First Parish Bedford UU
Join us on Sunday morning!
Worship Services most Sundays at 9am & 11am;
occasionally one service only at 10am. Check the schedule.
Bedford Lyceum most Sundays at at 10am. Check the schedule.
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Our entire building is accessible – use the elevator at the Elm St. entrance |
| Partner Church Trip in August |
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John Gibbons and others from First Parish will travel this summer to Budapest,
Hungary and Transylvania, Romania from August 4-17
“Transylvania? Is that a real place?” Mention Transylvania and most people respond, “Transylvania? Is that a real place?”
Oh yes! Transylvania exists—not a country, but a region of Romania 39,000 square miles
in area, or about the size of Ohio. In the north central area, where our partner village,
Abásfalva, lies, much of the land is green and rolling. There is much forest left. Cows and
sheep and goats graze in upland pastures; and corn and potatoes, melons, and the tastiest
tomatoes in the world grow well. Yet the farms are mostly subsistence farms, the people
are very poor, and the technology more typical of America a hundred years ago. Village
houses are heated with wood, and while there is a water faucet in most homes, indoor
toilets are still the exception.
The Carpathian Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps to the east and south set
Transylvania apart from the rest of Romania. It shares its western border with Hungary,
and for the two centuries before a World War I treaty gave it to Romania, Transylvania
was a part of Hungary. There is still a large Hungarian minority, especially in the villages
in Harghita County where Abásfalva lies, who identify themselves as Transylvanians, not
Romanians. Their first language is Hungarian. (Actually, the name we use for our
partner, “Abásfalva,” is the Hungarian name for the village. If you are addressing a letter
or looking for the village on a map, you must use its Romanian name, “Aldea.”)
A map showing the location of Abásfalva will be in very large scale! The
population of our partner village is less than 300, and the roads leading to it are unpaved.
There are many villages scattered nearby, but the nearest town of any size is Odorheiu
Secuiesc (in Hungarian, Székelyudvarhely) —only ten miles away, but forty minutes by
car because of the very poor roads. There you will find stores and restaurants, modern
apartment buildings, medical care, the train and bus depots, and the high school.
Although they feel emotionally connected to their village, there is strong pressure on the
younger people to leave and find employment, education and a better life in towns and
cities like Udvarhely. In the few years we have been partners, we have seen the
Hungarian/Unitarian population of Abásfalva decline, leaving the Roma (“gypsy”)
population in the majority.
What lies in the future? The Szekely Hymn so beloved by Transylvanians begins
Ki tudja merre, merre visz a végzet,
Göröngyös úton, sötét éjjelen…
This translates:
Who knows where, where fate leads? Rough road, dark night
It is not at all clear what Abásfalva’s future will bring. It is not Bedford’s
vision to “save” the struggling village; but as her partner, we have promised
to stand with her, not forsaking or forgetting her, wherever fate leads. A real
place? For us of the First Parish in Bedford, Transylvania is indeed real; the
important and precious home of our sisters and brothers.
…
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75 Great Rd. Bedford, MA 01730
(781) 275-7994
Office hours: Mon-Fri 9am to 4pm
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