The group from Alsóboldogfalva
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UNITARIAN CHURCH IN WESTPORT
CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP
HOSTS 10 GUESTS FROM TRANSYLVANIA
Westport, CT…A celebration was held on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at The Unitarian Church in Westport with a visit from ten partner church members who traveled all the way from Alsóboldogfalva, Transylvania. Senior church minister Frank Hall was presented with a beautifully framed picture of their church by their church president Gagyi István, in addition to a friendship sculpture made by church board member Gagyi Vencel. Church leaders Randy Burnham and Gagyi István exchanged commemorative plaques of the occasion. A reception celebrating the 20-year milestone provided the opportunity for people to meet the visitors after the service.
The ten-day visit marks an important milestone in the ongoing exchange between members of The Unitarian Church in Westport and Alsóboldogfalva (“all-show-bulldog-fall-vaw”). It was twenty years ago that The Unitarian Church in Westport became partners with the Unitarian Church in Alsóboldogfalva. In 1999, Frank Hall traveled to Alsóboldogfalva and established personal contact with the minister, Biró Mihaly and members of the Alsóboldogfalva church. In 2003, The Unitarian Church of Westport’s Chamber Choir and friends (24 people) visited the village and learned the true meaning of love and hospitality. Since then, there have been nine visits to the village involving more than 40 members of The Unitarian Church in Westport. Westport members have provided annual scholarships to finance education beyond the 8th grade for every Unitarian youth in the village who wants to continue their education, in addition to funding for improvements and repairs of the church.
Partner Church relationships cultivate friendship, learning and mutual support, and are built on a foundation of person-to-person connections. The Partner Church movement globally is grounded in the Sixth Principle of Unitarian Universalism – the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. For more information about The Unitarian Church in Westport visit www.uuwestport.org. ### |
