Because of the international roots of Unitarianism, partner church support became an established UU activity. Two years ago the Partner Church Council was formed within our church and American Churches started to adopt partner churches in Transylvania. In 1991 Reverend William Saunders started the procedures to adopt a partner Church. In 1992 he and four other members from our church went to visit the church in Hungary. The partner church adopted was Szekelykal (in Hungarian) and Caluseri (in Romanian). Reverend William Saunders, Gail Hueting, Jim Heins, and Claudia and David Gross were the members of the congregation who took it upon themselves to see for themselves where the roots of our church started.
Gail Hueting writes about this visit:
The village of Szekelykal, Transylvania “Our two-week Transylvanian Pilgrimage in August 1992 took us all over the Unitarian area, from Cluj (Koloszwar) on East. Our group met in Budapest and traveled in a rented van and a car to Southern Hungary and across the border into Romania. We stayed with families in Caluseri/Szekelykal. The hospitality was phenomenal everywhere we traveled. The hospitality was always introduced with ‘Palinka,’ a traditional plum brandy, and you absolutely could not say no that. We visited many Transylvanian/Unitarian landmarks and came away with an appreciation of the past and the present of Transylvania. Our stay ended with a church service in Caluseri (Szekelykal) where Will Saunders spoke along with Sandor Balasz, the local Unitarian Minister. We all sang ‘Spirit of Life’ and bid an affectionate farewell to our hosts.”
This delegation from our church established the friendship between our two churches, and we started to send some financial help to Szekelykal. With that money they started to build a meeting house where they would hold classes and smaller meetings. Four years later, in 1996, Brigitte Pieke and her daughter Samantha Singer went to visit Szekelykal. for twelve days. The minister at this time was Szabolcz Kelemen. Brigitte Pieke writes:
“We traveled from Vienna to Budapest and took the train to Cluj. Szabolcz Kelemen picked us up and we went to Szekelykal in his car. A very old car and with the streets the way they were, we were very worried if we would get there. We were put up in the parsonage and introduced to all the elders in the church. I will never forget their faces. Worn from outdoor work, many had missing teeth, but they were all cheerful and welcomed us warmly. We participated in a Pentecost Service which I will never forget and which made a lasting impression on me. The a capella singing of the congregation I can still hear in my mind. It was just so beautiful. Village life was like fifty years ago: dirt roads, cows going to pasture and back morning and afternoon, chickens and horses everywhere, two telephones in the whole village, the doctor came only for three hours every Monday afternoon, beautiful handcrafts and wonderfully, warm and caring people. Twelve days were not enough; we felt we had to come back.”
On Brigitte and Samantha's return from this trip, the church started to have Partner Church Sundays. They told about their experiences and collected some funds to send to Szekelykal. The PCC helped the church continue their most urgent projects, so they could repair their church and the community house. In 2004 Reverend Axel Gehrmann followed up by visiting Szekelykal while on sabbatical in Germany.
In the partner church in 1992, the church delegation had brought a hand-carved chandelier back and Brigitte Pieke came back with a plaque. Our church has designated a space at the church entrance as a partner church corner and we have hung the chandelier, the plaque, and some beautifully stitched Transylvanian embroideries in this space. Symbols of the American and Romanian partner churches decorations for Romania Sunday are pottery and embroidery from visit to Szekelykal. Over the past several years we have contributed substantial funds to aid the building and furnishing of the community house, helping to install a furnace in the minister’s house, underwriting repairs caused by water damage to the church building, reproofing the church, and restoring the clock tower. We also send contributions for the congregation’s youth group activities.
