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Bosnia and Herzegovina
The stories for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were contributed by the Rev. Duncan Hanson, who is responsible for mission programs in Europe and the Middle East with the Reformed Church in America.
As Western Europe began to recover from the privations of the post-war years, Presbyterians turned their attention to places in Europe where they had not yet begun to work. So it happened that in 1951, Margaret Shannon, the associate for women’s work on the Board of Foreign Missions, and Ada Black, a staff member on the Board, were joined by Lena Robinson, the president of the Presbyterian Women’s synodical organization in Texas who was on a Fellowship Mission to Europe. Their itinerary took them to the tiny Reformed churches of Portugal and Spain and the somewhat larger Reformed churches in France, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Serbia
For Margaret Shannon, her 1951 visit to the Reformed churches in the former Yugoslavia was profoundly moving. She later wrote, “On the last day of our visit, a knock came at the door and there was Maria Agoston with a heartfelt concern. ‘You have been very careful to find out what you could do for us while you were here, but the greatest thing you could do for us is to tell us something we could do for you.’ We gave her the Mission Yearbook of Prayer, since it contained many of the persons and projects through which we worked, and urged that they reinforce our work. We thought that prayer was all that could be sought, for we knew they would not be allowed to send money out of the country. But God is greater than the lengthy communist regime.”
Partners/Ministries
Serbian Orthodox Church: His Holiness Pavle II, patriarch
Reformed Christian Church in Yugoslavia: Rev. Dr. István Csete-Szemesi, bishop of Voivodina
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Shannon Langley, GAMC
Shellee Layman, GAMC
O God, be with the churches in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inspire them. Sustain them. Bless them. Thank you for their faithfulness and for their trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Ps. 65, 147:1–11 Ps. 125, 91
1 Sam. 12:1–6 (7–15) 16–25
Acts 8:14–25; Luke 23:1–12
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