I S S U E
A Cherokee visit Writing a “new” hymn Hurricane Relief A garden of gourds And more!
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Moravian Crystal
© 2017 MCC
Moravian Crystal Company is pleased to present a collection of elegant renderings, highly detailed and produced in 3D laser engraved imaging into optical grade crystal. These unique gifts, designed in Winston-Salem, N.C., celebrate Moravian history, heritage and traditions. For more information or to order, visit www.moraviancrystal.com Moravian Crystal Company, Inc. 2150 Country Club Rd, Suite 248 • Winston-Salem, N.C. 27104 • (336) 306-5688
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The Moravian
On the cover: Stained glass seal beckons us to follow the Conquering Lamb.
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20 Moravians in Mission 5
Board of World Mission takes on hurricane relief
Christ and him crucified remain our confession of faith
25 Blessed to Be a Blessing: Gifts of Change
In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, love
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Moravian Archives Cherokee Nation official tours Southern Province Archives in support of publication work
Moravian Camping Ministries 10 Laurel Ridge looks back on season of love
Moravian Liturgy 13 Intercessions for Times of Crisis
Moravian Music 16 On writing a “new” memorial hymn
In Our Congregations 20 Home Church youth learn community gardening with gourds
...And More Visit our website at http://www.moravian.org. Letters to the editor, address corrections, and other correspondence may be e-mailed to the editorial staff at moravianmagazine@mcnp. org.
Issue 8 • 2017
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My crystal ball shows the beauty of the present
15 Obituary: The Rt. Rev. Edwin Sawyer 22 Confessing Our Unity in Christ: 1957 28 Official Provincial Elders’ News 29 Obituary: The Rev. Christian D. Weber 30 Justin Rabbach named Board of World Mission executive director 3
PONDERINGS (ISSN 1041-0961 USPS 362600) Oct. 2017, Vol. 48, No. 8 Publications Agreement No. 40036408 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: OnTrac International, 121 5th Avenue NW, New Brighton, MN 55112 email: file@ontrac.com Official Journal, The Moravian Church in North America, Northern and Southern Provinces Published monthly, except bimonthly January-February and June-July issues, by the Interprovincial Board of Communication, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018. Subscription rates: $15.00 per year, U.S.A. & Canada; $18.00 per year, all other countries. Individual copies available for $3.00 each.
My crystal ball shows the beauty of the present Last year, I bought a crystal ball—not to foretell the future or delve into mystical realms. No, this was a tool for creating unique photos. By holding a crystal ball in front of your camera lens and focusing on the image appearing inside it, you see an upside down, curved, wraparound view. Blur the background a bit, and viola! A new perspective on an everyday scene. The ball makes seeing the beauty of God’s creation a whole new experience. The view from my office window isn’t spectacular – I overlook my office’s rear parking lot and Moravian College’s baseball field. But in January, the view through my crystal ball looks like a snow globe. In July, the bright blue skies and green trees take on a magical view. Throughout the year, sunsets and rainstorms create glowing colors and interesting patterns. And come fall…well, that’s where my breath gets taken away. They say there’s beauty to be seen in every situation. In this day and age, where there is much ugliness in the world, the view through a crystal ball is just one way to help me see that beauty. No, it can’t make bad things stop happening, nor reverse tragedies. But for a moment, I see things in a new light. Among the articles about happenings in the Moravian world, we share another tool for helping us see beyond the crises in the world today in this issue of The Moravian. On page 13, we share the Intercessions for Times of Crisis, inspirational words from our Moravian Book of Worship, that can help us focus on peace, hope and God’s love for us. As much as I’d love to be able to see the future by gazing into my crystal ball, I know that just won’t happen. Instead, I’ll gaze into the beauty that God has given us…and make some pretty cool photos in the process! Peace, 4
