10/10/04
Rev. Barbara McKusick Liscord
A Minister’s Life
John spoke of how much it meant to him to visit the places where Unitarians
established our faith, rising fresh from the soil of the Protestant reformation.
As a minister, I was aware of the long line of ministers who had shepherded
our faith through all the centuries since then- almost 450 years.
Our partner church in Szekelyszentmihaly was built at a time when Unitarianism
was flourishing in the Transylvanian part of Hungary – in the 1860’s and
1870’s—about the time the building of this first Unitarian church in Milford.
On our trip this summer, I stayed with Rev. Gergely Kiss and his wife,
Ibi and their son, Elod, who served as our translator. I got to see
how challenging daily life is for a minister in a small village.
Gergely not only served the church in our partner village but also the
church in the nearby village of Benced as well. Each morning, I would wake
to the sound of Gergely chopping wood behind the house to stoke the firebox
that would heat the water for bathing and dish washing. One day,
in the small barnyard, Gergely showed me how to skin a rabbit for our dinner.
He told me a good minister learns something new everyday. There was
never an evening meal that was not interrupted by someone coming to the
door in search for food or palenka (a homemade plum brandy) or to talk
with the minister about a family member who was dying. Except
for Sunday morning worship and other special services all church business
happened at the parsonage, in Gergely’s booklined study, in his family’s
home. At both the wedding we attended in nearby Benced and during
the church service, Rev. Kiss not only conducted the services but he would
move quickly from pulpit to organ to accompany and lead the congregation
in singing their hymns. Sometimes other Unitarian Ministers
– our van drivers and tour guides- would join us for dinner in the small
diningroom which was also the bedroom for all the family members in the
Kiss dining room. I was impressed with their energetic intellect
on subjects ranging from theology to the politics of the Unitarian Bishops.
In addition to the sweet generosity, kindness and warmth with which
we were greeted and hosted… what moved the most as I considered the lives
of Unitarian ministers there…was their treatment under –first fascism and
more recently under communism. Gergely told me about a monument where,
during the Hungarian revolution, two Unitarian ministers – principals of
the Unitarian High School in the valley of our village had been forced
to strip naked and jump over an open fire, while being stabbed by bayonet.
I had read the account of Imre Gellerd’s life including
his 6 year imprisonment, along with many other Unitarian ministers in the
Romanian gulag- a horrific prison in the hold of a discarded French cargo
ship with ironic name of “Liberte”. Preaching Jesus’ gospel of peace,
freedom and fairness threatened the communist rule. After being released
from prison and serving a small village for 15 years, he ended his own
life in 1980, when he learned that the police were coming after him. He
could not bear thought of more time in devastating prison work camps under
the Ceausescu regime. We were fortunate to have Imre Gellert’s
daughter, Judit Gellert, as one of our guides and translators.
She had written the account of her father’s life that many of us had read
before the trip. She is a medical doctor and Unitarian minister,
who now lives in the United States. We visited the village where
her father last served, and Judit gave an impassioned speech pleading with
us, as Americans, to be careful not to let our civil liberties ber
taken away. We were among people who treasure the religious freedom
and civil liberties we take for granted- those freedoms and civil liberties
that we naively think will always be there. Judit watches the erosion
of our civil liberties with great concern. She counsels us to be
aware.
These pictures you see were taken on Sunday morning, while I was delivering
my sermon in English to the people of Szentmihaly. I stopped at the
end of each paragraph, so that Gergely could say the words in Hungarian.
It was humbling to deliver a sermon to people who have kept alive a deep
belief in religious freedom and the goodness of Jesus’ message. It
was an honor that the men and women in that sanctuary listened so intently.
My sweetest memory, though, is standing at the door next to Gergely and
Elod, our translator…shaking hands and saying to each person-- Isten
Ah-dyon - God Bless You. Ishten Ah-dyon Sweet wrinkled smiling
eyes of the older women of Szentmihaly looked into my eyes – their eyes
spoke of the hardships they had endured and the hope our friendship brings.
They placed their hands on either side of my face --asking us to come back
soon. They were in tears and so was I. Next came
the men, as I extended my hand to each man, he looked into my eyes and
then bowed to kiss my hand. Saying come back. Come back.
And I said, “Thank you. We will.”
Judit Gellerd. Prisoner of Liberte: Story of a Transylvanian Martyr.
Chico, California: Uniquest, 2003.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
in Milford