First Virtual Service of Hungarian Unitarian Women

unosz event
On Saturday, October 17, more than 100 people participated in the first virtual service organized by UNOSZ, the Unitarian Women’s Association of Romania, in collaboration with IWC. This special occasion was a wonderful testimony to the strong ongoing collaboration between IWC and UNOSZ.

 

The virtual event on Zoom, moderated by Rev. Júlia Jobbágy, drew people from all over the world, from Hungary to England to the United States; in several village churches across Transylvania, the service was projected onto big screens. The service was conducted in Hungarian, but the English translations of the texts were provided in a chat box.

 

unosz service 2
According to Gizella Nagy, vice-president of UNOSZ, IWC’s bi-monthly U*U women’s Zoom gatherings provided inspiration for this event, whose aim was to bring women closer together in times of distress and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rev. Edit Márton, who offered the prayer, noted that participants could experience the joy of togetherness “sitting in our homes, hundreds and thousands of miles apart, but close to each other in the depths of our souls.”

 

The musical interludes were provided by Éva Tódor, her husband Csaba, and their daughter Eszter. As IWC board member Elgiva Shullai from India observes, “the music was pure bliss... Spiritual feast and music do not need language. The ambience and the mood are curative.”

 

In her sermon, Rev. Júlia Koppándi focused on the power of women’s service; a never-ending life path full of struggles and sacrifices yet so forceful that it changes systems, it creates, and it beautifies: “church embroideries stand in silent testimony. Works of art. Our folk costumes. Our traditions.”

 

An ode to sung and unsung women heroes, Rev. Koppándi’s sermon invites us to thread this story further with our own – mine and yours: “With yours, who fought to have your work recognized. With yours, who goes to work every day. With yours, who serves as a minister or a teacher to those around you. With yours, who, as a grandmother, cooks the most delicious things for others and prays for others. With yours, who, as a mother, rises early to do the house chores while others are still asleep. With yours, who is always there when someone needs help. Life stories, women's destinies. In constant service, day after day.”

 

Through their daily work, women “weave, knit, and patch the invisible web that holds the world in its corners.” Now, more than ever, in an age of a global health crisis, “the tired lungs of the world” need “to breathe deeply from this female power - and let it start to heal slowly.” (Rev. Koppándi).

 

Everyone is eager for continuation. In the meantime, “we can all drink from this spiritual pool whenever we thirst for spiritual fulfillment.” (Elgiva Shullai). To get your own dose, please watch the recording of the service HERE.

 

P.S. If you are interested in a copy of the texts in English, please email us with your request at admin@icuuw.com.