PhD Dissertation Dr. László Gonda Published

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László Gonda
The Service of Evangelism, the Evangelism of Service Mission 48
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Diepgaande studie naar een nieuw Hongaars zendingsbegrip.
Wat verstaat een kerk onder zending als zij internationaal gezien eerst geïsoleerd leeft (geen kolonies) en vervolgens onder een Sowjet-juk? De auteur pleit voor een nieuw zendingsbegrip voor de Hongaarse kerk.
László Gonda
De auteur (1971) is predikant in de Gerefomeerde Kerk van Hongarije en werkzaam als lector aan de theologische universiteit te Debreçen

PhD Defense Utrecht University -- Dorottya Den Hulster - Nagy

Laudatio Dr. Dorottya Den Hulster-Nagy



Dear Promovenda,
Dear Colleagues,
Dear Guests,


Dr. Nagy, your cradle stood in Romania, in a double minority setting: as member of the Hungarian minority and as a member of a Lutheran Church. In addition you were born as a female. It is far from usual in that context for a woman to embark on a study of theology. You did.
You express your thanks to three generations of women of that context, “who were the first to shape the way of thinking, beliefs and behavior of a new life”. Your grandmother who played an important role in your life died three weeks ago. We remember her with gratefulness. You have been given outstanding values and treasures of love for neighbors and strangers from them.

You emphasize the importance of autobiographical theology with regard to the Chinese Christian Communities. What you offer is a powerful one from your own personal biography, with migration as a recurrent theme in your own life.

After finishing your high school in Romania in 1996, you migrated to Hungary for your theological studies in Budapest, at the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University. Then another migration followed, to China, in 1999, as you received a Scholarship by the International Network in Advanced Theological Education to study Chinese Christianity and Contextual Theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong. In 2002 you received your Master of Theology degree in Budapest and were ordained as a minister of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary.
In 2003 another migration followed. You gained a scholarship from the Stipendium Bernardinum, which exists 300 years next year, to study at Utrecht University. You are a fruit of the important work of this scholarship fund.

Your professional experience shows you are not an ivory tower scholar, but a pastor in the heart of hearts. At different times you have worked as pastoral counselor among migrants, minority people and the marginalized like refugees, teenage mothers, female prisoners and international students. You strongly side with them in solidarity, as a migrant and a minority person yourself. Even while studying in Hong Kong you worked as pastoral counselor among international prisoners. You “practice what you preach” by living out the everyday realities of theology and migration, by blooming where you are planted. Your outstanding language abilities, including a basic knowledge of Mandarin are put in the service not only of your academic work, but also of your church related ministry.

Since 2007 you have worked as chaplain and pastoral counselor at the Saffier Foundation in the Hague. That work has given you the inspiration and has kept you alive to finish the demanding academic work of writing a PhD thesis.

You are to all of us an example of a successfully integrated “nieuwe Nederlander”.
We first met in 1998 at the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University in Budapest when I taught an elective on Mission History. I remember that you presented a paper on a Hungarian missionary, Irene Kunst, who worked in China in the beginning of the 20th century. In the discussion that followed we spoke about the significant Chinese minority present in Hungary and about the changes in the dynamics of worldwide mission.

You practiced your academic skills through actively participation in academic forums like the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies, and the Missiological Research Fellowship of the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies, a peer tutoring forum of exchange. Your contributions always stood out by your high standards.

In the course of the supervision process I came to understand better my role as a midwife. This dissertation was not an easy birth. It was a great relief also to me, when the news reached me: a healthy manuscript has been born…

In your dissertation you deal with the interdisciplinary discourse between migration and theology from a theological missiological perspective focusing on the case of two Chinese Christian Communities in Romania and Hungary.

In this pioneering and courageous research you show your ability to do thorough research, using all relevant primary and secondary sources, reflecting on it in an appropriate way and your ability to take positions yourself independently. Your manuscript is of excellent analytical quality.

The integrative quality is somewhat on the weaker wide. I know you love to show hospitality and to offer your guests delicious meals. What you present us with in this study gives the impression that more time would have been needed for the meal to be cooked well, for the various themes to integrate and the tastes to blend together. This is no wonder, because what you have accomplished since we last met at the IAMS conference in Balatonfüred in August is incredible. Your study shows some other gaps. Little attention is paid to the imbedding of the Chinese Christian Communities in the whole Chinese Community in Hungary and Romania. Also, sometimes you take short cuts in positioning yourself and in dealing with certain theories.

Dr. Nagy, your dissertation is a significant study for Hungary and CEE. It is a valuable contribution to dealing with issues of minority, ethnicity and Christian identity. Introducing the concept of “neighbor” as a fruitful concept to bringing people together is of great importance. With that concept you refer back to Leviticus 19, the heart of the Torah, where the commandment to love your neighbor, because he is like you, is applied also to the ger, the foreigner. You finish your dissertation with the significant words: “This study is an invitation to people who share in each others place, to discover that they are equal, and in this way to be woven together”.
In Post-Communist settings like Hungary and Romania this is not only important vis a vis the Chinese Christian Communities, but to the whole of society. It is an important aspect of the Vergangenheitsbewaltigung.

The challenge you now face is to translate these notions of theology and migration to the grassroot level of the majority societies in Post Communist Europe, as a tool of reconciliation. With your double academic and pastoral mindset you are in a unique position to do so.

Dr. Nagy, we need your expertise, academic mindset and Christian spirituality in our region. Allow me to challenge you to affect the next generation in a credible way with your own autobiographical theology. You will meet with significant difficulties as you try to break the numerous prejudices, but your ability to persevere and your trust in the one Without Whom you cannot do anything will help you through. You have observed last month in teaching a class on climate changes in the Worldwide church including taking students on an exposure visit to the one of the Chinese Christian Churches in Budapest, that spreading knowledge about the migrants is a very important first step in that process. It was as one of the highlights of this semester to them.

More comparative studies are needed in this field in the Post Communist world, not only of other ethnic groups than the Chinese, but also with other countries.

Dr. Nagy, welcome in the “Jongeneel family”, one of the new concepts you introduced in your dissertation. You fulfill both the role of academic daughter and granddaughter. It is characteristic for you that you refer to your first promoter with a Hungarian honorary title: János bácsi, truly a shift from formality to familiarity.

Jan, my own Doktorvater and colleague promoter, this is your 38th promotion, the last one before you turn 70 in two weeks time. Only the future will bring about the fruit of your tireless effort in supervising so many students from all over the world.

Dr. Nagy, a new phase starts now in your life. I congratulate your family and colleagues, especially your husband Izaak and your parents. wishing you all God’s blessing.

I have spoken.

Dr. Anne-Marie Kool
16th December 2008.

PhD Defense László Gonda -- Laudatio and pictures

Laudatio Dr. László Gonda


Most honorable Dr. László Gonda.
Dear Colleagues,
Dear Guests,

On the wall of this University building you find a beautiful bronze relief donated by Hungarians to the University of Utrecht in 1936 at the occasion of its 300th anniversary, portraying a student from Debrecen walking all the way to Utrecht . It represents the hundreds of Hungarian students who in studied in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th century. Although at a much smaller scale this tradition continues to the present day. As a man of tradition, you are conscious to be part of this peregrinus tradition, which extends to a lively two-way interaction in the discipline of missiology till today.
After finishing your theological studies in Debrecen and Kampen, you endeavored on a PhD program in Utrecht (1999). Your professional experience extends to both church and academia, first as assistant pastor, then as most appreciated and trustworthy colleague and lecturer at Protestant Institute for Mission Studies in Budapest, and since 1997 as staff member and lecturer of Department of Mission and Ecumenical Studies of Debrecen Reformed Theological University.

You “practice what you preach” by participating in the current ecumenical dialogue in mission as member of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelization of the WCC since 2007

Dr. Gonda, you represent a new generation of mission scholars in Hungary following in the footsteps of people like Dr. János Bütösi in Debrecen. You stand on the shoulder of giants, and others will later on remember you as one of them, because of your academic abilities and great personal concern for your students.

In your dissertation you deal with a number of paradigm shifts in the concept of mission in Hungary starting at the end of the 19th century. Through interaction with West-European and North American theologians the concept of mission gained growing significance in the course of the 20th century, despite the fact that Hungary is a land-locked country and never had independent mission fields.

This dissertation brings about that the greatest influence was exercised by John R. Mott, followed by Johannes C. Hoekendijk, who both visited Hungary regularly. Willem A. Visser ‘t Hooft was influential mostly in the field of church politics, first supporting the new pro-left church leadership after 1948, but shifting his loyalty to the opposition in the early 1950ies. The influence of Hendrik Kraemer was limited, because the main themes he dealt with, the Christian message in relation to the world religions were not felt to be relevant in the Hungarian Context.

