Balog: it is the parents' right and responsibility to educate their children

The pastor president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church called raising children the right and responsibility of the parents at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Áldás Reformed Kindergarten in Kunszentmiklós on Monday.

It is the right and responsibility of parents to educate their children, as the Hungarian legislature very correctly stated, and if they want to take that away from parents, "then the world has gone in a very wrong direction," said Bishop Zoltán Balog. He said: the location of the foundation stone was symbolic, not empty, it was preceded by demolition.

It would be good if everyone learned: there is no such thing as no man's land, a child's soul is never no man's land. "If we don't build those buildings that are really durable and give the children a future, then someone else will build there, and when someone else builds there, they have to be demolished first, and then they can build," he said.

Zoltán Márk Balog quoted from the gospel that when Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem, the chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus: "by what authority do you do these things, and who gave you the authority to do these things?".

Zoltán Balog said that the child is a gift from God, it should be seen as such, it obliges the parent, the school, the state, the church, and "then there will be no unauthorized intervention, because this is the greatest protection". It must be brought up in such a way that "life has meaning ten, twenty, thirty or even a hundred years from now," he emphasized. The power of love, which obliges us to "bring" to children the good message that can make their lives rich, safe and fulfilled. There are no children who were born into this world by accident, they must be treated with this responsibility, they must be raised and loved, emphasized the bishop.

The path to parents leads through the lives and hearts of children, he added. There will be a future not only for Kunszentmiklós, but for Hungary, the Hungarian nation, and the Reformed Church, if we live the life that we have received as a gift from God - the bishop concluded his words.

Fidesz member of parliament László Salacz expressed his appreciation for the construction of the kindergarten. As he said: the national kindergarten program of the Hungarian Reformed Church was not without precedent, it was founded on centuries of teaching and service of the Reformed Church. He called the role of churches extremely important in today's world, because it creates a solid moral foundation for all generations.

A two-way social process can be observed in religiosity in the 21st century, he said. On the one hand, the decline of communal religious practice, parallel to this, the strengthening of individual religious practice. The spread of atheism, but at the same time the strengthening of trust in the church and the acceptance of religiosity.

He welcomed the fact that the number of church kindergartens, schools and the number of children attending them has increased significantly in the last decade. Hungary must be kept Christian and national, this is a joint task, one of the steps to this is the establishment of the Áldás Református Óvoda in Kunszentmiklós, he said.

Gyula Pintér, pastor of the Kunszentmárton Reformed Church, said about the investment: it is good to experience that life can start with a blessing, a "miracle". Children are among God's greatest gifts, he said, and then he continued: the one who truly accepts this gift as a reward is the one who can first of all be grateful for the children, because he is not driven by selfishness, who does not live for himself, but sees the future in his child.

Dean Béla Bán said a prayer at the event. In addition to the speakers, Gyula Pintér, pastor of the Reformed Parish in Kunszentmiklós, Miklós Németh, managing director of the contractor Modinvest Kft., and jr. Caretaker Imre Szőke placed a time capsule, then Bishop Zoltán Balog and Gyula Pintér, pastor of the Kunszentmárton Reformed Parish, laid the foundation stone of the kindergarten.

According to the press material distributed at the event, 75 new places will be created in the 3-group, new, modern kindergarten founded by the Reformed Parish of Kunszentmiklós. The investment is expected to be completed by the end of April 2022, and the Áldás Református Kindergarten will begin its work in the 2022-23 school year.

The event, which takes place within the national kindergarten program of the Reformed Church, is also the national opening foundation stone of the program, with which 3,048 new kindergarten places and 354 new jobs will be created across the country. The development will be implemented with a HUF 35 billion subsidy from the government. The funds for the construction with a total cost of HUF 678 million were provided by the Hungarian government with a non-refundable grant, with the cooperation of Gábor Bethlen Fund Management.

Through the establishment of the new kindergarten - together with the already functioning Baksay Sándor Reformed High School and Primary School - in Kunszentmiklós, it will be possible for children from the age of 3 to benefit from almost the entire palette of institutionalized education in a Reformed spirit.

In the kindergarten program, modern kindergartens are built according to today's standards. Completely new kindergartens are being built in 33 settlements nationwide, and existing kindergartens are getting new buildings in 16 locations; In 17 locations, existing institutions are being renovated and modernized.

The development affects 23 institutions in the Danube Reformed Church District, of which 15 are new construction investments. The development affects 2,140 places in the church district, of which 1,246 are new kindergarten places. Thanks to the program, in September 2021, kindergarten care will continue in the new kindergarten building in Tabajdo with expanded capacity, and the extension of the building in Szentendre will soon be completed, so partially integrated kindergarten care for children with special educational needs will begin there in 2 small kindergarten groups. In addition, the investment in Lovasberény and a location in Budapest is nearing completion.

MTI

Photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák