By Pastor Mark Anderson
People from around the Northeastern Iowa Synod contributed to a short video to send greetings from our synod to one of our companion synods, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH).
Our two Synods have been exchanging greetings during the pandemic as we look forward to all the exchanges we will return to when the pandemic is controlled.
A young Hungarian person comes for the summer to work at EWALU Camp & Retreat Center
A Roma (gypsy) University student visits in May
A Hungarian Seminary student studying at Trinity Seminary visits in January
Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City hosted a Hungarian high school student at the ELCA Youth Gathering and then sent four youth and Marcy Colvin to Hungary the next summer to visit him and his family.
There are two ELCA pastors serving as missionaries in Hungary who are quick to send a video greeting to congregations upon request and always anxious to connect with Iowans. They could be invited to use technology like Zoom speak with confirmation students, annual meetings, or even offer sermons.
Many congregations and individuals from Northeastern Iowa support these pastors.
In normal times there are Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) serving in Hungary. These are recent college graduates who serve in Global Mission for a year under the supervision of the missionary pastors. Financial support of this program has also been generous.
There has been much conversation these last few days about the virus in the Midwest.
Our connection with Lutherans around the globe helps us to remember that this is a global pandemic and people far away, like in Hungary, are also dealing with masks, economic struggles, and loneliness. We won’t let this plague make us forget our siblings in Christ around the world.
To learn more see the ELCH’s English web page and the Central European YAGMs Facebook page.s