This research shows that the changing concept of mission in the ecumenical movement was a source of inspiration, an important catalyst and a framework of reference in the paradigm changes in the Reformed Church in Hungary. You have shown academic courage to deal with what is still considered to be a sensitive research topic today, to deal with the theological evaluation of the period after 1948.

We first met twenty years ago when the iron curtain was still in place, at an international conference for theological students from Utrecht, and Hungary in Beregfürdő, in 1989. Since then you have shown great loyalty to both local, Hungarian, and international perspectives, always combining a confessional Reformed profile with an ecumenical openness. You practiced your academic skills through actively participation in academic forums like the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies, and the Missiological Research Fellowship of the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies, a peer tutoring forum of exchange.

Your contributions always stood out by thoroughness, and by your outstanding language skills. You set high standards for yourself, as is shown by the beautiful cover of your dissertation with illustrations of Gábor Kustár. Sometimes you even suffered from that attitude.

You also show great loyalty to your family. You wrote your dissertation in a period that your family significantly expanded, four children were born: Bence, Márton József, Zsófia Boglárka and Janka Klára. The untimely death of Márton József in 2000, at the age of three, left a deep mark in the life of you and your wife Klári. Your dissertation is dedicated to his memory. We remember his life with gratitude.

Dr. Gonda, your dissertation is a significant study for Hungary. It is an valuable contribution to the Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung of the Reformed Church of Hungary, which has hardly begun. Filling in this gap is important vis a vis the numerous new challenges the Reformed and Lutheran Churches in Hungary face after 1989. You are too well aware, that the revitalization of church and mission is a fruit of international interaction, participation in international, ecumenical networks, and of applying these lessons to own context. The formulation of a new, contextual and authentic mission concept by analyzing the theologically legitimate and illegitimate changes in the past is in view of the current situation in Hungary probably more relevant and urgent than ever.

Your study shows some gaps in the field of oral history. Interviews with Mrs. Éva Szabó, former student of the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey and with the living embodiment of ecumenical mission theology in Hungary Dr. Károly Hafenscher could have given more color to certain parts of your dissertation. Although the title of your dissertation is a nice word play, I am still not convinced that it captures the essence and breath of your research best. I am sorry that the scope of your research did not allow for dealing with the mission theology of the Lutheran Church in Hungary. Comparative studies of Hungarian and Central European ecumenical developments are needed to get a more complete picture.

Dr. Gonda, a new phase starts now in your life. I congratulate your family and colleagues, especially your wife Klári who has brought so many sacrifices as well as your colleague Dr. Sándor Gaál, who has been such an encourager to you, wishing you all God’s blessing.

I have spoken.

Dr. Anne-Marie Kool 15th December 2008.

Interview with Agnes Koszter -- Cindy Ippel

Cindy: Have you known Anne-Marie for long?

Ágnes: Not really. I took a course with an African this year. Dr Cephas Omenos. It was so different in how priests are in Africa from Hungarian priests. They are not like European priests, I don’t really know all of them, but the Hungarian priests that I know are all cold. They want to be friendly but they keep themselves at a distance. It seems that the African personality of a priest is so much warmer and more friendly.

Cindy: Tell me about yourself. Were you raised Catholic?

Ágnes: No, not really. I was raised in a very nice family but we didn’t go to church. I was searching for something, and money didn’t really satisfy me. Then over time, it just happened that I was looking for something more. When things changed in 1990 there was a change for me as well. There were now religious books and articles printed and I read them and knew that this was what I had been searching for. When you have God, it changes your whole life, suddenly you have a purpose.
I was raised in a small village in the south of Hungary. When I was 20 I went to England to study and learn English and then I went to Israel for 1 year and then to the Carribean to work on a cruise ship for 3 years. It was nice but I needed something to have more stability.I earned enough money to return to Hungary a buy a flat after this. I never really planned my life. But I was looking for something more than just money and that kind of stability.

Cindy: So this is when you started to study at KRE? Why did you chose KRE?

Ágnes: Yes. I wanted a school that was religious. I was interested in math and English but didn’t have enough time to prepare for my examinations so I decided to just pursue English at KRE.

Cindy: You are a fourth year student and you have also taken courses through CIMS? What courses have you taken?

Ágnes: The Veritas forum. I would highly recommend this class. It was so helpful. I have told my friends that are also English majors and we agreed that it would have been so good to have more classes like the Veritas Forum. The way it is taught is so good. It’s not just theoretical, but it’s so pratical. We work in groups and then each group invites someone of faith to come and speak to the whole group about their work and how their faith impacts their work. We are not just opeing a book, we are talking to a real person. It really affected all of us in the group to hear these things. My friends and I said after the Veritas class ˝It’s a shame; we chose the wrong major…we should have chosen a theology major...to be in the Institute.˝

Cindy: What do you hope to do in the future?

Ágnes: I am not really sure. It depends on the possibilities that I will have.With my major people can go and teach or go to another university and study some more. I am not interested in a career. I would like to settle down and get married and have a family. I am quite quiet and don’t really like to speak a lot. I would like a job where I don't have to talk so much. I didn't get an English degree to become an English teacher but basically because I wanted a degree. I would like to learn more and stay here in Hungary. I am done traveling. This is my country.

Cindy: What are your hopes for your church?

Agnes: I think that my priest is very good at organizing things. He's doing a pretty good job. There are lots of young couples. I am hoping that my church will be even more open . We have lots of small groups and lots of ministries for people small kids, for kids in high school. My boyfriend and I are involved in this way.We have lots of excursions in the summer.

Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of Hungary.

Ágnes: I recently read a book of a Jesuit monk who lived for 40 years in Japan and came back to live in Hungary. Actually he spoke to the Veritas group and I bought his book and he said that the Christian faith in Hungary has been here for 1000 years. But in Japan they are mostly Bhuddist and Christianity has been suppressed but yet the Christians faith is so much stronger in Japan than in Hungary. In Hungary we have people that are so depressed and their faith doesn’t really influence their outlook on life. What I hope for the Hungarian people is that their faith will be strengthened. Then out of this strong faith, things will be changed. Then there will be political change. If we could have a perspective of the Christians in Japan. Their way of thinking is so different than Hungarians. Because of communism we are afraid to practice our faith. I see in my church that already there is a change in their way of thinking.I see in my church they have 3 or 4 kids in a family. Some famililies have 6,7,8 kids. This is a different way of thinking. Big families show that you have more faith, you trust God is going to take care of you. When you are fearful and worried about money, you only have 1 or at the most 2 children. But when you have faith and you trust God to take care of you then you see bigger families with more children. You know God will take care of you.

Cindy: How is your family in accepting your faith?

Ágnes: At first they were afraid a bit. But now, it’s like when you are not a Christian, then your life is a big mess. When you start to believe and go on the right path, then God starts to sort things out in life. And when my parents saw my sister and then me become Christians and our messy lives started to get straightened out, then they realized that it is good. But it doesn’t make them want to go to church or anything. It would be too hard for them. They feel like it would look stupid to all of a sudden show up in church. In their town they have never gone to church so it would be so strange.

Cindy: How would you suggest that we could advertise CIMS better?

Ágnes: You should tell the English department. There are many teachers that it is obvious that they have faith by the way they teach their classes. I think if Anne-Marie could meet with these teachers. Maybe when they have an English teachers meeting, Anne-Marie should go there and introduce her courses and tell about the different seminars that are being offered.. I think many of them would be very interested and would promote them to their students. There are many English teachers at KRE that are Christians and they would be very interested in Anne-Marie's courses and having their students attend her courses.
Also, it would be good to advertise on the internet throught the Neptune program.

Impressions from Climate Change in the Worldwide Church course

Impressions from visit to the Korean Presbyterian Church in Budapest, led by Pastor Hoe

Impressions from Veritas Forum course: Why do I believe

Guest speaker: András Simon, artist

Impressions from Climate Change in the Worldwide Church course

Guestlecturer: Drs. Dorottya Den Hulster - Nagy lecturing on the Chinese Christian Communities in Hungary and Romania.

Opening Sion Church in Houten

Interview with Angela Papp -- Cindy Ippel

Angela Papp interview: 11/08

Cindy: Tell me about yourself.

