going BEYOND borders churches in LEARNING PROCESS

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going BEYOND borderschurches in LEARNING
PROCESS
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FACTS

• One of the largest Reformed communities in Europe
  are the Reformed Churches in the eight countries
  of the Carpathian Basin. There are more than 1.5
  million members almost in 3000 congregations.
• In spite of their fragmentation the common
  confessions the Heidelberg Catechism and the
  Second Helvetic Confession beside the Apostolic
  Confession the Hungarian language and the
  common history provide important cohesion.
• The largest Reformed communities live in Hungary,
  in the western and middle part of Romania, in the
  Southern counties of Slovakia, in the
  Sub-Carpathian area of Ukraine and in the
  Northern part of Serbia and Croatia. They are
  organized in independent churches by countries.
  There is one Reformed congregation in Austria and
  in Slovenia.
• As a result of emigration there are Hungarian
  Reformed communities living in all over the
  World, of which the largest communities live in
  Western Europe and in North America.

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SEEKING UNITY in SEPARATION

• Life in forced separation
• Life in communion 22 MAY 2009
• web
• Constituting Synod

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FACING CHALLENGES

• Economical challenges
• Social challenges
• Political challenges
• Community on the search for identity and
  orientation in an ever changing context
• Working Plan

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UNITY IN/FOR MISSION

• Life in unity for mission in the Carpathian Basin
  and beyond
• Deepening community within the church,
  strengthening networks, encouraging voluntary
  service
• ECUMENICAL AND INTERNATIONAL engagement
• web
• Bridge of Love
• Csillagpont Youth Festival
• EU-Presidency

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BEYOND BORDERSSOCIAL MINISTRIES

• Think wider go overseas
• Changing attitudes from survival towards sharing
  gifts even if limited in terms of financial and
  human resources
• Social ministries

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RESOURCES TO SHARE

• Normally churches (congregations) are
  self-supporting
• partial restitution
• public responsibilities, educational, social,
  health care institutions financed partly by the
  state
• Donation campaigns

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MONEY 1 FOR border-crossing MISSION

• Campaign tool of Reformed Church in Hungary in
  2011
• TV spot Not simple! Still natural for 180 000
  people!
• Internet (director version)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v7b-ZwVVuqdA
• Internet sites
• www.reformatus.hu/egyszazalek
• http//www.facebook.com/pages/Református-1-0066/19
  6931366995625
• Mobile media
• iPhone
• http//itunes.apple.com/us/app/reformatus/id425239
  457?mt8ign-mptuo3D2
• iPad
• http//itunes.apple.com/us/app/reformatus-hd/id425
  234747?mt8ign-mptuo3D2
• Android
• https//market.android.com/details?idcom.reformat
  us.egyszazalekfeaturesearch_result

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BEYOND BORDERSSOCIAL MINISTRIES

• Critically present advocacy and help
• Refugee ministry
• Roma ministry
• Hungarian Reformed Church Aid red sludge

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Journeying BEYOND together

• Join us in critical presence in order that we can
  learn about
• ADVOCACY. sharing experiences. raising our voice
  beyond the borders of the church.
• SOCIAL MINISTRY. sharing in mission in society
  beyond church community.
• EMERGENCY RESPONSE. sharing of resources
  globally.

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SERENITY
u

• God grant me the serenity to accept the things I
  cannot change courage to change the things I
  canand wisdom to know the difference