The Moravian is sent to the families of the Moravian Church as a privilege of membership. Periodicals postage paid at Bethlehem, PA. Circulation: 17,000 Postmaster please send address changes to The Moravian, PO Box 1245, Bethlehem, PA 18016-1245. Continuing The North American Moravian, The Moravian and The Wachovia Moravian. Michael Riess, Editor Susan Kiefner, Communications Assistant Jill Bruckart, Customer Relations/Business Assistant Interprovincial Board of Communication Ginny Tobiassen, chair Terri Bischoff, Peggy Carter, Margaret Couch, Lance Fox, Paul Knouse, Kat Lehman, Amy Linville, Dan Miller, Jill Westbrook, Design by Michael Riess, IBOC. Address all correspondence regarding articles, subscriptions, or advertising to The Moravian, PO Box 1245, Bethlehem, PA 18016-1245 FAX: 610.866.9223 Phone: 610.867.0594 800.732.0591 e-mail: moravianmagazine@mcnp.org www.moravian.org Contents © 2017, Interprovincial Board of Communications, Moravian Church in America. All rights reserved
The Moravian
Damage from Hurricane Harvey in Texas. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. From Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
MORAVIANS IN MISSION
Board of World Mission takes on hurricane relief
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arvey, Irma and Maria. For several weeks it seemed like these were the only names you would hear on the news as one hurricane followed closely on the heels of another. The Board of World Mission (BWM), through Moravian Disaster Response has worked with numerous partners to try our best to put the generous gifts of our congregations and members to work in the ongoing relief efforts. The BWM has sent financial support to Moravian partners in Cuba and the Eastern West Indies Province to assist with immediate needs in the wake of the storms. Longer-term plans are still in the works, and there will likely be a need for individuals willing to join in the relief efforts by joining work teams. We ask for your prayers as congregations on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Maarten have all experienced damage. In response to Hurricane Harvey the BWM now has teams on the ground in Port Arthur, Texas. We have partnered with the Unity of Brethren Church in Texas, and specifically with the Good Shepherd Moravian Church (a Unity of the Brethren congregation formed by individuals with Moravian roots, many from Nicaragua.) Issue 8 • 2017
This church lost its pews, organ, piano, carpeting and much more to flooding, and many members of the congregation were also impacted by flooding. At this time, the BWM is lining up teams through spring of 2018, and welcome any individuals who are looking to volunteer their time in the physical rebuilding efforts. Much of the news around these storms has rightfully centered around the extent of the destruction and trying to predict the long term impact. However, the silver lining to this awful destruction has at times been the stories of community and service as people have shared what they have with one another. The same has been true in the Moravian world, as several unique responses have complimented the generous financial gifts and wave of information provided by volunteers looking to join the relief teams.
Disaster Response trailer Moravian Disaster Response has three trailers filled with tools and is always ready to be deployed to disaster areas. One such trailer has been deployed throughout 2017 in North Carolina in response to Hurricane Matthew. (Continued on next page) 5
Above: MDR trailer loaded and ready to head for Texas. Right: The Backs of Maryland and their donated RV.
Hurricane
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Following Hurricane Harvey, a second trailer was scheduled to be deployed from Wisconsin, where it had been available for use during the remodeling phase of Tricklebee Café. While it was already stocked with tools, congregations in Southern Wisconsin joined together to help donate items needed in rebuilding efforts. With only a week’s notice, a bulletin insert listing needed items was placed in Sunday bulletins, and by the next Sunday bags filled with cleaning supplies, drywall tools and carpentry items had been delivered to Lake Mills Moravian Church, ready to be loaded in the trailer. Three volunteers from the Western District—Jon Gehler, Aaron Van Der Linden and Phillip Kietzke—left in the pre-dawn hours of a Monday in September to deliver the trailer to Texas. Now on site and ready to receive teams, the unique contributions of the members of these congregations will be used to help rebuild.
Mobile Home In addition to the trailer of tools, the BWM has also sent an RV to Texas. Just as requests came from the Unity of the Brethren for any campers to serve as temporary housing, the BWM received an email from Tim and Cheryl 6
Back of Graceham Moravian Church in Thurmont, Maryland. They had an RV trailer they were willing to donate if there was a use for it… and of course, there was (and is)! The RV, fully stocked through further generous donations, has now arrived in Texas, and is ready to serve as housing and a shower facility for teams coming to rebuild homes.
Shoe Boxes Many congregations have participated in packing shoe boxes with toys for children around Christmas time. Evie Blum, of New Philadelphia Moravian Church, has helped to organize a similar effort, with a specific focus to collect items needed by the Moravian communities in the Virgin Islands. For more information on how you can assist with Board of World Mission Moravian Disaster Relief efforts, visit www.moravianmission.org. n Thanks to Justin Rabbach, director of mission engagement with the Board of World Mission, for this article. The Moravian
MORAVIAN ARCHIVES
Cherokee Nation official tours Southern Province Archives in support of publication work
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n a wonderful, warm, Wednesday October afternoon at Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem, N.C., a reading room full of invited guests assembled to welcome an official visit by two leaders from the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr., and the Honorable Jack D. Baker, a former at-large councilman for the Cherokee Nation (2006-2017), presented the Archives with a check for $25,000 to support the publication of additional volumes of the book series Records of the Moravians Among the Cherokees. Secretary Hoskin, on his first visit to Salem, expressed his appreciation for the partnership between the church’s archives and the Cherokee Nation. “I am proud of the history of our people and our culture, and the strength we have shown through difficult times. But I am also grateful for the friends we had along the
way, who stood alongside us. The Moravians have been our friends, and helped our people prepare for change and survive it.” Hoskin also presented each of the three Moravian archivists in the room with original Cherokee artworks, then inspected the process and some of the materials used in creating the book series.
Accounting daily life The Records: Cherokees volumes present perhaps the earliest, longest-running account of daily life in the Cherokee Nation. The records span from 1801—the beginning of the Moravian mission at Springplace, in today’s Georgia— through the Trail of Tears in 1838, and up until the Civil War and beyond. In diaries, letters and reports, Moravian missionaries noted the events, momentous as well as routine, that affected them and the Cherokee people. The Moravian Archives in (Continued on next page) Interim archivist J. Eric Elliott welcomes Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr., to his first visit to the Archives witnessed by Paula Locklair, Vice President of Education Programming and Research at Old Salem Museums and Gardens, PEC and Archives Commission member Peggy Carter, and the Hon. Jack Baker of the Cherokee Nation (Photo by Mary Elen Kollman)
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Top: Editions of the Records of the Moravians Among the Cherokee. Bottom: (L to R:) Jenni Reinhardt Lynch, vice president of Institutional Advancement at Salem College; Kathy Marakas Barnes, director of Major and Planned Gifts, Salem College; and Rev. Dr. Amy Rio, chaplain, Salem College join Salem College alumna Anna McCoy Smith, whose research on family history and Salem College-Cherokee connections led her to found the Cherokee-Moravian Historical Association (photo by January Hoskin). Right: Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr., brings official greetings from the Cherokee in Oklahoma, and thanks for the work and relationship with the Archives. (Photo by Mary Elen Kollman)
Cherokee
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Winston-Salem is compiling these volumes with the principal support of the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, with additional funding by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Moravian Historical Association, the Wachovia Historical Society and Friends of Moravian Archives. The return of Jack Baker to the Archives was a welcome sight that day for Moravian Church member and Salem College alumna Anna Smith, who together with Baker in 2005, founded the Cherokee Moravian Historical Association, in part, to get more attention to the Archives’ unpublished trove of Cherokee materials. Baker, who first visited the Archives in 2003, has long been interested in Cherokee history. He is president of the Oklahoma Historical Society, 8
Inc., and serves as president of the National Trail of Tears Association. Anna Smith has an entrepreneurial spirit, having founded Ego Hour, a successful multioutlet hair design salon. Her ancestor, Chief Charles Renatus Hicks, was one of the first converts of the Moravians. She has done considerable research on the 11 Cherokee girls who attended Salem Academy. She also became interested in the story of a slave named Pleasant, who had served at the Mission for many years. Pleasant’s tombstone had been discovered during restoration work at the original St. Philips Moravian Church site in Salem in the early 2000s. Smith read Moravian Archivist C. Daniel Crews’ booklet Faith and Tears about the Moravian-Cherokee connection, and knew there was more about that relationship that needed to be told. Archivist Crews approached Smith and The Moravian
Baker and asked if the Cherokee Nation would be interested in getting all the Cherokee materials translated from German and published for a $25,000 per year contribution. Crews and Assistant Archivist Richard W. Starbuck would each spend two days per week on the project with an estimated value of $50,000 per year to get the first volumes of materials ready for publication. A five year agreement was signed by both the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians so that each of them provided $25,000 per year for the five years. The Cherokee Nation has continued their annual contribution since the expiration of the agreement so that the project could continue. Since 2008, the Archives’ Cherokee Fund, started at the instigation of Smith and Baker, has collected over $360,000 in contributions to produce the Records: Cherokees series. In 2005, Georgia State Archeologist David Crass, with help from a student team, surveyed the site of the first Moravian mission at what is now the Chief Vann House State Historic Site in Chatsworth, Georgia. Archaeologist Ken Robinson, now assistant director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Wake Forest University, told an evening reception crowd at Anna Smith’s, following the Archives visit, that Wake students found the footings of the old mission
house by comparing results from ground radar with a map of the mission site found in the Winston-Salem Moravian Archives. “But we kept running into these large quartz crystals,” he said. “They were everywhere.” After a while the reason for the nickname for the historic site became clear. “That’s why they called the place ‘Diamond Hill’ – all those crystals!” Thanks to the leading support of the Cherokee Nation, the Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem can keep unearthing and publishing new treasures from its vault. And what of the latest volume (number seven) covering the years 1825 through 1827? Editor Richard W. Starbuck tells us that “Sequoyah’s Cherokee alphabet has come to church services, and there are fresh converts at the Moravians’ missions. But sale of nearby Creek Nation lands has ripped apart trust in that community, and the deaths of Cherokee and Moravian leaders in those years create uncertainty for the future relationship of the two communities.” n J. Eric Elliott is interim archivist at the Southern Province Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem. You can order Records of the Moravians Among the Cherokee from the Southern Province Archives at www.moravianarchives.org.
Presentation of a check from the Cherokee Nation to Moravian Archives to underwrite future volumes of Records of the Moravians Among the Cherokees. Left to Right: former Archivist C. Daniel Crews, Jack D. Baker, Chuck Hoskin, Jr., former Archivist Richard W. Starbuck, and J. Eric Elliott. Crews and Starbuck were the editors of Records: Cherokees volumes 1-6; Starbuck edited newly published volume 7. (photo by Mary Elen Kollman)
Issue 8 • 2017
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MORAVIAN CAMPING MINISTRIES
Laurel Ridge looks back on season of love
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s the autumn winds begin to chill the mountains of western North Carolina, the staff at Laurel Ridge Camp, Conference and Retreat Center is looking back on a wonderful summer of sharing faith and love with young Moravians. “Our theme of ‘Love’ for 2017 came from Colossians 3:14: ‘Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity,’” says Tres Fordham, executive director of Laurel Ridge. “Summer camps used this verse and theme in many different age-appropriate ways.” At an event in September, Tres share his views of the 2017 camping season. “Pre-junior campers explored how we show our love for God and his love for us through prayer,” said Tres. “Junior 1 campers explored and studied the ‘Rhythms of Life’ and how the rhythm of Jesus’ life was love. Middle high campers used the ‘Where’s Waldo’ idea and looked at ‘Where in the World is Jesus,’ studying all the different ways we worship, realizing at the heart of each form of Worship is the love for God. Senior high campers took the next step from the 2016 theme of “Decisions”
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with the 2017 theme of “Action” and considered ‘Why do mission work if we don’t do it out of love?’ And our Family Camps focused on helping families grow together, strengthening friendships and deepening their faith.” The camps based at Higgins Lodge also looked at love, but from more of a “doing” perspective. “Eco Mission camp focuses on the creation that God gave us because He loves us and our response to caring for it, because we love Him,” continued Tres. “Participants in the four mission camps held this year were able to physically demonstrate their love for God by painting, building, mowing, cleaning and showing hospitality to 15 homeowners and sites in Ashe and Alleghany counties. But we believe Mission Camp is more than all the work they do. We believe mission camp impacts the faith journey of the homeowners, campers and counselors alike. Yes, campers work on and make repairs to homes and property, but just as important is the opportunity to connect socially with each homeowner. During lunch, each homeowner is invited to join the campers for a meal and devotion.” The Moravian