Angela: My mom is Polish; my Dad is Hungarian. I learned Polish at home because my Mom spoke Polish at home. I always lived in Budapest , but my Mom spoke Polish until I was 4 or 5 but then she had to speak Hungarian so my 3 younger brothers don’t know any Polish. When I was 3 my parents became Christians; my Dad first and then my Mom. She needed a whole year of convincing because Polish are very Catholic. My Mom was raised Catholic, very devout Catholic, so my Mom’s family rejected her when she became a Christian. My Dad’s family was accepting and they also became believers later. I accepted this faith as a child but did not really make it my own until I was 18 years old. I never rebelled, it just wasn’t really my faith before that, it was my parent’s faith. I really feel that I became a Christian when I was baptized. I knew that I should be baptized, so I became baptized in my church, the Hungarian charismatic church and that’s when I really felt the Holy Spirit enter into my life, so that’s when I would say I became a Christian. My whole way of faith was transformed. The Holy Spirit really filled my life after I was baptised. It has really changed the attitude of my life. I was baptized when I was 18, older than most of my friends because my parents wanted me to make that step when it was my own faith. That’s really when I feel like my life was changed. We went to many different churches as a family. Every time we switched it was because of a split; mostly because the church would split very often over very small issues. For example, the last split was over whether we should be baptized twice. I was baptized into the ˝Father , Son and Holy Spirit˝ but because Jesus name was not mentioned, it’s not good enough. The Hungarians are like that you can’t forgive and forget and move on.
When I graduated from high school I wanted to go to Canada because my aunt lived there and I wanted to learn English better. But I was refused three times, because I could not prove that if they let me in that I would return. Because I was not married, and I had no car or house or anything that would show that I would return. A friend told me about a ministry in England for Eastern Europeans called Ellel. It is a healing, deliverance and evangelism ministry that trains people in these ministries. I stayed there for two years, first as a young people team member then as a household manager. I took care of running things and then helped manage the conferences on the weekends. We had conferences every Saturday and Sunday. We ministered and trained at that time.Then I came home to Budapest to go to university. But ended up with a scholarship to study in England at the West Yorkshire School for one year. I studied about world view but it was very academic. Quite unlike the KMTI classes at KRE.
I met my husband last year. He is actually the director of Ellel Hungary. He is from near Budapest. His father is a pentecostal pastor and my husband is the worship leader. When we met we had a lot to talk about because I love the work of Ellel. We got married in August and we live in a flat just about Ellel.

Cindy: Why did you chose KRE?
Angela: There were two universities to chose from. I wanted to study English and there was KRE and another university in Budapest, but the one university is much larger. The class size at the KRE is much smaller and more intimate. I also found out that KRE was apparently religious and that appealed to me. I had heard that there was a student was dismissed from KRE because he was homosexual so then I thought they (KRE) must be Christian, not just in a historical sense but in a practical way. They really followed through in their beliefs. There are many Christian teachers here. And even though they are teaching secular subjects, they are incorporating their faith somehow into their subjects. You can sense it (their faith) by their teaching.

Cindy: How do you know Anne-Marie?
Angela: I met her in the first course I took at KMTI last year. ˝The Revival in Ghana˝with Dr Cephas Omeno lecturing. Now I am taking two more courses through KMTI: The Veritas Forum and ˝The Climate Change in the Church˝.

Cindy: What courses would you recommend to others?
Angela: The Veritas Forum. It started originally in Harvard where Christians and non-Christians debate about their faith and what it means to believe. They invited famous speakers to talk about their faith and we are replicating this forum here and so far we have invited speakers to come and tell us about their faith. It is very interesting; I really enjoy it. I am so happy to do something Christian finally in my courses here. I tell my friends about this course. If this faculty at KMTI did not exist, it would be very boring; very non-Christian. We have everything that an English department should have but the KMTI courses are so much more. It's really effecting my life.

Cindy: Are there courses that you would suggest that we add to the KMTI course offerings?
Angela: Yes! First what is the goal of this faculty?...to spread knowledge or to help students find faith?

Cindy: I think this is part of the goal. That student's faith will grow as a result of these courses is not always the goal but becomes the result of the courses. I think that many students take the course because they are interested in Christian ideas and then through the course grow in their own faith and applying what they learn in their own lives.

Angela: I think that it is important that the courses offered appeal to both Christians and non-Christians because KRE has a much higher non-Christian population. First of all what came to mind is a very popular topic: Creation vs. Evolution. I think this is something that non-Christians like to talk about just as much as Christians. It's very popular in Hungarian media right now. There are several books that have just been written about this topic.
Something my husband suggested has to do with the decline in the institution of the family in Hungary. Actually, he thinks it is a global problem. But it would be good to look at the institution of the family and it's decline effects society. Actually Otto Bixler, the American/Hungarian director at the Center (Ellel), would love to do a lecture on this. He just wrote a book on communism and how it effects Hungarian families. I also thought this would be a good topic: How Communism Effected Hungary. Otto Bixler wrote his book out of his experience at Ellel East. It is a healing ministry for all of Eastern Europe and he has observed much through this. He has lived here for twenty years and has good insights on how communism has effected this area.
Another topic that would be good is ˝Global Warming from a Christian Perspective˝. It's also very popular right now. To discuss what is our responsibility as Christians, how God told us to take care of the world and what that means now.
Also, I would be interested in hearing how the politics of America effects American Christianity. Perhaps to have someone from the U.S. Speak on how they see the changing of society in America. Actually our teachers at KRE are already teaching us that the 19th century was pax Brittanica; the 20th was pax America and the 21st will be pax China. Through time Britain became debted to America and now America is debted to China. All the products are made in China and now all the brains from Europe are being attracted there as well. Engineers from Europe are going to China.

Cindy: How do you think we can best advertise KMTI?

Angela: You need to interconnect with the faculty. Anne-Marie needs to make KMTI better known in the other faculties. You should advertise during the one or two week period when students are applying for their next semester courses. You should put out posters in all the different facilities of KRE around Budapest. No one knows about where you are located except students who are already in this building. You need to get the courses on the internet and have posters in all the locations the end of January/beginning of February.

Cindy: What are your hopes for your future?

Angela: For myself, I hopefully will graduate next year in English with a degree that allows me to teach. But I would really like to work with my husband at Ellel ministries. I would like to try teaching, elementary students. I used to work at the American International school and would enjoy working there again as a teacher. I have aslo done some translation work and would enjoy doing more of this.

Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of the church?

Angela: The church I go to is in a small village outside of Budapest. It is a pentecostal church with about 100 people. My father-in-law who is the pastor has his eyes on getting the whole village saved. He actually has prophesied about this. We will see. But we are actually looking for a place to buy a plot of land to build a new building. We constantly have space problems. About the church in general in Hungary. The work we are doing at Ellel, we are trying to build bridges with pastors. We train pastors twice a year and I'm the translator for these conferences. That's how I'm involved. We try to build bridges because in the past there was a wrong perception of our ministry that it was only about deliverance from demons and we were seen as super spiritual. Once Hungarians have a certain perception, it is very difficult to change their minds.

Cindy: What about the future of your country?

Angela: That's a big question. The political situation is so depressive. I don't have too high hopes for the country. As a Christian, I hope that we can do some work here. Many of my friends who live abroad think Hungary is crazy. We had communist rule for 50 years. Then there comes democracy and then we go back to communist leadership thinking that they had changed. I just don't understand that. The leaders right now, they are communist...their dad's were communist. Hungarians have a saying ˝a dog will never be a sausage˝ (it sounds better in Hungarian) but it means that something is not going to change just because you change the name or dress it up. It's still the same. People don't think outside the box. They only remember that there wasn't unemployment before and think that's all that matters. They only see it one way. All this depression, it's the fault of communism and all the alcoholism too. The suicide rate is going up. People don't see any other way out. An important matter that people seem to be missing is the whole decline of the family. It's so obvious and it effects everybody even Christians are getting divorces.I think it's important to focus on the family and what a difference it can make in our society. The stability of the family can make a big difference.

Kool News of the Károli -- 7

Budapest - 1st November, 2008


Dear Friends and Family,


'Do not say anything at school about what is discussed at home.' This sentence still goes on resounding in the minds of the participants of the international missions conference which was held in Hungary at the end of August.

IAMS conference
The fourth world conference of the International Association for Mission Studies took place in Hungary under the auspices of the Gáspár Károli Reformed University. A large part of the local organization fell to the staff of the missions institute.

A few years ago a very specific decision was taken to hold it in a country in Central Europe and to have as the main theme of the conference, Human Identity and the Gospel of Reconciliation, a theme which fits with the burning issues in the region. (See more: www.iams2008.com)

Six young women in mission
In order to give the more than 250 participants from 44 countries - according to one of the participants a real 'abundance of nations, tribes, people and languages' - insight into this situation and in particular to make them acquainted with the experience of the Communist time, a number of young women participants were asked to tell something about their lives and that of their families, and in particular to reflect on what it meant to live as a Christian in an atheist system.

