Signs of Life from Hungary -- 78

Budapest ,

6^th September, 2002

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Ps. 23:4

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Ps. 103:1-2

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Finished!

Last Wednesday, the hour had come! After a summer of hard work and (literally) being in a cold sweat, I left loaded down with at least sixty-five pounds of paper, consisting of eight bound copies of my thesis and a thick file of publications and necessary documents, for the University of Debrecen to present myself officially for the qualifying examination. The home stretch really was hard going. In putting the finishing touches, I received some fantastic help from my colleagues. Veronika and I spent four days sitting on my terrace reading out aloud the entire text, in my experience the best way of doing the final corrections. Mariann compiled my professional CV, with all the publications, lectures etc. (which showed me that I have not been letting the grass grow under my feet in recent years!). Szilvia arranged for my thesis (of "only" 180 pages) to be copied and bound. Pali rushed to my assistance in loading my heavy bags into the car. The official defence of the thesis and the two public lectures I have to deliver will take place in the autumn.

Importance

When you are studying for something, sometimes you can't help but ask yourself, "What am I doing? Is it worth it: investing so much time and effort in getting another qualification?"

Looking back, it has been very good that in recent months I have been forced to summarise and evaluated the past decade of ministry in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe. The research for my doctorate was based on the past. Now I have attempted to link lessons from the past to an analysis of the present with an eye to the future. I hope that this study will make a contribution to the discussion about coming to terms with the Communist past, which often hangs as a shadow over the present, and still acts as a millstone around the necks of Church and society. Pretending the shadow is not there does not solve the problem. Focusing on the relationship between individual and community in the transition period of the last ten years, I have tried to analyse in more detail the missiological questions related to this transition, concentrating on the missionary calling of the Church in today’s society. I have investigated these questions from a Biblical and missiological perspective.

Some conclusions

As a conclusion, I have outlined elements of an emerging relevant missiology, of a missionary ecclesiology for Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the twenty-first century. With this approach, I have also tried to show the relevance of the subject of missiology (the science of missions) in theological education. This discipline has not only to do with far-away-countries, with church and mission in the non-western world, but also with the difficult missionary task of spreading the Gospel in our Western culture. The reflection on a so-called domestic missiology is in many places still in its infancy. It seems as if it is easier to deal with issues of far-way countries and cultures!

In my study it struck me anew that we can learn a lot from Churches in the non-western world. This implies that we must take on an open, listening and learning attitude with regard to what is going on in the Churches in the "traditional" missionary fields, even though there are often great differences. They know from experience what it means to live as a minority among people of other religions. Then what really matters is living out the gospel as an alternative Kingdom community. We can also learn a lot from their missionary spirituality!

Another conclusion is that in Europe we have the tendency to idolise Church structures and traditions bound up with them. I intentionally speak of traditions in the plural. Our missionary task in Hungary and in Europe is to translate the Tradition with a capital letter into a way of being the Church, which is Biblical and relevant. This means that many sacred cows will have to be sacrificed, in order to live as a witnessing, healthy, commissioned Church, which is "in the world", but not "of the world".

Postgraduate program in missiology

For a few years we have been working on developing a postgraduate course in missions, evangelism and Church development for pastors and religious education teachers. Probably people who have degrees in different subjects will also be eligible to apply. In recent weeks, we have been able to make considerable progress. In many respects, the studies for my second thesis have been the theoretical basis of this! It will be a two-year course with six weeks of lectures each year, with a strong focus on individual study, peer tutoring and practical placements. We expect that we will be able to start at the end of January 2003. The program will also be open to students from outside Hungary. It will intentionally be bilingual (English and Hungarian). The process of validation in Hungary and by an English university is at an advanced stage!

The aim of the program is to equip (future) leaders to guide their Churches to be open, witnessing, missionary communities in this period of "transition", but also to train people to be witnesses and to plant Churches in other cultures, for example among gypsies or refugees, in the city or in the countryside, at home or abroad.

How can we help?

Often I am asked, "How could we support the work of the Missions Institute?" It is a great miracle that until now we have been able to function without serious financial problems. To be honest, I don't like writing about finances. But now I feel have no choice. The responsibility is becoming too great to bear alone.

On average, yearly about 40 % of the operating expenses have come from within Hungary, despite the fact that the budget has increased considerably in the last seven years. But in recent months, we have really been experiencing the effects of the worldwide recession. From various quarters, we had received (even written) pledges for considerable gifts, a total of 65,000 euro, partly pledges for covering the operating costs and partly for the expansion project. This is about half of our year budget. Unless miracles happen we will probably not receive this sum. From our side: we feel that more than ever, we must appeal to Hungarian Churches and individuals for support. We are thankful that Mrs. Ágnes Kertész is now part-time employed to help in the area of development and constituency relations. In the meantime, we will faithfully carry out the task that the Lord has entrusted to us. We trust that the Lord will then provide for the rest.

