Our Partner Congregation Programs
New** A Special Pilgrimage to Concord
Summary: They are coming, and now we know who they are! Here, at last, are the 2012 Keresztúr delegates. As is their Hungarian custom, their family names precede their given (first) names:
Youths: Balogh Emő, Ciocan Ágnes, Deák Tamara, Rezi Kinga, Nagy Henrietta, Tamási Dezső
Adults: Csáka József & Gizella, Demeter Julia, Dobos Albert & Ildikó, Lőrinczi László,
Rev. Mikó Ferenc, Palkó Zoltán
They are tentatively scheduled to arrive on September 20th and depart on October 1st.
New** Our visitors' photos and quides to pronouncing their names are now available at: http://gallery.firstparish.org/gallery3/index.php/Partner-Cngn/2012-Kereszturi-Pilgrims
We are currently looking for people to host Keresztúr pilgrims in their homes and for help with home-stay and activity logistics, and (especially) for assistance with fund-raising* activities/events. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Ken Estabrook at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For photos from previous Keresztúri Pilgrimages note the "Keresztúri Pilgrimages" item in the "Pilgrimage Program" section, below.
Reminder: To keep up to date on the latest news about our Partner Congregation Community we maintain a Google Groups email list at Transylvania Friends where you can see past posts and update your Google profile. If you would like to join this friendly group, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If your are not already a Google member, just click this link and you will be prompted to register - it's easy, free and you can use your existing email address.
* Fund-Raising: First Parish's Executive Team and the Partner Congregation Committee are working together to raise the funds to pay for 12 of the delegates’ airfares. The two spouses who will be joining the delegation will have their airfares paid for by their families.
Note: You can use this short URL: http://bit.ly/xZwDwA
if you want to link this to page from other pages, documents, news articles, emails, etc.
- Pilgrimage Program -
A huge part of partnership is building relationships between people in our two congregations. The best way to build deep and lasting relationships is to be face to face with each other. From our first sporadic pilgrimages in the 1990's we have evolved to where we now support a four-year cycle of pilgrimages, with a Youth Service pilgrimage on the 1st and 3rd years of the cycle, an Adults/Culture/Choir pilgrimage on the 2nd year, and a Keresztúr delegation visiting us on the 4rd year.
Every year we also support a First Parish delegate to Keresztúr's Unitarian high school graduation - see more details in the Student Sponsorship Program section, below.
Adult/Choir/Culture Pilgrimages: Co-sponsored with the Music Program, since in 2002 First Parish has also sent choir delegations to Keresztúr. We plan to continue to do so every four years. Click any of the following links to open the photo album for the corresponding pilgrimage: 2010 2007 2002 - The next Adult/Choir pilgrimage will be in 2014.
Youth Service Pilgrimages (YSPs): Co-sponsored with the High School Youth Program, and the Socal Action Community (SAC), every other year, starting in 2003, we have sent a youth delegation with adult chaperones to Keresztúr to live and work with our friends there. Click any of the following links to open the photo album for the corresponding pilgrimage: 2011, 2009 2007 2005 2003 - The next Youth Service Pilgrimage is planned for the summer of 2013.
Keresztúri Pilgrimages to Concord: After supporting a few delegations from Keresztur to Concord we have settled on a four-year cycle for pilgrimages which bring our brothers and sisters to our homes in Concord. Click any of the following links to open the photo album for the corresponding pilgrimage: 2008 2006 - The next Keresztúri pilgrimage is scheduled for September 2012.
In addition to this formal four-year pilgrimage cycle, every year sees individuals traveling on their own initiatives to visit friends and extended families.
- Student Sponsorship Program -
Since Ivan and Ursula Kristoffy sponsored the first student in 1996, our sponsorship program has provided opportunities to help Transylvanian Unitarian families pay for the living expenses of high school students in the Berde Mózses Unitarian High School in Székelykeresztúr, and often on to college and university. To date (January 2012) we have supported 147 students through donations of slightly more than $245,000 dollars by over 100 families from First Parish and the Massachusetts Hungarian community.