Figure 1, from left to right: Vija, Olga, Tanya, Dorottya, Eszter and Edit

Not telling anyone that your parents and your grandparents hold to the message and values of the Bible and go to Church on Sundays, taking you along. Because of this, being an outsider, being avoided as a child, not being able to play naturally with friends. It all seems so long ago that this occurred in the families in the various countries of the region. So many years ago, yet still quite fresh in the memories of Vija, Olga, Tanya, Dorottya, Eszter and Edit and many others who experienced it. It remains a part of your life, even if you were only ten years old at the time. The shadows of the past have not yet disappeared either.
For many participants, it was a moving introduction into what went on behind the Iron Curtain.


Figure 2 Some of the fifty participants from Central and Eastern Europe


A world opens up...
For the missions institute it was a very special experience to have so many guests for a whole week and to introduce them in various ways to Central and Eastern Europe. Gina, one of our students, expressed it like this,

'So many different people from different parts of the world: it was such an encouragement... It was wonderful to receive them. I was proud of my home country. It warmed me to see how they were surprised at the beauty of Lake Balaton, Budapest and the countryside... The conference helped me to broaden my vision of the Church of Christ.'

For two days, Hungary was in the spotlight. On the Sunday, many of the participants were guests in Churches in Budapest. More than forty congregations received foreign guests during the Sunday worship services. Many were able to preach or to bring greetings from their home Churches. A second day focused on the subject of missionary work. Exposure visits were made to a great variety of projects: the problem of the urban cities, the so-called 'house of terror', Jewish diaspora yesterday and today, and much attention was also paid to the work among the Roma (gypsies).

Identity and reconciliation
Of course there were other days hallmarked by introductions to the development of missions and missiological research. The central theme was constantly “Human identity and the Gospel of reconciliation”. In Christ we receive a new identity, which means that other identities disappear or slip into second place (cf. Gal. 3:26-19). One of the fruits of this is that 'enemies become friends'.

The theme and the stories from the region continue to resound in the minds of the participants, and in Hungary itself as well. It was not just a conference you go to, pick up something or not, and then proceed to the order of the day. It was not for nothing that there was so much media interest.

Hungary 'moral sacrificial lamb'
Hungary is facing the burning question of reconciliation with the past. This has to do with the shadows of the past at all levels of society.
I had wanted to write this Kool News already quite soon after the conference, but there were many things that still had to be rounded off and the new academic year was about to start straight away. Now I am writing it, it has taken on an extra charge. I read last week in a Dutch newspaper (NCR - 22nd October):
'Hungary is a moral sacrificial lamb. Hungarians no longer have any trust whatsoever in politics. This is seen with a vengeance now that the country is being hit by the credit crunch. The ultra-right is taking advantage of this dissatisfaction.'
The questions which are now facing Hungary had been around for some time, visible in political debate, through the great conflict between government and opposition, and more under the surface among many Hungarians. With the credit crunch, many nerves seem to have been laid bare.

This relates to several matters: economic growth is severely restricted in comparison with the surrounding countries; there is an urgent need for a revision of the health care system; there are issues relating to the future of education; and there are major questions about the way in which things are run. Partly because of the great political contrasts, it has not been possible to achieve a substantial approach in many areas.

Wonderful task for Church and university
Churches and universities are part of this society. When it says 'sacrificial lamb', there is a wonderful task for the Church and the university to bring into the limelight the values for which they stand and to be an example for society. After all, reconciliation is taught in God's Word. Unfortunately, in practice it is not (yet) the case that this task is being taken up.

Mission as a ministry of reconciliation
The institute is trying to incorporate in the lectures some conditions which are necessary in the present situation to be an example. Students remarked that what they learn at the lectures is 'very useful in many area of the work of a minister', or 'I expected dry and boring teaching material. Instead of that I was given a wonderful new perspective on the Church and missions.' Another remarked, 'The subject of missiology has taught me an openness, so that later when I am a minister that I will not only be concerned with those who come to Church, but also with those who do not have any contact whatsoever with the Church. Besides this, I have gained the courage to go and seek them out and talk to them about the gospel. In the future, I also want to find fellow workers and to equip them.' 'Missiology helps us to be more consciously involved in questions of mission, to talk about them and not to allow it to be an ad hoc matter.'

An important lecture that is on the timetable for this semester is, Missions as a service of reconciliation, in which we translate the issues from the conference into everyday life. What do the Biblical notes about reconciliation mean for our own identity in Christ and for dealing with conflicts? Yet another lecture, also for students from the whole of the university, is linked with human identity. The students invite persons known to them from the Church and society and put question to them such as why these people believe, what drives them as Christians in their professions.

Figure 3 Students listen attentively to a Nigerian guest speaker

One of the first guests was a senior official from the Nigerian embassy and the pastor of the African Church in Budapest.

A personal note and some topics for prayer

1. Against the background of the crisis in Hungary, there is a strong tendency throughout society to turn back to forms of leadership which were widely applied under Communism. This situation does not pass the Church and the university by. Please pray for all the attempts which are being made to uphold the truth and to live in the Truth.
2. This autumn, elections are being held in the Reformed Church of Hungary for new Church leadership and for new bishops. Please pray that people will be elected who are an example in doctrine and in deeds and who are capable of leading the Church and the congregations in the way of hope, faith and love. Pray that the Spirit of Reformation will continue to work with power, even today.
3. Pray for the Károli University. Pray for the leadership of the university, for wisdom, dedication and perseverance, that the university may fulfil its important calling as a Christian university in a society which is becoming increasingly secularised.
4. Give thanks for the new team of the Missions Institute. Also for the lectures this semester and for the positive feedback from the students. Please pray that the students will be touched, and will be stimulated to follow Christ in all the areas of their life. Pray for the development and accreditation of new programmes, not a simple matter at this time. The difficulties are not only in the area of the finances (no small challenge either!), but voices are also being raised in favour of tinkering with the equal rights of Christian education.
5. In these troubled times, with God's help and trusting in His strength and wisdom, I am trying to stand steadfast and to be a signpost for students and colleagues. Please pray especially for my role as the mentor of a new generation of preachers and teachers, who are posing missionary questions in the Church and university and studying them and trying to share their vision and knowledge with others. 2 Tim. 2:2.


Yours sincerely in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

Kool Nieuws van de Károli -- 7

Kool_Nieuws_van_de_Karoli_-_7

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Impressions from Veritas Forum course: Why do I believe

Guest lecturer: Dr. Ödön Nemes

Dissertatie Dr. Álmos Ete Sipos Gepubliceerd

Dr. Álmos Ete Sípos
Bittet den Herrn der Ernte Mission 41
Gyula Forgács (1879-1941) Pionier der ungarischen reformierten Inneren Mission
Bestel
Gyula Forgás (1879-1941) was als predikant van de gereformeerde kerk in Hongarije niet alleen een belangrijke pionier van het zendingswerk in Hongarije, maar speelde eveneens een prominente rol op het gebied van de theoretische en strategische onderbouwing hiervan.
Op grond van rijk bronnenmateriaal wordt zijn persoon, zijn spiritualiteit en zijn werk grondig beschreven, waarbij belangrijke invloeden op de Hongaarse zendingsbeweging uit Duitsland, Schotland en Nederland zichtbaar gemaakt worden.
Voor de Duitse lezer wordt hier een betekenisvolle en tot dusver weinig bekende episode van de Hongaarse kerkgeschiedenis op bewogen en begrijpelijke manier beschreven.
Dr. Álmos Ete Sípos
Álmos Ete Sípos is predikant in Boedapest en voormalig lid van de synode van de Gereformeerde Kerk in Hongarije. Hij is een van de grondleggers van het Hongaars Bijbelgenootschap in Hongarije en momenteel algemeen secretaris.

http://www.boekencentrum.nl/shop_details.php?productId=22564

Impressions from Climate Change in the Worldwide Church course

Verslag Themadag Gemeentecontacten Houten

107 Verslag Themadag Gemeentecontacten_verand Amk

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Special award at Károli Gáspár Ref. University

Dr. Anne-Marie Kool
Anne-Marie Kool mintegy két évtizede él Magyarországon és sok szálon fűződik a magyarországi Református Egyházhoz. A missziológia professzoraként megalapította egyetemünkön a Közép- és Kelet-Európai Missziói Tanulmányi Intézetet. Számos sikeres rendezvény, különböző kurzusok kötődnek személyéhez. Széles nemzetközi kapcsolatot épített ki, többek között a Nemzetközi Missziológiai Társaság vezető testületének tagja, jelenleg elnöke. A szervezet idén nyáron Magyarországon szervezte a négy évente megrendezésre kerülő, XII. konferenciáját. A konferencia sikeres lebonyolításában nagy része volt Anne-Marie Kool professzor asszonynak, a közel 300 résztvevő jó hírét vitte el egyetemünknek a világ minden tájára.