Campers in the Junior Arts camp and Middle High Arts camps showed their love for God and how we can worship Him through the creativity of paintings, puppetry, and music as they explored their own personal “Artistry of Faith.” “We also had groups from Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Hickory, Durham, Boone and many other places use Higgins Lodge for retreats where participants shared their love of God through music and learning about God’s love for all,” said Tres. And in 2017, Laurel Ridge was a place where couples made the ultimate statement of love – their marriage. “We hosted five weddings this year,” explained Tres. “It seems that the hottest trend in weddings is for the ceremony to be in an outdoor, rustic and natural setting. Laurel Ridge fits this description perfectly, and talk about fitting the theme of ‘love’ for the year… nothing exemplifies love more than a wedding. Each of the brides and grooms this year not only expressed their love for each other but expressed their love for God in each ceremony.” During the past 12 months, Laurel Ridge’s facilities underwent substantial updates and maintenance. “On our Bahnson Assembly Hall facility at summer camp, we completed a new metal roof, ground and polished the floors and updated the bathrooms. Campers and counselors commented on how bright, clean and cheerful Bahnson is now. The Salem Wing of Higgins Lodge received new paint and carpet, and we were also able to purchase a new Kubota tractor with heat for use during the winter for clearing roads. We had many volunteers who helped throughout the year, without whom we couldn’t continue to do our work.” To recap 2017, 711 participants came to camps programmed by Laurel Ridge. There were another nearly 800 campers from churches that used Summer Camp and Higgins this past summer for their own camps. All to(Continued on next page) Issue 8 • 2017
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homes and the impact these groups have on them. To hear of the relationships the youth have built is amazing.” “But we judge our success not only on the number of kids and adults who come to camp, but on the impact we have at camp,” said Tres. “Each of the more than 1500 campers and all the others who visited this year had the opportunity to accept God’s grace and come to a better understanding of what God’s Love for them is.”
Laurel Ridge
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gether, Laurel Ridge was directly able to positively impact over 1500 individuals this past summer, not counting the nearly 150 counselors who donated more than 18,000 hours of their time—18,000 hours!—to make a difference in the lives of our kids.
More than Summer Camp “But Summer Camp is not the only place Laurel Ridge impacts our community,” says Tres. As of early October, more than 3000 people visited Higgins Lodge for retreats and one-day workshops, participated in mission camp at Higgins Lodge, came for weddings or just enjoyed a meal. “One of my most favorite duties each summer is getting to drive the homeowners back after they join us for dinner on the last evening of mission camp. I get the privilege of hearing the stories from them about their interaction with the youth and adults working on their
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Impacting generations “God’s promises are abundant,” continued Tres. “If we are faithful to Him, if we are faithful to our mission of being a mountain place set apart for forming disciples of Jesus Christ who live and learn in community to serve in the world, we’ll continue to impact the current and future generations of visitors to Laurel Ridge. “When I think about all the good that happened in 2017, all the promises fulfilled in 2017, all the work that has been done AND all that is being done to make Laurel Ridge ready for 2018, I’m excited! “My hope is that you will continue to support and pray for the ministry that we call Laurel Ridge,” said Tres. “Together, we can ensure Laurel Ridge continues to share the love of God and remains a vital piece of faith formation for generations to come.” n For more information about Laurel Ridge or to read their annual report, visit www.laurelridge. org. Photos courtesy of the Laurel Ridge staff.
The Moravian
MORAVIAN LITURGY
Intercessions for Times of Crisis
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or many, it feels like we’re living in a time of constant stress and human tragedy. With natural disasters, racial unrest, political upheaval, economic uncertainty, mass shootings and terror attacks, we may find it difficult to find solace and peace. In these times, the prayers offered in the 1995 Moravian Book of Worship can help us connect with God as we pray for peace and strength. We offer this reprint of The Intercessions for Times of Crisis with the hope that it reminds us of God’s constnt presence and abiding comfort. May the prayers expressed here bring hope and healing. We encourage you to share with friends, family and your community as a witness to your faith.
