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by United Bible Societies Staff UNGARY, August 30, 2007 — An event which brings together many hundreds of young Christians is an ideal opportunity for a Bible Society to talk about its mission, display its products and encourage young people to share their faith with others. This is why the Hungarian Bible Society has developed a strong presence at Church-organised summer youth festivals over the last few years. This year, Bible Society staff travelled to Sárospatak, in northeastern Hungary, to attend the ‘Csillagpont’ Reformed Youth Festival.  The Rev Ottó Pecsuk, General Secretary of the Hungarian Bible Society, leading a discussion about the Bible in relation to Dan Brown's novel and to the Gospel of Judas at ‘Csillagpont’, the Reformed Youth Festival held in Sárospatak, northeast Hungary, on July 17-21, 2007.
As some 3,000 young people aged 16-30 gathered in mid- July to spend five days in Sárospatak, Hungary, like much of southeastern Europe, was experiencing extremely high temperatures. While good weather is an important factor in the success of an outdoor festival of this kind, the fierce heat (which caused as many as 500 deaths in a single week in Hungary) threatened to dampen the enthusiasm of some of the participants. Nevertheless, the organisers managed to run a full program of concerts, sporting activities, exhibitions, talks and films. Taking an area in the centre of the huge dining tent, the Bible Society set up its mobile Bible exhibition and a stand selling a range of publications. It also organised a series of discussions and presentations, including one about the Bible in relation to Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code and to the Gospel of Judas (a fragment of Coptic text thought to date from the third century which suggests that Judas betrayed Jesus at his own request in order that he might fulfil his divine destiny). The time the Bible Society devotes to youth events of this kind is a very worthwhile investment, General Secretary the Rev Ottó Pecsuk believes. “We find it very encouraging and useful to engage with young people, both those who are connected to the Church and those who are ‘seekers’,” he says. "By using many different ways of presenting the Bible and its message we have been able to reach young people and communicate the Bible in a language they understand.” |
