From Within These Walls Celebrating 100 Years at 10 South Gilbert

February 2008 Our Partner Church -- Janosfalva Like Spontaneous Combustion: The Partner Church Program Getting to Know Your Society - Quiz Qs for February
Our Partner Church -- Janosfalva Joe Brisben
UUSIC started its partner church relationship with the Unitarian church in Janosfalva, Romania, as part of the celebration for our society's 150th anniversary in 1993. It was Rev. Don Fielding, a ministerial intern at UUSIC under Rev. Fritz Hudson, who suggested UUSIC develop this relationship. Fielding was finishing course requirements for his M. Div. degree at Meadville Theological Seminary. One of his professors was the Rev. Georgy Andrassi, who had been allowed to come to the United States following the assassination of Romanian dictator Nicolai Ceauşescu.   UUSIC applied to the UUA Partner Church Council for a partner church relationship, and received one with Parochia Unitariana in Janosfalva, a village of 200 in Transylvania. At the time, few Unitarian ministers in Janosfalva spoke English. UUSIC was fortunate that the minister at Janosfalva, Rev. Anniko Szantho Harrington, had studied in the United States. Rev. Szantho Harrington was married to Rev. Donald Harrington, minister emeritus of the Community Church of New York City.     At that time, in the early 1990s, the Romanian government had deeded the land to the farmers, but had kept the farm equipment, which it was willing to lease at exorbitant prices. To earn money to purchase equipment, the women of Janosfalva were making and selling dolls wearing traditional Transylvanian costumes. As their new Partner Church,  UUSIC			raised money to buy a tractor and combine. Over the years, the village economy has improved, and residents, who were once all engaged in farming, have branched out into construction, electronics, and trucking.   In 1999, Rev. Szantho Harrington had to leave her position for medical reasons, and Rev. Sandor Simo succeeded her. Sandor and his wife, Melinda, have visited our congregation here in Iowa City. They have two daughters, Csenge and Sara. Our primary means of fundraising for Partner Church activities has been our "Festival of the First Bread," held each winter, and followed the next day by a special solicitation during Sunday services. Since becoming a Partner Church with Janosfalva, UUSIC has raised funds to: Refurbish the parsonage Fund scholarships Build: An elementary school A medical clinic A guest house A village museum A civic center A traditional Székely gate for the church courtyard
A Székely gate
Like Spontaneous Combustion The Partner Church Program Susan Eberly
At the end of World War I, Romania absorbed eastern Hungary, including Transylvania. Efforts to turn these erstwhile Hungarians into Romanians were often repressive, and this was even more true for Unitarians, a religious minority. American Unitarians began a "Sister Church" program during these difficult times to provide support to struggling Unitarian congregations in Transylvania. It was a great success. As Rev. C. Leon Hopper writes: . no one was prepared for the flood of resources, both financial and personal, which were to follow. Involvement with caring was expected, yes, but dollars, no. It was like spontaneous combustion. an explosion of activity. There were a remarkable number of visits to Transylvania which quickly resulted in deepened involvement and personal commitment. After WW II, Romania and Hungary were made part of the communist USSR, and communication with American Unitarians was difficult. Rev. Anniko Szantho Harrington, who would one day be the minister at our Partner Church in Janosfalva, worked to stay in contact, and by the 1960s American Unitarians were once again visiting Transylvania.
By the 1980s, the first "partner church" relation-ships had been established. In 1993, after the UUA could no longer financially support the Partner Church Program, the Partner Church Council (PCC) was created as an affiliate organization of the UUA. That year was also the year UUSIC became a Partner Church to the Parochia Unitariana in Janosfalva, a partnership that is now fifteen years old.   You can learn more about the Partner Church Movement by visiting: The history of the Partner Church Movement A Guidebook for UU Partner Churches
Getting to Know Your Society Quiz Qs for February
How long has UUSIC been a Partner Church with Janosfalva? Who first suggested that UUSIC establish a Partner Church relationship? In what country is our Partner Church? Why is this particularly relevant?			What did UUSIC first raise money to purchase for the church in Janosfalva? How do we here at UUSIC raise money to help our Partner Church in Janosfalva? Find the answers to this month's quiz posted beside the timeline in Channing Hall.
Check it out .		From Within These Walls is a project of the UUSIC Building Centennial Team: Jeanette Carter, Susan Eberly, Marilyn Jennewein, David Martin, Betty McKray, Charity Rowley, Faye Strayer, and Mark Yuskis, with the help of many others in our UUSIC community.
The UUSIC timeline - Decade by decade historical highlights, located on the south wall of Channing hall, and updated monthly. Answers to each month's "Getting to Know Your Society" quiz - Posted beside the timeline in Channing Hall. Fireside Room Display: Our Partner Church - Learn more about our unique relationship with our Partner Church, Janosfalva's Parochia Unitaria. The FWTW web page, with new information every month.

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