really have the

courage to say and write

these things and many

people from the West are

not interested to know

them. Can you email me

please this article too,

because I would like to

send it to some friends in

West and East.

Footnote: Among other

things, I was speaking

about how to approach

theological education in a

different way, taking

account of the crisis in the

family and the influence of

this on clergy and students.

15th March: Lecture at

international conference atKároli University

26th March: Mission

evening in Oud-Alblas for

the catechism classes andthe congregation

12th-16th April: Spiritualdepth in life and leadership

workshop for clergy and

Christian workers with Dr Tim

Geoffrion

20th-21st April: Missiological

working party for doctoral

students from Central and

http://www.themagigifts/














http://www.themagigifts/

Documents

Kool News of the Károli - 12