The Balázs Scholars Program has brought a Transylvanian Unitarian Minister to study at Starr King School for the Ministry and the GTU almost every year since 1994. The Program is named for Francis Balázs, a young Transylvanian Unitarian minister who graduated from the seminary in Kolozsvár, then in the late 1920’s studied at Oxford and at what is now called Starr King School for the Ministry, before returning to Transylvania.
This year our Balázs Scholar is Rev. Lidia-Emese Bodor, a Unitarian minister from Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár, Romania. Take the opportunity to welcome and get to know Emese. Invite her for coffee or for dinner. A conversation with Emese about Unitarian Universalism in Romania will enhance your understanding of international Unitarianism and your Starr King experience. If you would like to provide support for our Balázs Scholar as she gets used to Berkeley, help her with questions about Starr King, help with her chapel service, or volunteer to drive her to a nearby church some Sunday when she preaches there, please contact Arliss Ungar at Balázs@ungar.us
Starr King School provides classes, fund-raising and administrative assistance as well as waiving tuition for the Balázs scholar. The volunteer Balázs Scholars Program Coordinating Committee provides hospitality and support for the scholar and family, and schedules preaching engagements and transportation. The Committee is made up of representatives from the school, the Starr King community, the host churches and a liaison to the Partner Church Council. The host church for the scholar rotates between the Unitarian Universalist churches in San Francisco, Oakland, Walnut Creek and Berkeley (Kensington). This year the First Unitarian Church of Oakland is the host church. Arliss Ungar [Balázs@ungar.us] is chair of the committee and Jay Roller [jaybroller2002@yahoo.com] schedules the scholar’s preaching and other engagements.
The Balázs Scholars Program is funded by donations from individuals, money from the Partner Church Council, and from honoraria, donations and Sunday service collections from the churches where the Balázs scholar preaches. We appreciate your help to sustain this important program. Donations can be made on line at http://goo.gl/0n0OCD (be sure to designate Balázs). Checks for donations should be made out to Starr King School for the Ministry, with Balázs on the notation line, and put in Owais Qureshi’s box at Starr King.