Our partner minister and the high school principal identify incoming freshmen who need financial help. Students who live more than a few kilometers away often have to board, as the roads can be impassable in bad weather, and many families can not afford the $800 - $1,000 per year expenses for room and board. Sponsors agree to pay $400 of this annual fee for each of the four years of high school. Many sponsors continue to support students as they go on to college, currently at the level of $600 per year.
Students and sponsors are encouraged to write each other at least twice a year. These sponsor-student communications often result in close friendships, and many sponsors have visited their students and their families, attended their graduations, their weddings, etc.
Every year we also support a delegate from First Parish to represent us at the graduation at the Unitarian high school in Keresztúr. For photos from these graduations see the respective photo albums: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007.
For more in depth information about education of the Hungarian minority population in Transylvania, please refer to the Education article starting on page 5 in the Winter 2007-2008 UUPCC Newsletter (Volume 14, Number 3) on the UUPCC's Newsletter Page.
If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship possibilities, please contact our coordinators: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Please note:Our partnership program activities include a number of initiatives. To ensure the success of all these initiatives, we are always looking for more committee members. If you're interested in working with the Partner Congregation Committee, please contact our chair: Winslow Pettingell at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Some of our Previous Activities and Pilgrimages
Culture and Music Pilgrimage: Oct 24 - Nov 2, 2010
Summary: We spent most of our time in and around Keresztúr, where we were once again treated with amazing hospitality and reconnected with old friends and established many new connections and friendships sightseeing together, sharing meals together, working together (weaving rugs and landscaping), singing together and celebrating together.
For photos taken by our pilgrims go to our Photo album in the First Parish photo gallery at: http://gallery.firstparish.org/gallery3/index.php/Partner-Cngn/2010FallPilgrimage
Links to photos and maps we used for our pilgrimage planning, are still at
http://rmattlage.posterous.com/transylvanian-culture-and-music-pilgrimage-oc.
Or download the two-page insert version with the same content on pages 20 - 21 in the April edition of the First Parish Monthly News -> download the PDF.
March 4 - 6, - we hosted the UUPCC Executive Board Meetings & a Potluck Supper, Fri, March 5th.
Here are some comments from some of the board members:
"The meeting was great from start to finish and Concord was a great place to do this. Please let everyone know how much we appreciated their hospitality."
"My many thanks to you and the great people at First Parish Concord for their hospitality and excellent support. It was a great experience."
"It was a great meeting, and all of the work that you and your crew did was completely transparent. The food was fabulous, the meeting facilities ideal, the location perfect."
Links to photos of the board meetings and the potluck supper are at
UUPCC Board @ First Parish in Concord, MA Flickr Photos
January 2010 Balázs Scholar Visit
On Friday, Jan. 8 we hosted this year's Francis Balázs Scholar, Rev. Róbert Bálint, and his family for a short vespers service, pot-luck supper and open discussion period.
For photos from this event as well as from others events with the Bálint family at neighboring congregations see
Photo Album: Jan 2010 Balázs Scholar in New England
For more about Rev. Bálint & family, their mid-winter visit on the east coast, the Balázs Scholars Program, and his congregation in Mészkő the "Alabaster Village", see:
Winter 2009 - 2010 Balázs Scholar's East Coast Visit
Székelykeresztúr-Concord Unitarian Congregations' Friendship House Reconstruction Project
In 2007, the Romanian Government finally returned ownership of a building which has been renovated into a wonderful multi-use center for the community in Keresztúr. Our congregation provided financial support and the labor of our 2007 and 2009 youth pilgrimages. Please see our Friendship House page for more information.
In September 2009, our delegation of Ivan & Ursula Kristoffy, Rodger Mattlage & Pat Brinkman, and Peggy Claybrook traveled to Keresztúr to represent us at their two days of dedication celebrations.
See photos of the dedication ceremonies at: The Community House Dedication Ceremonies Album
In October 2010 our Culture and Music Pilgrimage helped celebrate the Naming Ceremonies officially designating it the "Székelykeresztúr - Concord Congregations' Friendship House", or "Friendship House" for short.
See photos of the Dedication Ceremonies at: http://bit.ly/yPLl7d
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