Communities, in particular, can serve God in the year 2025. This year could be a year of war, but it could also be a year of peace. Every action that proclaims the glory of God is a service: it must be spent on what is necessary, what preserves, what protects," says Sándor Zán Fábián, Bishop of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (RCT). The RCT has proclaimed this year the Year of Service.
February 16 to 23 is the week for suggested contributions within the Special Offering for Disciples of Christ churches. Week of Compassion developed a series of resources and a video based on its visit in October 2024.
Global Ministries, an international partner of the Reformed Church in Hungary, publishes weekly prayers and mission moments from its church partners around the globe. February 9th, was the designated week of Pray for Hungary.
Representatives of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Church of Lippe, long-time partners of the Reformed Church in Hungary and in Transcarpathia, visited to discuss areas of shared mission and pastoral care.
On November 7 and 8, Eurodiaconia, in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH), hosted a Roma Inclusion Network Meeting in Budapest. The meeting was open to partners across Europe working in Diaconia within the network or part of a member organisation of Eurodiaconia.
On 13 April, the Reformed Church of Káposztámegyer, Budapest, and its surroundings bustled with community life early in the morning. Roma and non-Roma people from all over the country came for the tenth edition of the prayer day. All had come for an exceptional opportunity to give themselves freely to the Word of God, the joy of encounter and their often challenging identity, the Roma culture.
The Diaconia of the Reformed Church in Hungary has become the country's largest afterschool operator after the Directorate-General for Social Inclusion deemed the operation of fourteen Reformed afterschools worthy of support for the next three-year period. The afterschools, which serve local children from typically difficult circumstances, include some that have been in operation for nearly a decade, but two newcomers will start operating in 2024.
Under the theme “Europe Protecting People More than Borders,” CCME brought together over 60 representatives from member churches, ecumenical partners, and experts to reflect on CCME's legacy and chart a course for the future of asylum policy in Europe.
The Refugee Ministry of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid wrapped up a busy year full of events and activities fostering fellowship within the refugee community. Global Ministries, an international partner of the Reformed Church in Hungary, featured in its winter newsletter a summary of community events in 2023 and upcoming events in 2024.
The Refugee Ministry held a workshop in Budapest on the experience of its international humanitarian programmes and the opportunities for applications now being announced for the third time.
From November 25th to the 27th, HEKS/EPER hosted a Church Cooperation Consultation in Budapest in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH). The consultation brought together various church partners from ten countries to discuss the variety and nuance of church missions across diverse contexts.
Church leaders in Hungary prayed for persecuted Christians in a joint service at the opening of the Ecumenical Week of Prayer in St Stephen's Basilica. At the event, Reformed Bishop József Steinbach stressed that Christ himself became the Good Samaritan, and on the cross, he "went to the very end for us" to show his boundless love.
Lieutenant Colonel Szilárd Sajtos, a Reformed military chaplain, has visited the Middle East several times as a member of various military missions. In a recently published study on Eastern Christianity, he explained that the survival of the church in the region has been in serious danger due to massive emigration.
Communities, in particular, can serve God in the year 2025. This year could be a year of war, but it could also be a year of peace. Every action that proclaims the glory of God is a service: it must be spent on what is necessary, what preserves, what protects," says Sándor Zán Fábián, Bishop of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (RCT). The RCT has proclaimed this year the Year of Service.
"The novelty of our approach is the clear dedication and outspoken conviction that the Gospel is relevant also in the life of youngsters". 2025 will be the year of youth ministry. Rev. Áron Ablonczy, head of the Youth Office and his colleague, Luca Oláh explained the main goals, program highlights and prioritized topics during the year.
If we celebrate Christ, it is worth looking behind the way we do it: what we really do to glorify Him and what we do to contradict His teaching. Is a Christmas pleasing to God when we overspend, when we overextend ourselves, when we place a burden on the created world that it cannot bear?