You can help in two ways:

* We are looking for new donors, who are willing to support our work regularly, and

* we are praying that we will find Churches, individuals and organisations who are wiling to invest with a one-time significant donation in the work of the Missions Institute. This means investing in people, and in so doing in the future of the Church in Central and Eastern Europe!

Facility development project

Last year you helped a great deal with the roofing tile project! We are thankful for your sacrificial support even in the last months. More than sixty five percent of the next fase is received or pledged. But for the seminar room to be used in the postgraduate program by the end of January 2003 thirty-five percent of the total sum completing the seminar room is still needed, about 35,000 USD. Beside this, ten extra study carrels with computers are needed in the library. The expansion of the library requires in total 10,000 USD.

To put it differently: the seminar room provides places for thirty-five people, the library needs ten study carrels, so in total forty five places are needed. We have already received gifts for twenty-three places, and are looking for Churches, organisations and individuals who are prepared to take out "shares" in the remaining twenty-two places. With an investment in these “shares” for the Kingdom, you will have the promise of a reward in heaven! One places costs symbolically 1,000 USD.

10 "shares" of one study place @ 1,000 USD: 10,000 USD

20 "shares" of half a study place @ 500 USD: 10,000 USD

50 "shares" of quarter of a study place @ 250 USD: 12,500 USD

125 "shares" of one tenth of a study place @ 100 USD: 12,500 USD

Personal footnote

Nothing much came of a holiday this summer. After I had dotted the final "i" of my thesis at 3 a.m. in the morning of 12th August, I left at 7 a.m. for the Netherlands. Some eighteen months ago I had been invited to give a lecture at a Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians (FEET) near Cologne, and I decided to make use of the opportunity to pay a brief visit of a day to the Netherlands. But, it turned out to be two days! The car journey of 1000 miles went very well. I made it in a day, also thanks to the warm hospitality and delicious meal of my special friend Barbara who lives near Salzburg! It was very good to meet my parents and the rest of the family.

After an enthralling conference about European Christianity in a worldwide perspective, I went to the east of Germany, to the famous town of Halle, where once the first chair of missiology was established. I attended a very interesting European conference of missiologists. It was the first time that I had met European colleagues and could exchange views with them. I knew many by name and from their publications, but not personally. To my surprise, the theme of my thesis fitted seamlessly with a part of the conference. This meant I was already able to “test out” some of my conclusions before the actual exam. Actually, I had the feeling that this was already the exam. I am thankful that I can report that I did not "sink"...

Finally

Thank you for your continued concern and prayers. I received a lot of cards, e-mails and telephone calls as tokens of support. This helped me a lot with the home stretch of my second thesis. At the end of this year, I hope to come to the Netherlands again for a (brief) home assignment. This will be from 10th December to 12th January.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

Signs of Life from Hungary -- 77

Budapest, 5 July 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn - first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." (Mark 4:26-28)

"From everywhere to everywhere"

About ten years ago, a book was published with this title about the great changes which were taking place in missions worldwide. Countries which used to send out missionaries have become mission fields, and the former mission fields in the non-Western world are already sending out more missionaries than the Western countries.

The Brazilian missiologist of Dutch descent, Tonica van der Meer, is a living example of this new development. This colleague in a double sense is at present visiting Hungary and tells from her own experience how much the interest in missionary work has grown in Brazil in recent years. For years, she was herself working in very difficult circumstances as a missionary in Angola, establishing Christian work among students.

Now she is teaching at a missions institute in Vicosa, Brazil. The students show a great interest in mission work among Muslims. All sorts of special courses are given in the area of missionary training. Much attention is paid on training courses in spiritual formation, prayer and pastoral care for the students. Each year as part of their training as missionary workers, the students go on a field trip abroad lasting about a month. We in Central and Eastern Europe can learn a lot from the passion and enthusiasm of these Christians from non-Western countries! The way they organise missionary training courses is also very instructive!

More special visitors!

Another high light of last month was the visit of Dr. Raymond P. Seven and his family from America. In 1997, Ray and his wife Dottie worked for six weeks as volunteers in the Missions Institute. Their contribution in establishing the organisational structure represented a great step forwards at that time. Since then they have been part of the faithful circle of friends of the Missions Institute. Now they came with their children to show them some "precious places" in Hungary and Europe. Even though they can really be referred to as senior citizens - both of them are about eighty - I noticed that there was a great temptation to come and help again! And we would not have refused!

New members of staff

The period of reflection and self-evaluation of the last months appears to have been particularly useful. All sorts of obstacles in the functioning of the missions institute are being revealed. How can we help the Churches in a more structural way to become missional or mission communities? How can we better involve in our work those who have already gained experience in this trainings ministry? How can we improve the functioning of the board so that it can be more involved in matters of content? In this process, we have also had to take some difficult decision, especially with regard to the functioning of our financial and administrative coordinator. With mutual consent, we came to the conclusion that his capacities lie in a different area than that of the post which he is now filling.

It was a great miracle that within a few weeks, we had found a new member of staff for the task of financial and administrative coordinator. Her dedication to this task is revealed by the fact that she is willing to carry out this task for a much lower salary than she has been receiving hitherto. Kati started work yesterday. I have known her since she was a student.