(The following petitions may be used with a general or seasonal liturgy.) God of mercy, God of comfort, we come before you in this time of difficulty, mindful of human frailty and need, confused and struggling to find meaning in the face of suffering. We are grateful that even as we share in the joy of Christ Jesus, we can also share abundantly in comfort in the midst of suffering. For victims of fire or flood, storm or earthquake, famine or disease, For those whom disaster has left homeless, injured, or bereaved, For refugees and those separated from loved ones, (The liturgist may add specific petitions relating to the immediate crisis.) For all who are in danger, trouble, or anguish, We ask the presence and strength of your Spirit. Give all who suffer the love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. We know that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because your love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Issue 8 • 2017
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Intercessions for Times of Crisis Be the support of all who give their strength, their skill, and their stamina in a ministry of mercy. Open our hearts in generosity that we may be partners in their commitment to bring relief. Where tempers flare and a partisan spirit provokes new hostility, raise up people who have patience and restraint. Where indifference allows crisis to deepen and suffering to go without relief, awaken deliverers who have zeal and strength. We pray for those who are engaged in making important decisions in this time, for those who report on these events, and for those who shape public opinion. Give them the courage to speak out and the restraint to listen, that together we may discern the truth and hold aloft its light. Take away the temptation to trust in human power and military solutions, and give us the courage to be your servants to the community of nations. Direct all governments in the way of peace and justice, that your will may be known and done among the nations. Deliver us from the sins which lead to war and conflict, and strengthen within us the will to establish righteousness and justice on the earth. We pray for those who are suffering and can make no sense of tragedy. Help them to turn to the One who embraces us in our lives --even Jesus Christ, who lived and suffered among us. There is no one who is righteous, not even one, for we have all turned away from you. Make us aware of our common need of a Savior, and remove from our hearts the pride, ambition, and greed that would lead us to enslave and demean other people. Have mercy on your whole creation. Hasten the day when the kingdom of the world shall become your Kingdom, and by grace make us worthy to stand before you. Amen. Reprinted from the 1995 Moravian Book of Worship, with the permission of the Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in America. 14
The Moravian
OBITUARY
The Rt. Rev. Edwin A. Sawyer Brother Edwin A. Sawyer died in Lititz, Pennsylvania, October 5, 2017. He was 103 years old. Born July 20, 1914 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Otto and Sarah (Ziegler) Sawyer. Brother Sawyer attended Moravian Preparatory School in Bethlehem, and graduated from Lehigh University in 1935 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He received a Bachelor of Divinity from Moravian Seminary in 1938, a Master of Arts from Lehigh University in 1948, a Doctor of Philosophy from Columbia University in 1956 and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Moravian Theological Seminary in 1968. He was ordained a deacon in the Moravian ministry June 6, 1938, and consecrated a presbyter October 21, 1945. He was elected Bishop of the Moravian Unity and consecrated on September 14, 1986. He was united in marriage to Elizabeth Stempel on June 18, 1938, at the Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church, in Bethlehem. Together they served pastorates in Pennsylvania (Coopersburg, Allentown, Nazareth, Philadelphia), North Carolina (Fries in WinstonSalem), Maryland (St. Paul’s) and Alberta (Edmonton). He served the Moravian Church Southern Province at Salem College (19511957) as professor of Religion and Philosophy and college chaplain. He served the Moravian Church Northern Province as member of the Eastern District Executive Board (1960-1961) and president of the Eastern District Executive Board and vice-president of the Provincial Elders’ Conference (1961-1970). He also
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served as executive head of Moravian Preparatory School and Moravian Seminary for Girls (1970-1973), and director of Stewardship and Deferred Giving (1974-1979). He entered into retirement January 1, 1980. In 1999 he received the John Hus Alumni Award from Moravian Theological Seminary. He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth in 2014. Son, Robert; daughters, Jean and Marilyn; five grandsons and seven great-grandchildren survive Brother Sawyer. A memorial service will be held December 10, 2017 at the Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with the Rt. Rev. C. Hopeton Clennon officiating. Burial was in Nisky Hill Cemetery, Bethlehem, Pa. Memorials are welcomed for the Lehigh County Conference of Churches or a charity of the donor’s choice. n
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MORAVIAN MUSIC
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On writing a “new” memorial hymn