Anne-Marie Kool has lived more than two decades in Hungary, and is in many ways linked to the Reformed Church in Hungary. As professor of Missiology she established at our university the Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies. Numerous succesful events and various courses are related to her. She has established a broad international network. Among others she was a member of the board of the International Association for Mission Studies. This organisation convened this summer their quadrennial 12th international conference in Hungary. The successful organisation is for a large extent due to Prof. Anne-Marie Kool. Close to 300 participants have taken the good news of our university to all places of this world.



Onderscheiding

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Visit of youth group Sion congregation Houten

Impressions of Beregfürdő Church Retraite of Gazdagrét Congregation

Annual Report CIMS 2007_2008

CIMS_Annual Report _schematic 2007_08 080709

IAMS 2008 conference website

The next few months we were very busy in organising the 12th International Assembly of the International Association for Mission Studies in Balatonfüred, Hungary.

Take a look at the conference website for more information, pictures, reports, impressions etc.

http://www.iams2008.com/

The South Moving North -- Conference, 22nd April 2008

„Climate Change in the World Church:
The South Moving North
Mission Conference


The centre of gravity of the world church shifted from the Northern hemisphere to the South. While many European churches are struggling for survival, fast growing churches and vital forms of Christian faith develop in Africa, Asia and Latin-America. Also in Hungary several non-western churches were founded in the course of the last two decades: Korean, Chinese, African, Mongolian etc.
Are we sufficiently aware of the implications of these fundamental changes for the practice of mission, church and congregation? What are the theological implications of this shift in the centre of gravity?


On 22 April, 2008

The Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies of the Károli Gáspár Reformed University

Organises a
Mission conference dealing with these questions.
We cordially invite pastors, elders, mission referents, leaders of mission organisations, teachers, students and all those who are interested to register.
Translation is provided


The guest lecturer is:
Prof. Dr. Andrew F. Walls (Scotland)
Emeritus director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World at the University of Edinburgh

Professor Walls taught in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and was visiting professor in Princeton and Yale. A renowned scholar, he has gained wide experience as mission educator in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and through his lecturing in six continents and his students from all over the world.
Place:
Lecture hall of the Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies of the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, 1091 Budapest, Kálvin tér 7. III. floor (entrance through the courtyard behind the Ref. Calvin Church, with gate at Török Pál utca)

Registration:
We kindly request you to register before 18th April, at our email address: kmti@kre.hu.

Registration fee:
1000,- Ft; students free. Registration fee has to be paid at the conference.

Program:

9.30 Registration
10.00–10.30 Devotions – Dr. István Szabó, bishop of the Reformed Church District Along the Danube
10.30–11.15 Lecture of Prof. Dr. Andrew F. Walls: „Climate change in the World Church: The South Moving North.
11.15–12.00 Respondents and discussion
12.00–12.45 Break
12.45–14.00 Forum: Is the “South” moving to Hungary as well? Meeting with leaders and representatives of non-western churches in Hungary
14.00–14.30 Lessons for the Hungarian Churches
14.30 Reception– „A meeting of South and North”: informal conversation during a standing reception.

Visit to Wroclaw, Poland

Last week I visited the Evangelical School of Theology in Wroclaw and met with its Rector, Dr. Wojtek Szczerba and several of his staff members (http://www.ewst.pl/en/faculty). One of the topics we discussed was to strengthen the ties with the Károli Ref. University by ways of student- and faculty exchange.

Prof. Dr. Cephas Omenyo, Ghana, visits the Károli Reformed University

From 3 - 14 March Prof. Dr. Cephas Omenyo visited the Mission Institute. He taught an intensive course on Renewal in African Christianity: the case of Ghana, to a class of more than 25 students, the majority from the department of Humanities. A new world opened up to them.

You are invited to view Anne-Marie's photo album: Visit Prof. Dr. Cephas Omenyo, Ghana

Impressions of course Prof. Dr. Cephas Omenyo

Kool Nieuws van de Károli -- 6

Budapest, 3 maart 2008.

Beste vrienden en familie!

Afgelopen dinsdag stonden we bij de opening van de collegedag voor PhD studenten stil bij Nehemia 1. „Welke zin spreekt je in het bijzonder aan? Welk woord blijft bij je haken?” We waren met vier studenten en drie docenten bij elkaar. “Nehemia laat het slechte nieuws dat de muren van de tempel in Jeruzalem in puin liggen op hem inwerken, en zit dagenlang in zak en as te bidden”, merkte een student op. “Wij hebben de neiging om de realiteit altijd wat op te poetsen, of vluchten in het verleden”, reageerde een ander, “we durven de realiteit niet onder ogen te zien.” “Het raakt me diep dat Nehemia zijn eigen schuld belijdt, maar ook die van zijn volk. Dat is ongekend voor ons. Wat zou dat nodig zijn, ook vandaag.” De hele dag door kwam het gesprek steeds weer terug op de puinhopen die we om ons heen zien in de kerk en maatschappij, de scheuren die overal zichtbaar zijn, maar ook op de wijdverbreide houding (virus?) in de hongaarse samenleving om naar de ander te wijzen, die is schuldig, niet wij.

Over roddel en modder gooien
De afgelopen maanden hield onze predikant, Ds. András Lovas een serie preken over de Tien Geboden, die op profetische wijze ingingen op de aktuele problemen in de hongaarse samenleving, maar waarin ook steeds weer heel duidelijk ter sprake kwam wat in het dagelijks leven betekent: “Maar Gij geheel anders”. In de preek over het 9de gebod (24 febr. 2008), “Gij zult geen vals getuigenis spreken” kwam het volgende aan de orde (in verkorte vorm). Het geeft op heel treffende wijze aan wat er zich de afgelopen anderhalf jaar afspeelt in de hongaarse samenleving. Dit is de kontekst waarin ik werk. Het is niets nieuws, maar een duidelijke schaduw van het verleden. Al 25 jaar geleden schreef Vaclav Havel over de poging om in de Waarheid te leven (Versuch in der Wahrheit zu leben).

Fundament van de maatschappij
“...Het gaat in dit gebod om alle soorten van leugen. Het waarachtige, eerlijke en betrouwbaar spreken behoort tot het fundament van het gemeenschapsleven van een maatschappij. Waar woorden niet dat betekenen wat ze werkelijk betekenen, in termen van vandaag: waar communicatie en manipulatie aan de orde van de dag zijn, in plaats van open en eerlijk spreken, daar sidderen de fundamenten van het maatschappelijk samenleven. Het welzijn en de gezondheid van iedere gemeenschap hangt af van het eerlijk spreken, van passende woorden voor de werkelijkheid. In de hongaarse maatschappij van vandaag beleven we de ernstige waarheid hiervan. Hiermee realiseren we ons ook dat het afleggen van een vals getuigenis, van iedere vorm van leugen niet alleen een individuele, maar ook een gemeenschappelijke zonde is.

Roddel totaal geaccepteerd
God waarschuwt zijn volk niet alleen daarom, om geen vals getuigenis af te leggen, omdat het op zichzelf slecht is, maar ook, omdat het schadelijk is voor een ander: Gij zult geen vals getuigenis spreken TEGEN UW NAASTE.” Leugen vernieldt, vernietigt de ander... Het eigen belang wordt boven dat van de waarheid geplaatst. De goede naam van de ander, zijn bezit, zijn nut, zijn gezondheid wordt beschadigd, omdat wij aan ons eigen belang vasthouden. ... Vaak doen we dit onbewust... we realiseren ons niet wat we hiermee aanrichten. Roddelen, achterklap is totaal geaccepteerd in het alledaagse leven... Het is een deel van onszelf geworden daaraan mee te doen... Het is, met de woorden van Joh. Calvijn: een “zoet vergif, waarin we behagen scheppen”. Hoe komt het dat we in dit dodelijk en vernietigende gif zo’n behagen scheppen?

