November 20, 2011 "The Dream of the Diaspora" -Rev. Zoltán Kopándi-Benczédi
In this service, we welcome the 2011-2012 Balázs Scholar Zoltán (Zoli) Kopándi-Benczédi. The expression Diaspora describes people of a common ethnicity who moved away from their home community, and are currently living among foreigners. In the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, the term Diaspora is used for ethnic Hungarians of the Unitarian faith who are spread in areas where there is a vast Romanian majority, and where in many cases it is difficult to build autonomous, self-supporting church communities. I am a Diaspora minister, living in the once thriving, now remote Zsil Valley in Romania. In doing community building in the Diaspora, we must adopt the visionary attitude of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which starts with "I have a dream." The dream must be big, but also realistic, speaking to the way the congregation imagines its own church in the future. It is hard work, but it will be successful if done by people who believe their work is lead by God's Providence.
The Rev. Zoltán Kopándi-Benczédi is the 2011-2012 Balázs Scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry, and is minister to congregations in Lupény-Vulkán, Déva and Vajdahunyad, Transylvania. He hopes to return at the end of his scholarship year with new insights into the connection between church life and community development, particularly work done in multicultural environments.