n making plans for the memorial service for my uncle, the Rev. Christian D. “Chris” Weber (see obituary, page 29), I was looking for hymn texts related to the Holy Spirit. The person and work of the Holy Spirit was an important influence and interest in my uncle’s life and ministry, so I wanted some hymns that would reflect that in his service. We already have several good “Spirit” hymns in the Moravian Book of Worship— “Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling” (495), which C. Daniel Crews wrote specifically for the Book of Worship, and “Come Spirit, O Love Divine” (492), which has very old words but was new to the blue hymnal—but none of them seem to fit the context of a memorial service. I have long liked the tune and the words to “Come, Holy Spirit, Come,” which have been part of the Liturgy of Adoration in the 1969 Hymnal of the Moravian Church and the 1995 Moravian Book of Worship. I thought these words, having been familiar
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for so long, would be easy for most of those attending the memorial service to sing. However, there is only one verse presented in the Liturgy of Adoration, and I had hoped there would be more verses to sing. Sallie Greenfield, a dear friend of my uncle’s, showed me her copy of the 1923 Hymnals and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum). There, I was grateful to find four more verses (hymn 135). Joseph Hart (1712-1768) had composed the hymn text of five verses in 1759. Earlier Moravian hymnals had all these verses, but by the 1969 Hymnal of the Moravian Church, Moravians used only the first verse as part of the Liturgy of Adoration. The editors of the 1995 MBW then altered the wording slightly, substituting “your” for “Thy” in the second line and “now” for “Thou” in the last line. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the verses that we found in the 1923 hymnal were full of archaic pronouns and phrasThe Moravian
ing; furthermore the words just did not seem helpful for a memorial service. However, I was drawn to some of the words of the second verse, and I liked the Trinitarian theme of the last verse. As I sat down to work with these verses, thoughts relevant to a memorial service began to emerge. Trying new words, within about 15 minutes the themes “Spirit tending to our weak humanity” and “giving us something eternal” were taken from the second verse from the original hymn: Revive our drooping faith, Our doubts and fears remove, And kindle in our hearts the flame Of never-dying love. and became: Comfort us in our grief; our sadness take away. Grant our mind’s eye the sweet relief of future, endless day. For me these changes created words directly relevant to the context of a memorial service. Instead of addressing “drooping faith,” “doubts” and “fears,” which might be a concern at a time of loss, these new words spoke to the inevitable grief and sadness that come with death. Furthermore, the concept of the eternal in the original verse dealt with the nature of faith. The new words translate that interest in the eternal to future, heavenly relief from the troubles of this world, and prays that we might have a vision of that even now. I then worked on the original final verse. I re-wrote: Dwell, therefore, in our hearts; Our minds from bondage free; Then we shall know, and praise, and love, The Father, Son and Thee. Issue 8 • 2017
to read: Dwell, therefore, in our hearts. Until our course is done, we’ll offer praise and love to You the Father and the Son. The new words erase the archaic language and continue to deal with the present realities of the life of faith while adding in a future focus, and maintain the original verse’s focus on the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Next, I emailed these new verses to several friends who have an ear for hymns. I did this to make sure I was not forcing syllables into rhythms or forcing awkward emphases in words that did not fit the hymn’s original meter. I recognize that my mind can do that without my realizing it; when others read those same verses, they see the problems that (Continued on next page) Riddick Weber presents at a conference with his uncle Chris. Photo by Tom Haupert.
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New Hymn (Continued from previous page)
I may have glossed over. In addition, another set of eyes can sometimes offer better rhyme schemes or phrasing. I was glad I asked for their help. Within minutes I had received an email from Gwyn Michel, assistant director of the Moravian Music Foundation, which included the following suggestions: “The only changes I considered were possible ones to the third verse, but at least one of these would make the text more archaic (ARGH!) and the other is perhaps a theological issue…. Dwell, thou within our hearts. (more archaic) Until our course is done, we’ll offer praise and love to You and rise with God, the Son. (???)”
hearts.” Her change brought the focus of this last verse and therefore of the hymn back to the Holy Spirit, which proved to be a very helpful suggestion. Jane Weber suggested altering a line of the second verse from “Grant our mind’s eye the sweet relief” to “Bring to our heart the sweet relief.” I liked the fact that her words were more accessible; after all, we all talk about our hearts, but who normally refers to “the mind’s eye?” However, I could not figure out how to work with those words to maintain the theme of a future focus in the way that “mind’s eye” does, so I did not make that change, even though I recognized that it was in some ways an improvement. By combining my work with the input of others, this hymn appeared—in some ways revised, in some ways new—and was sung at my Uncle Chris’ memorial service:
As Gwyn noted, one of her suggestions was more archaic, so I tried to work around that, but I really appreciated the new theological development of the last line—resurrection, which was perfect for a memorial service. I then used the same solution that the editors of the Book of Worship had used in moving from the older hymnal versions; that is, changing “thou” to “now.” I then suggested this verse back to my friends. Dwell, now within our hearts. Until our course is done, we’ll offer praise and love to You then rise with God, the Son.