“Maar Gij geheel anders”
... Jezus roept ons op om hiermee te stoppen. Dat is mogelijk als we met schuldbelijdenis ons tot hem wenden, en heel bewust ons afkeren van de leugen: “Als de Zoon u vrijmaakt zult gij waarlijk vrij zijn.” Hij is de enige die ons kan vrij maken van het vooropstellen van je eigenbelang. Hij bevrijdt je van de dwang, om jezelf waar te maken door de ander vuil te maken. Hij roept ons tot zichzelf, als je het gevoel hebt dat een gemeenschap je niet meer accepteert, omdat je niet meer meedoet met het modder gooien en het zwartmaken van anderen. ... Hij schenkt ons Zijn Geest, de Geest van de waarheid, die ons opnieuw fijngevoelig maakt naar de waarheid. ... Hiertoe roept God ons, ook als gemeente. Dat we dragers zijn van het spreken van de waarheid, van liefde en van zegen in deze wereld. Dat we beginnen met anderen oprecht te prijzen. Dat we in plaats van schelden goed over anderen spreken. Dat als we iets kwaads horen, onze oren sluiten, of als de beschuldiging ongegrond is, dat we de ander verdedigen. Laten we in het alledaagse leven het vuilmaken van een ander, het vervloeken stoppen, en laten we in plaats daarvan boodschappen de wereld in sturen die opbouwend zijn, die respect tonen voor de ander, die zegen brengen. Laten we dit heel konkreet doen in onze omgeving, op ons werk, op school, in onze familie, in onze gemeente. Laten we elkaar bemoedigen, prijzen, elkaar opbouwen, en zo tegen de stroom van roddel, en cynische en bittere opmerkingen ingaan. Laten we op deze manier zout en gist zijn in ons land, en ons zo voorbereiden op de toekomst, waartoe de Here ons roept. Alleen een vernieuwde en voortdurend vernieuwende gemeenschap is het die de machtige daden van God zal zijn in een bedorven land. Amen”

Vredestichter zijn
Het doet me denken aan de gesprekken met leiders van theologische instituten in Midden-Europa op een conferentie in Praag, twee weken geleden. Ik was gevraagd te spreken over Hoe met conflicten om te gaan (How to manage conflict). In mijn verhaal benadrukte ik enerzijds elementen uit de post-communistische cultuur die snel aanleiding geven tot conflicten, en ook van conflict mijdende houdingen. Verder dat de kern van zending eigenlijk is om een boodschapper van shalom, van het verkondigen van de weg van vrede met God in Christus en met elkaar te zijn. Heel vaak is er een grote kloof tussen leven uit de verzoening met God in Christus en het leven van alledag, terwijl Paulus ons toch oproept een een ambassadeur van de verzoening te zijn. Vaak ontlopen we conflicten of wakkeren we juist het vuurtje van conflicten aan, in plaats van vrede te zoeken en vrede stichters te zijn (Cf. Ken Sande, Zalig zijn de vredestichters. Bijbelse gids voor het oplossen van conflicten, uitg. Medema). Ik was eigenlijk onthutst om de verhalen te horen van mijn jongere collega’s, van situaties van diepe conflicten, beschuldigingen, van eenzaamheid, van strijd en worsteling hoe daarmee om te gaan. Het klonk me allemaal heel bekend in de oren.

Missionair gemeente zijn in Oost en West
Begin februari werd in Houten een themadag gehouden over gemeentecontacten met kerkelijke gemeenten in Midden en Oost Europa. Ruim 50 personen hebben een dag lang met elkaar stilgestaan bij de vragen die er leven zowel in Nederland als ook in Midden en Oost Europa over de vorm en inhoud van de contacten.
Aanleiding was dat ik met een zekere regelmaat vragen krijg van afzonderlijke gemeenten om ondersteuning bij het onderhoud van de contacten. Tot nu toe werden deze vragen waar mogelijk beantwoord tijdens deputatiewerk. Sinds de oprichting van het Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies aan de Karoli universiteit van Boedapest is het mogelijk om de gemeentecontacten tot deel van onderzoek en toerusting te maken. Een eerste stap werd gezet met de bijeenkomst in Houten.
Uit de reacties vooraf en ook tijdens de dag werd duidelijk het gemeentecontact in vele kerkelijke gemeenten in Nederland nog leeft maar dat zich ongeveer 20 jaar na de veranderingen in Midden en Oost Europa vele nieuwe vragen zich aandienen. Het ging om een gezamenlijke bezinning op Missionair gemeente zijn in Oost en West en hoe we als gemeenten vanuit een gelijkwaardige positie naast elkaar te staan. De vragen die zich aandienen zijn niet alleen de vragen in Hongarije of Roemenië maar ook de vragen in Nederland en geheel Europa: de overgang van een Christendom naar een post-Christendom tijdperk. Er is geen panacee, geen standaardoplossing voor de vragen die betrokkenen bij gemeentecontacten hebben. Er ligt wel een geweldige uitdaging: zoeken naar vormen waarin de vragen die zich aandienen gemeenschappelijke vragen worden, waarin sprake is van gelijkwaardigheid in plaats van eenzijdigheid en eenrichtingsverkeer.
· Als gemeenten je realiseren dat je deel uitmaakt van een groter geheel
· Bemoedigen van de gemeente en stimuleren getuige te zijn, waar nodig samen te werken aan toerusting
· Bespreken van de vraagstukken die zich aandienen aan beide kanten: maatschappelijke vragen , vragen die zich in de kerk aandienen
· Nagaan wat identiteit en etniciteit betekenen: de ander in het oosten veelal Roma, in het westen de moslims
· Waar nodig en mogelijk elkaar de spiegel voorhouden
Wanneer beide partijen bereid zijn om een gezamenlijke weg te gaan, elkaar er aan te herinneren deel te zijn van het wereldwijde Christendom, naast en met elkaar te staan, elkaar te bemoedigen dan biedt het alle kansen om nieuwe aspecten van Gods koninkrijk te leren kennen.

“Do the Next Thing”
In een kerk en maatschappij met deze “erfenis” is de Károli Universiteit in een unieke situatie om als een van de weinige protestantse universiteiten van Midden-Europa geroepen om een zoutend zout te zijn. De uitdagingen zijn vele, ook de open deuren, maar ook de problemen! Bidt voor wijsheid voor de leiding van de universiteit en van de kerken. Een vriendin gaf me eens de raad: Do the Next Thing, doe iedere dag dat wat heel duidelijk de volgende stap is.
Er zijn de afgelopen maanden vele wonderen gebeurd.
· Het eerste semester gaf ik twee cursussen met totaal 10 studenten, dit semester biedt nieuwe Zendingsinstituut 6 cursussen aan waar 90 studenten zich voor hebben opgegeven.
· Dank voor alle giften die het mogelijk maken om deze programma’s aan te bieden. Bidt voor meer stabiele partners voor het Zendingsinstituut en de universiteit.
· Dankbaar ben ik voor Szerena en Dóra, met wie ik samen 2 cursussen geef, en voor Prof. Cephas Omenyo uit Ghana die een modulaire cursus geeft.
· Ondertussen groeit ook ons team. We zaten pasgeleden met z’n vijven om de tafel! Gabi is onze nieuwe bibliothecaresse, Krisztián studentenassistent, Szerena AIO, Margit part-time buromedewerkster, en Mineke business manager, PR medewerker, etc. op afstand. Bidt voor een full-time persoonlijke assistent.
· Het Local Committee voor de wereldwijde IAMS missiologen conferentie (16-23 augustus, 2008) is enthousiast bezig.
In een eerder Kool Nieuws maakte ik melding van mijn a.s. oratie. Wegens omstandigheden is dat tot nader datum verschoven.

In Christus verbonden,

Anne-Marie Kool

Kool News of the Károli -- 6

Dear Friends and Family,

A few reflections on Nehemiah by some PhD students
The discussion began with these questions: “Which sentence particularly speaks to you?``
“Nehemiah allows the bad news on the walls of the Jerusalem temple being in ruins to sink in, this leads to prayer”, responded one.
“We tend always to polish up reality, or to flee into the past”, responded another. “We don't dare to face up to reality.”
“Nehemiah confesses his own faults, but also those of his people. This is unheard of with us. How much this is needed, even today.”
The whole day, the conversation kept connecting the ruins in Nehemiah’s time to the ruins that we see around us in the Churches and in Hungarian society. The cracks are visible everywhere: especially in the widespread tendency to blame others. „It's their fault, not ours”.

On gossiping and mud slinging
Recently our pastor, Rev. András Lovas, gave a series of sermons about the Ten Commandments, which prophetically addressed the current problems in Hungarian society, but also what is means in everyday life to follow Christ. The sermon, about the ninth commandment, “you shall not give false testimony about your neighbour” raised issues that deal directly with events happening in Hungarian society over the last year and a half. It is nothing new, but a clear shadow of the past.

In 1984 Vaclav Havel (at that time still a Czech dissident) links this commandment with a striking analysis of the society of his time (in Living in Truth). It is very true in Hungary today: „...this commandment refers to all types of lies. Truthful, honest and trustworthy speech is part of the foundation of the common life of a society. Where words do not mean what they really mean, in today's terms, where communication and manipulation are the order of the day, instead of open and honest speech, there the foundations of the social community shake. The well-being and health of every community depends on honest speech, on fitting words for the reality. In Hungarian society today, we are experiencing the serious reality of this lack of honesty. In this way, we realise that bearing false testimony, that every form of lie, is not only an individual but also a collective sin.”

