First Parish Church
Unitarian Universalist
 of Duxbury, Massachusetts

     Catherine Cullen, minister
     Sunsue Fleming, director of religious education
     Carie Johnsen, ministerial intern
     Edwin Swanborn, music director
     Marty Kearns, church administrator

 842 Tremont St. (Rte. 3A)
(Directions here)
P.O. Box 1764
Duxbury, MA 02331
 
uuduxbury@verizon.net
781-934-6532

REACHING OUT TO our Partner Church IN TRANSYLVANIA

An important part of our international outreach at First Parish Church of Duxbury is our relationship with the Unitarian congregation in Nyaradszereda, Transylvania, through the Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council. If you are new to the church and have questions about the Partner Church program, please check our bulletin board in the Harvey Assembly Hall.  If you would like to know more, ask a member of the Partner Church Committee: Marilyn Christmann, Bill Christmann, Meredith Lehman, Lisa Smith, Bob Hughes, Jerry Larke.  For more information about the Unitairian Universalist Partner Church program, visit the website www.UUPCC.org

One of the very best ways to understand the Partner Church relationship is to take part in a trip to Transylvania. Rev Szilárd Sandor, the minister of our partner church, would very much like to have visitors from our church this summer to help celebrate the completion of the roof on the church they are building. However, knowing that travel to Europe is terribly expensive right now, the Partner Church Committee recognizes the difficulty in organizing a trip this year.  If you are going to be in Europe and would like to visit our partner church, please consult the UUPCC website for tours. They are quite inexpensive, but the accommodations are not luxurious and you are required to be a good sport! Bill & Marilyn Christmann have visited and would be glad to answer any questions.

Our partner church in Nyaradszereda is a small, brave but poor congregation, led by a dynamic young minister, Rev. Szilárd. The congregation is in the midst of building a new church, an effort we are supporting financially as well as morally. In addition, we have helped to bring Szilárd and his wife, Eva, to Massachusetts for a visit, and several members of our church have traveled to Transylvania.
To visit the Web site of the Nyaradszereda church, click on this link: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Z1EfU54ieqjO4aNBgFXD6BdISbh4NV2dgg--?cq=1

In addition, there are a number of trips each year arranged by the Partner Church Council that individuals may join and that include opportunities for visits to partner churches. On  these trips, individuals make their own travel arrangements to Bucharest, Romania, or to Budapest, Hungary, where they are met by a guide and a translator to accompany the group. All meals and lodging are provided at a very reasonable fee.

For information on the Partner Church Council and trips it sponsors, visit its Web site at www.uupcc.org/trips.html
 

Rev. Szilárd (right) with his wife, Eva, and their son, Matyas, in front of the chapel presently used by the Unitarian congregation in Nyaradszereda

One of the early forms of Unitarianism arose in Transylvania during the Protestant Reformation in Europe.  Transylvania is a region in present-day Romania with a large population of ethnic Hungarians, many of whom are Unitarians. (For a brief history of Unitarianism in Transylvania, click here: UNITARIANISM IN TRANSYLVANIA.) For much of the 20th Century, Transylvanian Hungarians were oppressed and treated as second-class citizens by a succession of Romanian governments. The Hungarian language was violently suppressed, and Hungarian-language schools and centuries-old universities were closed. Under the former Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, the government even began a campaign of razing Hungarian-speaking villages and churches.

 BUY A TV SET AND HELP OUR PARTNER CHURCH

When you buy your next big television, buy it from Brad Smith's company, Audio Video Design, and the profit will go to the Partner Church Program!  The "rules" are simple:  the TV has to cost over $1000 and it needs to be one of the following brands:  Fujitsu, Pioneer, LG, Sharp or Sony.  Brad suggests visiting the big box stores and calling him with the model number. Then he can tell you your price, which is usually very close to the big store's price, and what the donation would be to the Partner Church Program.  Jean Baker just bought a TV and the donation was $500.00!  That is a very large sum for the program and goes a really long way in Transylvania.  Brad's work number is 617-965-4600 x116.

Here are some links to on-line information about Transylvania, its history,  anthem and countryside:

http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/rum.htm

http://www.webenetics.com/hungary/szekhimn.htm

http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=521#index

Questions or comments about this Website? Contact Jon Lehman at jonlehman@verizon.net