Another reason for much thankfulness is that at last the vacancy for a part-time member of staff for PR and fundraising has finally been filled. About twelve candidates applied for the job. After many discussions, it was unanimously agreed that Agnes was the most suitable. She will be starting work in September.

Actually, I have the strong impression that you have been praying a lot about finding new members of staff considering the fact that we have made so much progress this month.

For a number of you, Dora Bernhardt is an old acquaintance. In the past, we worked together on setting up the Christian Student Work in Hungary. She studied several years at Regent College in Vancouver, CA. She is going to join our team in the area of missiological teaching and program development.

Give thanks for these new appointments and pray for wisdom regarding finding the missing pieces of the jigsaw for our team. We have been talking to a few people about the job of missionary church development. We hope to take a final decision at the beginning of September. Please pray also that the new members of staff will quickly feel at home in our team. And pray for the required funds to fall through.

Closing of the academic year

The months of May and June are always particularly busy because of the end of year exams and the entrance exams. The more than twenty students of the theological academy in Papa had to write a final paper for to the introductory course in missiology on the theme of which elements they would want to emphasise in a new paradigm or model for missions in a context chosen by them. As the students came from five different countries, the papers showed a very interesting picture of the present Church situation in Serbia, Romanian, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. One of them wrote about the importance of city missions, another about how the tiny Hungarian minority in the north of Serbia could fulfil its missionary calling. A third wrote about strengthening the Ukrainian speaking Reformed Churches in Carpathukraine. Part of the task was to discuss these topics with their local pastors. Some of the students reported that the pastors were so surprised by the questions of their students. They never thought about church life different than just the maintenance mode. During the oral exams, we discussed further the themes of the papers. These were fascinating discussions. Pray that we will soon find new staff people to help in the follow up of these discussions. Several students showed a great interest to invite the staff of the Mission Institute to help in training their home congregations to become open mission communities. Unfortunately the papers were teeming with grammatical mistakes!

In order to be admitted to the theological academies, the candidates have to take an oral and a written exam, followed by an admissions interview with the Church commission for theological education. Of the twelve candidates, ten were admitted. It strikes me time and again with what a sense of responsibility this Church commission carries out this task. People are really aware that the decisions can have a great influence on the future of the Church. After all, it is about the admission of future leaders of their congregations! In general the interest for theological education in the whole of Hungary seems to be diminishing. We wonder what could be the reason for this.

How far have you got? A serial with/without an end...

After the above, you will not be surprised to know that despite my good intentions, I have not been able to make much progress with my second thesis. There were just too many current affairs to which I had to attend. I have again been able to get several deferments for the date of submission. However, this month it really must be finished, so that the commission can examine it by the end of August.

But I have made some progress. Last week I had to give a lecture at a particularly interesting conference about "Believing without Belonging" in Breklum, Germany, on the theme of my research. I had accepted this invitation already in December, not knowing then that there would be so many obstacles in the way of finishing it off. It was a great encouragement for me to hear the predominantly positive responses to my presentation.

Please pray for peace and concentration during the coming weeks, so that next time I really can report that I have finished.

Finally: "All by itself"

This summer won't be much of a holiday for me. I am going to try to take a bit of a break at the weekends. There are no two ways about it, my second thesis must now really be finished! Whether this will happen "all by itself", I don't know!

We have now decided that the decision about continuing the renovation of the lecture hall and the extension of the library must be postponed until the end of August.

Please pray that by this time we will have received sufficient pledges to be able to take a positive decision.

I sincerely wish you all a good holiday period, a real Sabbath time of physical and metal rest and relaxation. May it be for the comfort and strengthening of us all, so that the growth of God's Kingdom will take place "all by itself" (Mk 4:27).

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

Good News for the City I - Dr. Ray Bakken - Budapest 1998

Good news for the City, consultation of the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies on Urban Mission, under leadership of Dr. Raymond J. Bakke, 14-16th October 1998



In the Signs of Life from Hungary nr. 45 of Oct 29, 1998 I wrote:
"Good News for the City
I was just reading the responses to the conference "Good News for the City" with Dr Ray Bakke, which we held two weeks ago. The following are a selection of the remarks: "It was good to get to know about the work of others." "The contact with one another was very good." "The message was conveyed clearly and was of great help to me." "A second conference is needed. We need a catalyst like this!" More than a hundred people took part from ten different denominations and seven different nationalities. Despite the differences, we experienced unity in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Various participants noted that one of the plus points of the conference was making contacts. We tend so much to live in isolation, especially in the city. Various preachers remarked that the conference gave them the opportunity to discuss the questions, which they face in their city churches. It was at times shocking to be confronted from close quarters with the need of the homeless, gypsies, addicts and prostitutes. In contrast, many people had no idea about what is going on in Budapest in the area of missions and relief work! Another good thing was that lots of volunteers helped with the organization. A theological student came up to me at the end with the question, "May I help again with the next conference?" Thank you for your prayers!"

Good News for the City - I 1998