Gossip completely accepted
God not only warns His people not to bear false testimony because it is bad in itself, but also because it is damaging for others: 'You shall not give false testimony AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOUR.'
Lying destroys, devastates others... self-interest is set above the truth. The good name of another, his possessions, his usefulness, his health are damaged, because we want to maintain our own interests.
... Often we do this subconsciously ... we do not realise what we are doing. Gossiping, backbiting, is completely accepted in everyday life... It has become part of us to join in. In the words of John Calvin, it is a 'sweet poison, in which we take delight'. How is it that we take such delight in this deadly and destructive poison?
'You did not come to know Christ that way' ... Jesus calls us to stop this. This is possible if we turn to Him in confession and consciously turn away from the lies: 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.' He is the only One Who can set us free from putting self-interest first. He liberates you from the compulsion to prove yourself by besmirching others. He calls you to Himself, when you have the feeling that society no longer accepts you because you no longer join in with slinging mud and blackening the name of others... He gives us His Spirit, the Spirit of truth, Who again makes us sensitive to the truth... It is to this that God calls us, also as a Church. To be supporters of speaking the truth, of love and of blessing in this world. To begin with sincerely praising others. Instead of cursing, to speak well of others. If we hear something bad, to close our ears, or if the accusation is unfounded, that we defend the other person. Let us in daily life stop putting others down and cursing others, and let us instead send messages into the world that are uplifting, showing respect for others and bringing blessing. Let us do this in very real ways in our circles, at our work, at school, with our families, in our church. Let us encourage and praise one another, build one another up, and in this way go against the stream of gossip and cynical and bitter remarks. Let us in this way be salt and yeast in our world, and so prepare ourselves for the future to which the Lord calls us. It is only a renewed and continually renewing fellowship which will reveal the mighty deeds of God in a barren land. Amen.

Being a peacemaker
At a conference of leaders of theological schools in Prague, we dealt with the topic of how to manage conflict. I was quite disconcerted to learn through their accounts of situations of deep conflicts and accusations leading to fighting, loneliness and struggles. This is all too familiar in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. In my talk I noted elements from the post-Communist culture that easily lead to these types of conflicts and on ways to avoid conflict. The core element in avoiding conflict is being a messenger of shalom, by proclaiming peace with God in Christ and with one another. But often there is a great gap between life based on reconciliation with God in Christ and everyday life. While Paul calls us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, we either shy away from conflicts („Peacefaking”) or fan the fire of conflicts („Peace breaking”) rather than seeking peace and being peacemakers (cf. Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: A Biblical guide to resolving personal conflict, pub. Baker Books).

(Group photo from Prague)

Twinning links in East and West
Earlier this year a conference was held in Houten on twinning links with church fellowships in Central and Eastern Europe. Over fifty people met to discuss being a missional church in East and West in this Post Christian era and how we as churches can stand along side one another in a position of equality. There are no standard solutions for the tremendous challenges being faced by all churches in Europe; to find forms in which the questions can become common questions, where there is a case of mutuality instead of a kind of paternalism.

(Photo of Conference for Twinning link churches)

'Do the next thing'
In a Church and society with this 'heritage', the Károli University is in a unique situation as one of the few Protestant universities in Central Europe, called to be the salt of the earth. The challenges are many, as are the open doors, but there are also many problems! Please pray for wisdom for the leadership of the university and of the churches. A friend once gave me this advice: “Do the next thing. Every day, do the thing which is clearly the next step.”

In the past months, many miracles have taken place.
* In the first semester, I gave two courses with a total of ten students. This semester, the new Missions Institute is providing six courses, in which ninety students have enrolled.
*Give thanks for all the donations that make it possible to provide these programs. Pray for more stable partners for the Missions Institute and the University.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

Kool News of the Károli -- 5

Budapest, 17 December 2007 (send out 28 February, 2008)

Dear Friends and Family,
There's much to be learned from guests! Guests help you to see your situation through new eyes. I regularly have guests, especially from the Netherlands. In this Kool News, I have asked some of them to give their impressions.

Impressions of Budapest (1)
'For years, Kool News (and the previous Signs of Life from Hungary) has been a resource for many about mission and evangelism developments in Central and Eastern Europe. These reports reveal Anne-Marie Kool’s unique contributions to these developments. I can confidently attest to this. She has asked me to share my impressions in her newsletter with you in my own way. Since I became involved in the work of the Mission Institute as a volunteer two years ago, I have grown to know her and her work.
Since 1990, I have increasingly become familiar with this region through participating in various activities, particularly dealing with people who have disabilities. As a professor of missiology in a post-Communist region, Anne-Marie has dealt with everything imaginable: teaching those with a Communist upbringing that engenders faith in nothing and no one. Because of this, you never know if people will do what they promise and say what they think. And yet ...Anne-Marie is one of those people who take up the challenge. She believes in possibilities, because she trusts that God will help despite all the gloom. (Gloomy - that's what it looked like here last week: drab and grey.) Then this morning, suddenly the sun was shining, the sky was blue and there was a refreshing breeze. Symbolic of all the brightness which can be seen in the eyes of the students with whom Anne-Marie is dealing and who are learning how to understand the commission of the Biblical message within the context of their culture.
It was an impressive moment the first Sunday of Advent, there were more than twenty-five people who expressed a desire for the first time to become actively involved in the Church. There were also many children born into the church this year. The church is experiencing true growth thanks to the relentless dedication of the pastors and the many active volunteers.. There is much to learn - you do that if you have the opportunity to work with Anne-Marie. She is a teacher in heart and soul. She seems continually to radiate, not as a goal in itself, but out of commitment to the Good Cause of Jesus Christ. Inspiration is what you gain from being under her teaching. Somewhere in a building on Calvin Square, step-by-step work is being done to help students discover their true humanity in Christ.”
(Mineke Hardeman, Budapest, 13th December, 2007)

From Saturday, December 1st to Tuesday, December 4th, Henk Massink, an elder from the Reformed Sion Church in Houten was a guest in Budapest. He, too, has been visiting Hungary since the beginning of the 1990's. Here are some of his impressions. (My, ”home churches” of Sion and the Gazdagrét both have connections here.)

Impressions of Budapest (2)
Miklos and Toncy Nagy warmly welcomed me in their flat in the Gazdagrét area. They, too, visited our Church in the Netherlands in 2005. It was good to renew our connections. Their home is about two hundred meters from the Gazdagrét church. With them, I again had discussions until deep in the night about the social and political situation in Hungary. It again became clear to me how strong the Communists aftermath still is and how harmful these influences are for society. The socialist government (under the leadership of a former Communist) is squashing any form of social creativity and responsibility.

Gazdagrét Church
On Sunday morning, the Gazdagrét church quickly filled. It is remarkable how many people have joined the Church through the Alpha course. It must have something to do with the fact that the church members are very hospitable to people from the neighborhood. In his sermon, Pastor Andras Lovas skillfully linked the situation in which people find themselves to the lament found in Psalm 13. Rev. Lovas showed that complaining is part of a Biblical life of faith that should transform from complaint into prayer and through faith into trust.

Mongolian Service
On Sunday afternoon, with Anne-Marie, I attended a small Mongolian Church. Janet, one of Anne-Marie’s former students invited us to join her at the Mongolian church that meets in Budapest. She was closely involved in the formation of this church in a poorer part of the city. The service was to start at 5:00 p.m., but at that time, we were standing in the cold outside a closed door. Just after five, a number of people came up with an unmistakably Asian appearance, one with the key to open the door. Talking was not easy but the reception was extremely warm.It was a special service, lasting about two and a half hours. It was a farewell service to two Korean evangelist-pastors who live in Germany, who had led an evangelistic campaign for the past ten days. The elder evangelist sang a song in which you could hear the wind whistling across the Mongolian steppes. Then the other Korean pastor took over in Mongolian. It happens that since the 1980's, there have been quite a lot of Mongolian women working as seamstresses in Budapest. (In 1994, I had contact with Munhjin, who came to faith in the Pasaret Church, AMK).

Now there were finally about forty people present at the service, the vast majority women. The word was like a sharp two-edged sword. The sermon focused mainly on Revelation 22:8. Eight forms of sin are mentioned. Anyone who commits any one of these sins ends up in the 'fiery lake of burning sulphur'. During the service, the pastor asked the Church members - while everyone had their eyes closed - to raise their hands if they knew they had committed any of these sins. It was a serious word through which the conscience was touched. But it was not left at this. The preacher commended the blood of Christ as the way to salvation and victory. In this, he gave the example of the powerful work of God's Spirit in the hearts of heathen (Mongolian) priests. The Church clearly expressed its joy about this great grace. This service also seemed to be a type of commissioning service where various church members were assigned tasks. sing. After that, with a firm hug, everyone said good-bye to the two Korean guest pastors, and they sang to us as special guests. It was all particularly impressive and moving.
(H.F. Massink)

Finally
When you read this belated Kool News, teaching is well underway into the second semester with about 80 students in five courses! I’m greatly enjoying it. Next week a guest professor from Ghana, Prof. Dr. Cephas Omenyo will teach a class on Renewal in African Christianity: the case of Ghana. Pray that the course will be a great blessing to the 25+ students who have registered. Thank you for your faithful support and prayers!

