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Unitarian Church of Sharon
4 N. Main St.
Sharon, MA 02067
781-784-3652
E-mail UCS
A Visit to Our Partner Church
In
March 2002, Beth and Amanda McGregor had the chance to learn first-hand
about the Unitarians of Romania. We visited Unitarian headquarters in
Kolozsvar/Cluj, Romania, a Unitarian high school, the theological seminary,
and best of all, we spent a weekend at the home of our partner church
minister, Erika Demeter, and met with members of our partner church in
the town of Gyulakuta. We also attended a service at one of Erika's other
congregations, where we were warmly welcomed and the structure of the
service was familiar (though the language and the hymn tunes weren't),
right down to the lively, good-humored congregational business meeting
after the service.
We then met with representatives from Gyulakuta in the afternoon. The
18 members we met with were warmly hospitable, delighted and moved to
meet us, plied us with coffee, homemade wine and pastries, and asked many
insightful questions about the U.S. and American Unitarians. We talked
about visions for a collaboration of partner churches to help bring micro-credit
to small scale economic development projects (businesses in dried fruit
and gourmet mushrooms were two of their ideas), but decided that for now
we could best help by subsidizing their minister's car and a discretionary
fund for emergency needs. Erika Demeter, our partner minister, is one
of the new generation of Transylvanian ministers, in both age (29) and
progressive thinking. She and her husband Levente Lazar, 32, met at the
Unitarian seminary in Kolozsvar/Cluj, and live in the modest parsonage
of his main congregation in Czokfalva with their 3-year-old son. They
serve five congregations between them, tend a huge garden and chickens,
and Erika plays, with gentle resistance, the traditional village role
of minister's wife as well as minister. Despite some language barriers
and their extremely busy schedule, we enjoyed long, interesting talks
around their kitchen table (over hearty food and homemade plum brandy)
about national and church politics, their work, and daily life.
Although we had brought your cash donations with us, Erika refused them,
wisely insisting that we first establish a relationship with the people
of the Gyulakuta congregation, who should decide with our congregation
about how any money should be used. Thus Beth brought back the money and
a proposal to our Board of Trustees to establish an account for the uses
they had specified. The Board adopted the proposal, and in late April
Rory McGregor was able to enjoy a visit with Erika and her family and
bring with him a signed letter of commitment from our board.
We hope that this relationship will evolve, even over the barriers of
language, culture and distance, and that others of you will have a chance
to correspond or visit and make a personal connection with our fellow
Unitarians in Transylvania. Communications to the congregation can be
sent in care of the minister: Rev. Erika Demeter, Trei Sate-Cioc nr. 23,
Jud. Mures, Romania.
About the Unitarians of Transylvania
A Day in the Life of Our Partner Minister
Partner Church Travel Opportunities
About
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