May 2003

Bjelisevac Dedication

On the wall of our home while I was growing up was an old black-and-white photo of a lonely little house out on a wide-open treeless stretch of Kansas land. That house did not rise too far above the prairie floor; its walls were made of stacked sod, cut into squares, its roof tin. So my ancestors survived their first winter on the plains in their new homestead. That picture came to my mind this past week at the dedication of the new church building in the village of Bjelisevac. The people of this settlement, like my family, are transplants. About 150 years ago, during a time in which the Austro-Hungarian empire made the borders between nations more permeable than they are today, Czech farmers were promised land if they would be willing to move and drain the swamps down in Croatia. A group of Reformed and Lutheran pioneers took up the challenge and made a new life for themselves in Bjelisevac.

The dedication service Sunday was great. A group of 60 people from the Czech Republic came on a bus to be there with us. Most of them were a choir, others were pastors, one was a dean. They had significantly helped their Bjelisevac cousins with contributions for the building.

I’m frequently amazed at the generosity of people like these Czechs—I’ve seen the same thing from Hungarians—who have such limited resources, who are from former Communist countries with their meager transitional economies, and yet they are willing to help their brothers and sisters who have even greater needs than theirs. I’m very thankful to my American sisters and brothers also who contributed a total of $15,000 for the building. Thank you. God bless you for your kindness.

I love that hymn—its melody connects me with my worship history, going back to Kansas, and whose words boldly assert the transnational reign of God as King. God is King, and now He is worshiped in a new place, built for His glory in Bjelisevac.

This is one of the best things that has happened in the Reformed Church since we arrived in 1994. There is a wonderful combination at work here, at once the Church is celebrating its rich Czech and Reformed heritage, expressing its faith in forms that have long roots in its native culture and language, and at the same time, building for the future, preparing the way for future generations of believers.

Other news

The youth conference in Kotlina on the last Saturday in April was a great success. We had about 75 young people from across our Hungarian congregations. There was an excellent leadership team who came down from Hungary to lead—and unlike American youth conferences, the leaders were not young, hip, or cool, but they were confident, prepared, and knew how to communicate with young people. It was not done the way “we” would do it in the States with lots of hyper-activity, but it worked for this culture, so thanks to God.

Last week our seminary hosted the annual conference for Church and Peace organizations who had chosen to meet in Croatia this year. Michelle was the point-person for organizing the facilities, so it was a heavy week, but also a rewarding one. She presented her vision for a new master of arts degree in peace praxis to the conference and received good feedback from several professors at European schools interested in being involved. Perhaps someday her dream of an accredited MA program will come true.

The war in Iraq forced some groups who had planned to be with us this summer to cancel, making our youth program smaller than it would have been, but nonetheless several groups are coming and we expect a full summer of outreach activities.

Please keep in your prayer Branimir in Zagreb and Boris and Lidija in Osijek as they host groups, plan programs, and find creative ways to reach out to their communities.

Grace and peace,

Steven and Michelle Kurtz
Mission Co-workers
Croatia