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

Contacten met kerkelijke gemeenten in Midden en Oost Europa na 20 jaar nog springlevend

Contacten met kerkelijke gemeenten in Midden en Oost Europa na 20 jaar nog springlevend

(Mineke Hardeman)

Introductie
Begin februari werd op intitiatef van Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Kool in het kerkelijk centrum Sionspoort in Houten een themadag gehouden over gemeentecontacten met kerkelijke gemeenten in Midden en Oost Europa. Ruim 50 personen hebben een dag lang met elkaar stilgestaan bij de vragen die er leven zowel in Nederland als ook in Midden en Oost Europa over de vorm en inhoud van de contacten.

Aanleiding tot het organiseren van deze dag was dat prof. Kool met een zekere regelmaat vragen krijgt van afzonderlijke gemeenten om ondersteuning bij het onderhoud van de contacten. Tot nu toe werden deze vragenwaar mogelijk beantwoord via schriftelijk contact of ook tijdens deputatiewerk. Sinds de oprichting van het Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies aan de Karoli universiteit van Boedapest en Prof. Kool’s benoeming tot hoogleraar missiologie aan deze universiteit is het mogelijk om de gemeentecontacten tot deel van onderzoek en toerusting te maken. Een eerste stap werd gezet met de bijeenkomst in Houten.
Uit de reacties vooraf en ook tijdens de dag werd duidelijk dat het thema leeft, dat het gemeentecontact in vele kerkelijke gemeenten in Nederland nog leeft maar dat zich ongeveer 20 jaar na de veranderingen in Midden en Oost Europa vele nieuwe vragen aandienen. De euforie in dit deel van Europa heeft nogal eens plaatsgemaakt voor teleurstellingen en Nederland is niet langer meer dé Christelijke natie .

Inleiding van professor Kool: missionair gemeente zijn in Oost en West
Reden waarom Prof.Kool in haar lezing tijdens de themadag het accent heeft gelegd op het missionair gemeente zijn in Oost en West en heeft uitgenodigd om na te denken over de vragen van deze tijd en als gemeenten vanuit een gelijkwaardige positie naast elkaar te staan. De vragen die zich aandienen zijn niet alleen de vragen in Hongarije of Roemenië maar ook de vragen in Nederland en geheel Europa: de overgang van een Christendom naar een postchristendom tijdperk.
De eerste jaren van de contacten waren jaren waarin het communisme hoogtij vierde en de kerk naar de rand van de samenleving was verdreven, min of meer gedoogd. Reizen naar het Oosten waren vol spanning, Bijbels mee, soms verstopt en gebracht naar geheime adressen. Het was in Nederland het werk van enkelingen. Na de val van het communisme ontstond een veelheid van contacten: het mocht en er was heel veel nood. De inhoud van het contact was veelal materieel van aard, langzamerhand kwam daar verandering in en werd gezocht naar mogelijkheden ook te komen tot een meer geestelijke invulling van het contact. Die stap is allerminst gemakkelijk. Velen vragen zich af hoe dat vorm te geven. Hoewel de val van het communisme al bijna 20 jaar achter ons ligt is het verleden allerminst vergeten en vergeven. Het is niet zondermeer hetzelfde of je in het oosten of het westen woont: openheid in contacten, democratisch leiderschap, omgaan met problemen en conflicten de schaduw van het verleden is regelmatig voelbaar en zichtbaar.
Er is geen panacee, geen standaardoplossing voor de vragen die betrokkenen bij gemeentecontacten hebben.

Er ligt wel een geweldige uitdaging: zoeken naar vormen waarin de vragen die zich aandienen gemeenschappelijke vragen worden, waarin sprake is van gelijkwaardigheid in plaats van eenzijdigheid en eenrichtingsverkeer.
· Als gemeenten je realiseren dat je deel uitmaakt van een groter geheel
· Bemoedigen van de gemeente en stimuleren getuige te zijn, waar nodig samen te werken aan toerusting
· Bespreken van de vraagstukken die zich aandienen aan beide kanten: maatschappelijke vragen , vragen die zich in de kerk aandienen
· Nagaan wat identiteit en etniciteit betekenen: de ander in het oosten veelal Roma, in het westen de moslims
· Waar nodig en mogelijk elkaar de spiegel voorhouden
Wanneer beide partijen bereid zijn om een gezamenlijke weg te gaan, elkaar er aan te herinneren deel te zijn van het wereldwijde Christendom, naast en met elkaar te staan, elkaar te bemoedigen dan biedt het alle kansen om nieuwe aspecten van Gods koninkrijk te leren kennen.

Kijken in en naar Nederland
Drs Dorottya Nagy afkomstig uit het Hongaars sprekende deel van Roemenië bereid een proefschrift voor over zending onder Chinezen in Hongarije. Zij woont sinds een aantal jaren in Nederland en was gevraagd om haar ervaringen en haar kijk op de gemeentecontacten weer te geven.
Sinds de toetreding van Hongarije en Roemenië tot de Europese Unie is de context waarbinnen zich de contacten afspelen veranderd. Er is op deze manier een saamhorigheid gecreëerd die een uitdaging vormt om de vraag naar de identiteit te beantwoorden. Vroeger ging het om : zij de armen en wij in het Westen de rijken, wij samen Christenen en zij de ongelovigen (communisten). Het gaat nu om de vraag zijn we samen Christenen voor en in Europa en wie zijn dan de ander. Wordt het dan de uitdaging om samen getuigen van God te zijn in de brede Europese context.
Door de regenboog Europa komen er kansen om realistischer met elkaar om te gaan, ook in de gemeentecontacten. Deze periode brengt de mogelijkheid met zich mee om dieper in te gaan dan de uitwisseling van materiële goederen. Het is belangrijk om in kaart te brengen wat er bij de ander leeft. Hongaren zeggen dikwijls: die Nederlanders zullen ons nooit begrijpen en Nederlanders zeggen dat ze ander heel goed begrijpen.
Communicatie is een centraal punt: er zijn meer en meer studenten die in het buitenland verblijven, meer gemeenteleden spreken Engels of Duits. Dat biedt kansen voor de gemeentecontacten. Materiële hulpverlening is nog belangrijk maar de uitdaging voor de Nederlanders is vooral ook : laat zien dat je meer bent dan een rijke broeder of zuster.

Onderzoek gemeentecontacten
Drs. Theo Pieter de Jong schreef zijn eindscriptie voor zijn theologiestudie over wederkerigheid in gemeentecontacten. In een periode van drie maanden deed hij onderzoek in Hongarije en in Nederland bij een zestal gemeenten. Zijn conclusies deelde hij in Houten met de deelnemers van de themadag:
Gemeentecontacten zijn het meer dan waard om meer aandacht te krijgen op bovenplaatselijk niveau. Het is belangrijk dat er vormen gevonden worden waarin betrokkenen bij gemeentecontacten ondersteund en waar nodig begeleid worden.
Gemeentecontacten bestaan bij gratie van wederkerigheid. Een niet wederkerig gemeentecontact zal vroeg of laat verdwijnen.
Het is belangrijk om voortdurend de doelen die men heeft voor ogen te houden en ook keuzen te maken. Het is realistischer om slechts op enkele aspecten in te zetten dan een breed scala voor ogen te hebben en te ontdekken dat het onmogelijk is alles vol te houden.

Een rijke schat aan ervaringen
De deelnemers van de dag brachten een rijke schat aan ervaringen met zich mee. Sommigen zijn al jaren in de weer om contacten te onderhouden en kennen de verhalen vanaf het begin: van het avontuur van Bijbels smokkelen naar een gezamenlijk optrekken in het Christen zijn in deze tijd. Van het opknappen van de pastorie tot een Bijbelweek met kinderen. Van een vraag om humanitaire hulpgoederen tot een cursus waarin de rol van de ouderling centraal staat.
Van incidenteel contact tot een gestructureerd contact. Van een centrale rol van de predikant tot een door een gemeente gedragen regelmatige uitwisseling.
De inleidingen op de themadag en de discussies over de inleidingen en de inbreng van de ervaringen zullen voor de komende tijd op de agenda staan van het CIMS.