History – Magyar Reformed Church

Important History Dates for the Magyar Reformed Church

1900: The Hungarian Reformed people in New Brunswick first came together for occasional worship services conducted in their native tongue
1903:Paul N. Hamborszky, a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, learned from railroad employees about the large Hungarian community in New Brunswick
Hamborszky along with Chief Elder Ferenc Nagy, set out canvassing the city and calling people to attend church services to be held in the “People’s Mission House” on Neilson Street. The first service was attended by about 150 people. From then on, they congregated every second Sunday afternoon.
May 14, 1905:Certificate of Incorporation of “The Magyar Reformed Church.”
1915:The ground breaking of the Magyar Reformed Church building began on the highest point in New Brunswick.
FIRST SPLIT: Hamborszky remained as pastor of the Presbyterian group while the other Reformed Church of Hungary was under the pastorate of Rev. Kozma
October 1905:The group with the Presbyterian affiliation dedicated its church building on Hale Street
1908:They purchased the church on the corner of Easton Avenue and Hamilton Street
1909:By this time the congregation out grew the church on Easton Ave. They bought the burned out building on the corner of Bayard and Schuyler Streets (Joyce Kilmer Avenue).
1912:Hungarian Reformed people of New Brunswick expressed the desire that both congregations should become a united church under the jurisdiction of the Reformed Church of Hungary. The merged congregation numbered 1200 members.
SECOND SPLIT:The life of this merged congregation, however, proved to be short-lived. The two Hungarian Reformed congregations went their separate ways. One became the Bayard Street Presbyterian Church affiliated with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., and the other, the Magyar Reformed Church affiliated with the Reformed Church of Hungary.
January 24, 1915:The congregation of the Magyar Reformed Church of New Brunswick, affiliated then with the Magyar Reformed Church of Hungary, held a congregational meeting with 236 persons present. Consistory members were elected and plans were made for the building of the new church.
The property was purchased for the church, at a cost of $6,000. It was forty-two feet wide and 140 feet long, on the highest point in the city. $5,000 was donated by the members, $10,000 was loaned by the city, $5,000 was donated by the members, and $10,000 loaned by the Church of Hungary. The work began.
July 1915:In a congregational meeting, the Magyar Reformed Church of Manville was adopted as a sister church.

August 8, 1915:A congregational meeting membership regulations were determined without delay on the construction of the new church building. Men and woman have equal rights in the church, with one exception: a woman cannot be a member of the consistory.
October 10, 1915:the cornerstone dedication of the church took place at 3;00 p.m.
March 26, 1916:The building we worship in today was dedicated and consecrated.
August 1916:In a congregational meeting it was voted to purchase the house next to the parsonage on Division Street for $5,400.
1919: Paul N. Hamborszky established a weekly grade school, with four classes, in the large basement of the church. English as well as the Hungarian language were taught, with an enrollment of eighty-nine students.
1918-1925: The consistory was unable to obtain a loan from the local banks; the church was unable to pay the minister’s salary. Many members gave up hope for the future; and others gave up church membership altogether.
May 1922: Adam Schodle assumed pastorate.
June 1922: Bishop Balthazas of Hungary visited the congregation. The church and the parsonage underwent badly needed repairs. One of the two houses that had been bought for investment purposes was sold to pay expenses. The church membership again began to grow with ninety-five families on record.
1923: The remaining church property, bought for investment, was renovated and rented. This was a boost to the church treasury.
1925: A committee was appointed to look for a new pastor. They approached a local minister of the Reformed Church in America for advice who referred them to Rev. Andrew Kosa, pastor of the Magyar Reformed Church of Manville.
The newly elected and installed pastor long with his wife, Margaret Blum Kosa, began work energetically, and within a few months there was proof enough that there was a great potential lying dormant in the hearts of the membership.
1931:Just six years after Rev. Kosa was elected as pastor, the $23,000 deficit had been reduced to $9,000 – quite an accomplishment in those days. Membership had grown from forty to almost nine hundred.
1936:One Sunday the Magyar Reformed Church was honored with a most distinguished visitor – the Governor of New Jersey – the Honorable Harry Moore. He delivered a great sermon to packed to capacity church of worshipers.

