Day 53 - August 30: Szentes: Church without Community House

The morning sun woke me up early again today. I had forgotten to lock my bike in the evening, but it was still there. The pastors keep telling me insistently to always lock my bike in Hungary. They even asked me to leave it in the church once. During breakfast, Pastor Eszter from Dabas messaged me that her colleague Reka will be in the county town of Szentes in the afternoon and can show me the church and tell me something.

On the way to the small town of Szentes, about 65 kilometers away, I had to ride the first few kilometers along a main road, so the traffic was heavy and loud. But fortunately, there was a bike path almost the entire way. Eventually, I could turn south towards Szentes, and my route now only went through a completely deserted gravel and partly sandy path. At times, I had to push the bike through the sand, making progress very difficult. Suddenly, a very large and aggressive dog came running from a nearby farm, jumped around my legs wildly, and barked non-stop. After about 500 meters, he finally stopped, ran back, and I was relieved, but then the next dog barked from behind a fence. After an hour of struggle, I could continue on a proper road along the Tisza River and reached the peaceful town of Szentes in the afternoon.

From a distance, a large church could be seen. However, it turned out to be the Reformed Church, and unfortunately, it was locked. I cycled to the Evangelical Vicarage, but no one was home. I spent some time in a cafe, passing the time and researching my route for the next few days. Then I reached Pastor Reka by phone, and we met at the Evangelical Church.

She mentioned that the Evangelical community in the city is very small, with around 200 members. The city is mostly influenced by the large Reformed community. Approximately 30 visitors come to church services, and on good Sundays, there are 40. There are several ecumenical services in the city. The community work is somewhat challenging because the community only has the church and no separate community house or room. All group meetings and church council meetings take place in the church by a side entrance. There is also no kitchen to offer church cafe, for example. The vicarage is also about 500 meters away. These are not easy working conditions, I thought, compared to the communities in Dabas, Szentendre, or Esztergom, which are similar in size but have additional rooms. When I asked about the biggest challenge for the community, I noticed that my question was perhaps a bit too direct, judging by her thoughtful response. Reaching the people in the city for the Evangelical Church is always a challenge since she arrived at this position 12 years ago.

Because there were no other facilities available, overnight stay was also not possible. There are no toilets or water in the church. So we said our goodbyes after just half an hour, and fortunately, I found a campsite on the premises of a large water park. The prices were accordingly high. But since dusk was already setting in, I had no other choice, and my body longed for a shower after the long day.