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The cornerstone of our church, laid 1918, says in Hungarian: "First Magyar Evangalical Lutheran Church" |
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The Coat of Arms of Hungary |
The Early 20th century was the heyday of European immigration to America. At this time, hard conditions in in Hungary brought many Hungarian (also called Magyar) people to New Jersey and elsewhere in the United States. Among them were the Lutherans who built and founded Ascension now over 100 years ago. They were drawn to New Brunswick by the offer of equitable work and wages in the Johnson and Johnson headquarters. The original Mr. Johnson, who founded the company, said that he "would hire any Hungarian who came to work for him" because he had learned by fond experience to rely on their industriousness, honesty, piety, integrity and community spirit. And so they came. As family members sponsered new arrivals for citizenship, the Hungarian-American community grew and flourished. Eventually those immigrant families built three Hungarian churches on Somerset St.: one Reformed, one Catholic, and one Lutheran - our church, Ascension - representing the traditional faiths of the Magyar people. |
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| The 1940's and 50's brought a second wave of immigration to the doors of our congregation. After the turmoil of the second World War, Hungary was occupied by the Soviet Union. Seeking economic and religious freedom after a decade under the Stalinist yoke, the nation rose up in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. When Russian forces re-invaded, more than two-hundred-thousand Hungarians fled the country, many arriving as refugees in the Unites States.
A monument on Somerset St. stands in commemoration of those heroic times.After the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the rebuilding of close ties between the United States and Hungary, a third generation of new-comers have found a welcome at Ascension. Today, our congregation seeks to be a church home for Hungarians in New Jersey, to be a place for Hungarian-Americans to explore, and embrace their roots through faith, to serve as a living bridge of friendship between Lutherans in America and Hungary, and above all, to welcome all people, of every nationality, race or language to join us in the Grace of Jesus Christ!
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In our entrance way, commemorating the work of our longest-serving pastor. |
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Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God (1 John 4:7)Szeretteim, szeressük egymást: mert a szeretet az Istentől van; és mindaz, a ki szeret, az Istentől született, és ismeri az Istent
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