St. Columba's

A little bit about church in Budapest. We have been attending St. Columba's Scottish Presbyterian, a small, but old English-speaking congregation very near our apartment. In fact, it is about three tenths of a mile further in distance from our apartment than Neland Church, our home church, is from our house in Grand Rapids (.6 miles, and .9 miles respectively). There are several other options in the city, but for some reason, we have been drawn to this one. The worship is liturgical, but not high church. We sing from the Scottish hymnal, many songs of which are familiar to us. The people are exceedingly friendly, and incredibly internationally diverse. We have worshiped with brothers and sisters from Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, England (and Scotland, of course!), France, Macedonia, the US, Hungary, and many other countries. Each week after the service there is a meal to which all are invited. Members of the congregation offer to cook and set up and clean up. Today was an unbelievable meal prepared by a man who comes from Spain, and is a local chef. He put together a spread of empanadas, tacos, kebabs, and a huge platter of paella that was simply amazing - even just to look at, much less to have the privilege to eat. Another woman brought in three large bushels of apples, fresh-picked from her husband's orchards near Lake Balaton. Julie and I were in such awe that we volunteered our family for dish duty, and we gladly washed, dried and put away the dishes after such a feast. It was a love feast that reminded me of the way the earlier followers of Jesus would share so much together - the way things are supposed to be between people. It was a glimpse of a coming shalom.

The church has a history dating to the 1830s, when some Scottish missionaries landed in Budapest as the Chain Bridge was being built to connect the cities of Buda and Pest across the Danube River. The bridge was designed with a particular Scottish bridge in mind, and many Scots were put to work in its construction. So a church was born, with a dual mission to minister to these Scotsmen bridge workers, as well as to reach out to share the gospel with the large Hungarian Jewish population. See http://www.scotskirkhungary.com/?history for a more detailed version of the story. Another group of people working to make the gospel a reality right where they are. They have even provided for two of the service-learning placements for Calvin students that I was looking for; one is leading a small church choir for the fall term, and another is providing help with weekly English lessons.

We had the opportunity to visit at the pastor's home last week, at a monthly gathering they have at their apartment. It was a great chance to get to know their family better, and to enjoy a meal and good conversation with them and a few other members of the church.