CHURCH PLANTING
Creating You Belong Wisconsin Moravians planning new congregation more inclusive for individuals with disabilities
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e are incredibly excited to share that the Moravian Church Northern Province is developing a new congregation called You Belong in Green Bay, Wisconsin. For years, my wife Amy and I have had a dream of creating a church that works to be more inclusive for individuals living with disabilities. Our passion and calling in life is to care for people with disabilities and to help our society understand new ways in which we are intentionally inclusive in all areas of life, including the church. You Belong is committed to sharing the love of Christ while being grounded in inclusion, love and compassionate care. We aspire to be a church home for all people, of all walks of life, but to live that out in such a way that each person feels truly included in all that we do. We believe that everyone is wonderfully made in the image of God and is loved by God, and, as a developing faith community, we hope to reflect that love of God. A divine seed planted long ago This dream started on January 4th, 2011. On that day, God planted a seed in my heart that May 2021
would change my life forever. I was having a once in a lifetime journey traveling through the Holy Land in Israel with a group of Moravian peers during Young Adult Convo. As you can imagine, this trip was humbling as we journeyed through the places that Jesus once walked centuries ago. However, the most humbling moment of the trip for me was not the steps Jesus had made 2000 years ago; instead, it was a place that Christ was very much alive and at work today. We traveled into Palestine to visit the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Ramallah on the West Bank. Star Mountain is an undertaking of the Worldwide Moravian Church and is a wonderful ministry working to care for individuals living with disabilities in this part of the world. I remember walking up the hill onto the campus and the first two people we met were a physical therapist working with a young boy who was learning to walk using a walker. As we approached them, the boy looked up at us, standing firmly on his feet, and smiled with (Continued on next page) 5