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February 22, 1937: the Magyar Reformed Church young men’s basketball team won the championship of New Brunswick Basketball League.
1942: World War II underway, 186 sons and daughters of Magyar Reformed Church were on the battlefields. A service flag with186 stars was dedicated.
1943: The congregation was debt-free and had a mortgage-paper burning. The estimated value of the church property at this time was $100,000.
1944: The congregation made plans to renovate and rebuild the church sanctuary at a cost of $12,000. This amount, with a surplus of $4,000, was raised by the time the renovations were completed. The renovation included, among other things, new stained glass windows and the re-building of the organ.
Early 1950’s: A parsonage was purchased at 179 Somerset Street for $15,000. The Building Committee was formed to make plans for its renovation and painting. The old parsonage was relegated to be used for various activities and for church classrooms.
1954: The first combined Thanksgiving Day Service was held with the Bayard Street Presbyterian Church, a significant event in the lives of the two congregations. It was this year also that Rev. Paul Hamborszky, the organizing pastor of Magyar Reformed church, was buried from the church he built.
1956:The Schulmerich Carillon Bells were installed in the steeple, a gift of the Men’s Club.
November 1956: The congregation extended aid to the influx of Hungarians into the U.S. and especially into the Greater New Brunswick area, after the October 23 uprising in Hungary. This historic event would have a major energizing impact on the life of Magyar Church for years to come.
1958: A $14,000 pipe organ was dedicated; the Ladies Aid Society donated most of the funds.
September 18, 1960:The Educational Building was dedicated. At this time also the Ladies Aid Society donated a new kitchen in the church basement, a new heating system in the church and in the fellowship hall.
1963:After thirty-eight years of dedicated service in Magyar Reformed Church and forty-three years in the ministry, Rev. Dr. Andrew Kosa retired. The congregation paid tribute to the pastor; they also honored Mrs. Kosa, who for forty-two years shared his joys and sorrows. They were blessed with three children: Lillian, who died in childhood; Ernest, who was a chaplain in the U.S. Army; and Margaret, who is the wife of Rev. Imre Bertalan. At the time of the Kosa’s retirement, they had six grandchildren.
November 10, 1963: Bertalan devoted his next seventeen years to serving the congregation. During his ministry here, he confirmed 227 young people into the church, married 158 couples and baptized 259 children. He was instrumental in encouraging many who were newly emigrated to the U.S. from Hungary to move to New Brunswick area and to join the church membership.
1965: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the church and the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Rev. Bertalan’s ordination were celebrated. A dinner-dance was held at the Roger Smith Hotel in New Brunswick.
1966: The Sunday School experienced its largest growth period because of the recent immigration from Hungary and because the “baby boomers” generation were now of school age.
1975: We observed the Sixtieth Anniversary of the church. This also was the year the first annual Hungarian Festival was held.
1979:New by-laws were adopted by the congregation following its preparation and recommendation by the consistory. It became effective on January 27, 1980.
1980: On April 8, Mrs. Andrew Kosa, wife of our Pastor Emeritus, gave her soul to the giver of life.
December 31, 1980: Rev. Imre Bertalan concluded his service as pastor of the church. He began to serve as President of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, a fraternal insurance organization, in Washington, D.C.
April 1981: Barnabas Roczey was elected to serve as the new pastor of Magyar Reformed Church. He began his service in June and was officially installed on September 20, 1981, by the Classis of New Brunswick.
August 4, 1983:Wallace H. McKay, our organist director, and friend, passed from this life. He endeared himself to our membership and at the age of 69, he began to learn the Hungarian language.
October 1983:The Ladies Aid Society (Nőegylet) celebrated its 55^th
1984: Rev. Andrew Kosa, Emeritus of Magyar Reformed Church, departed from this earthly life and entered his heavenly home.
August 1984:Renovations of the sanctuary began, with window frames being replaced with bronze frames. The renovations continued into 1985. The cost of the renovations were $190,000.
October 1984the Women’s Guild celebrated its 50^th
October 27, 1990:The celebration of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Magyar Reformed Church of New Brunswick
2002: Magyar Reformed Church left the Reformed Church of America and Hungarian Reformed Church of America
September 2007: After 27 years of service the Very Rev. Barnabas Roczey retired.
August 2008: Imre Bertalan passed away.
December 2008: A lengthy search for a new pastor took place and Rev. Zsolt Otvos became the pastor.
2008: Church renovations: over $500,000 went into a complete overhaul of the sanctuary. The roof and support beams were added to the main church structure to help support the weight of the roof and walls. This took a little over 9 months to complete.
2009: Installation of Rev. Otvos and rededication of sanctuary.
October 10, 2010: 95^thAnniversary Celebration.
May 21, 2011: Zsolt Otvos is the first minister in the history of the Magyar Reformed Church to get married during his service to the Magyar Reformed Church. He married Valeria Toth.
September 2012: Gabor Repelik is our first student minister from Debrecen Theological Seminary.
September 2013: Rozsa Drabik is our second student minister from Debrecen Theological Seminary.
September 2015: Katalin Magyar is our third student minister from Debrecen Theological Seminary.
October 11, 2015: The Magyar Reformed Church of New Brunswick, NJ celebrates its 100^th anniversary of Christian Service in the Hungarian Community.