| Dear Friends in US!
Last year on 11th September was a sad day, tragic day for you for the
world. On this day we saw many terrible pictures in television. Many terrible
pictures from New York, of the Pentagon, from people, from
The terrorist attack was terrible and we worried for the American people. After this time, after the terrorist attach how do you do? What`s the life like in your city, in villages and in your congregation? We are sad, when we see again the pictures in television. We sympathizing with you, with American people. Do you have some news from your congregation for partner church in Transylvania ? I will meet with many ministers in the end of this week, on Friday and Saturday in Szekelykeresztur, when will be a meeting for minister`s families from Transylvania. We think of you in these days. We wish for you, for everybody, for everyone congregations, families, childrens and adults love, faith in peace. Partner Church from Transylvania, Haranglab
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In May 2002 we received this letter from Rev.
Szentygorgy via e-mail:
| Dear Brothers of Bridgewater,
I am writing on behalf of the Unitarian Parish of Haranglab. This congregation consists of 110 Unitarian memebers. Rev.Sandor Szentgyorgyi serves here every second week, and twice during the holidays. We thank you for your Easter wishes, the photos and the letters as well as for the pecuniary aid:namely for the 200 dollars for the congregation. The congregation of Haranglab is a conscientious one. They love their Church and religion and they go to church. The building of the church is more than 200 years old, it is a monument which will be renovated this year. The money you have sent will be used for repairing of the church.The congregation won't have an indipendendent minister in the near future either because they are very few; the young ones try to earn their living somewher else. There are 6 children between 1 and 6 years; 11 between 7 and 14
years; 15 between 15 and 20 years; 40 between 20 and 50 years; 30 between
50 and 70 years, and 8 over 70 years. The lay leader or president of the
The members of the parish are famous for their hospitality they are expecting everybody. Pay us a visit, please! P.S. There is an important event in the life of the Congregatiuon takes place on the 22nd of July when the ministers and the lay leaders of 13 congregations will have a meeting and we hope thatour bishop Dr.Arpad Szabo will participate too. Yours sincerely,
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Late in 2001, we sent a letter, a small cash gift, and our new photo
directory to the church, in care of a Massachusetts minister who was travelling
to his own partner church in the region. We received the following reply
early in 2002:
| Dear Brothers and Sisters of Bridgewater’s Parish,
We send our best greetings for the New Year and we are very happy for this new partner church relationship. We hope that it will be a long, worthy and fruitful relationship. We thank you very much for the letter and the album [photo directory] you have sent and for your material aid. Looking at your pictures you have come closer to us. On the occasion of Christmas Holidays we shall take a photo about our congregation, in order that you may know us. The members of Haranglab congregation are farmers, pensioners, workers, but they love their church and religion. We are honored that you have chosen us as partners. We have a wonderful church built in 1773. It is adorned with handcraft sconces and carved wooden lamps. The minister’s residence is very large and bright, but we do not have our own minister, because we are very small in numbers. I, myself, as the minister of the neighboring village, go twice a month to preach there and every holiday we have two other sermons. We’d like if somebody came here and see everything personally. This letter will be sent in three examples from different counties to be sure you will get it. I shall put the photo of the church in one of the envelopes, the Unitarian calendar in the other and the third will be posted without anything. We are looking forward to hearing of you. Yours fraternally, Sandor Szentygorgy |
| Dear Unitarian Universalist Sisters and brothers in the United States
of America,
Time has come that it is we, ministers and members of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania, who address to you words of compassion and support now that destructive terrorist forces have hit the democratic society of the United States. We never thought that we would have to live up this day. During the almost 200 years of our relationship and cooperation,it was always you, citizens of the free and safe America, that intervened for us when nationalist or communist forces attemted to destroy the very existence of our Unitarian comminities. Today, it is with shock and sympathy that we are taking part in your losses, especially the lives of thousands of innocent people. It is also embittering to see how a country, bulit by the ideals of freedom and justice, is suffering for speaking up for these ideals all over the Earth. We trust that the Unites States will respond to these attacks by searching for justice, with the conviction that no political or social ideals can be served or corrected by violence. We also believe that it is our duty as witnesses of this horrifying crime to make sure that neither the United States, nor any other democratic society in the world would ever have to live through events like these again. Our prayers and thouthts are with you in these hard days of trial. May God bless America and humankind with a safer future. In our shared faith, Rev. Dr. Arpád Szabó
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First Parish Unitarian
Universalist
Bridgewater,
Massachusetts
firstparishbridgewater@juno.com