Come, Holy Spirit, come! Let your bright beams arise; dispel the darkness from our minds, and open now our eyes.
After that, two more suggestions came in. Nola Knouse, director of the Music Foundation, suggested changing “Dwell, now within our hearts.” to “Dwell, Spirit, in our
I offer this narrative in the hope that it may be helpful to others in several ways. First of all, I hope this hymn may be helpful to pastors and families planning funerals and memorial ser-
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Comfort us in our grief; our sadness take away. Grant our mind’s eye the sweet relief of future, endless day. Dwell, Spirit, in our hearts. Until our course is done, we’ll praise the Father, Son, and you then rise with God, the Son.
The Moravian
The Rev. Dr. C. Riddick Weber is associate professor of pastoral ministry and the chaplain for the Moravian Theological Seminary. This article is excerpted from a larger series of articles that will be published in the Moravian Music Foundation’s newsletter. Editor’s Note: In 2018, the Moravian Magazine will introduce a regular feature to inspire creative, spiritual Moravian worship. These features will include new music (and new ways of using old music); stories about how new Moravian music is created; topical and insightful liturgies; ideas for Moravian worship opportunities; and ways for those interested to create new worship resources.
vices. I believe these verses speak to an unmet need, or at least add to the resources available for welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit at funerals and memorials where that is seen as especially relevant or desirable. Secondly, I hope it may be helpful to those who write hymns, or at times have words come to them or inspire them, and then wonder what to do with them. I am not a hymn writer, but sometimes words come to me. When that happens, I am grateful to be part of a larger community that has helped me process and polish words and ideas, which can then, I hope, be a gift back to that larger community. n
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
b & b bb c Ï
ú. Ï ÏÏ ÏÏ ÏÏ n ú .
ÏÏ
? b b b c ÏÏ b
ÏÏ Ï ÏÏ Ï Ï Ï
ÏÏ
ÏÏ
Ï Ï Ï ú. Ï Ï Ï Ï ú.
Come, Ho - ly Spir - it, come, let your bright beams a - rise; Com - fort us in our grief; our sad - ness take a - way. Dwell, Spir - it, in our hearts. Un - til our course is done,
úú . .
Ï Ï
nÏ Ï
Ï Ï úú . Ï Ï .
Ï Ï ÏÏ Ï Ï ÏÏ Ï ÏÏ ww
b & b bb Ï Ï
ÏÏ
ÏÏ ÏÏ ÏÏ ÏÏ
Ï Ï Ï Ï
? b b b ÏÏ b
ÏÏ
Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï
Ï Ï Ï w Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï Ï nÏ Ï Ï Ï Ï w
dis - pel the dark-ness from our minds, and o - pen now our eyes. Grant our mind's eye the sweet re - lief of fu - ture, end - less day. we'll praise the Fa - ther, Son, and you, then rise with God, the Son.
TEXT: v. 1, 3, Joseph Hart (1712-1768), alt; v. 2, C. Riddick Weber (2017); v.. 2 © C. Riddick Weber. TUNE: Herbert S. Oakeley (1830-1903)
Issue 8 • 2017
6.6.8.6. DOMINICA
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IN OUR CONGREGATIONS
Home Church youth learn community gardening with gourds
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his summer, youth at Home Moravian Church tended a unique patch of ground in a community garden in Winston-Salem to help raise funds for mission activities. Their gourd trellis grew several different types of gourds in a compact space and helped teach gardening, community service and a love of creation. Reesa Devers, an eighth-grader from the Home Moravian Church youth group, shared her experience tending the gourds: “This year I helped with the Home Moravian Church Wachovia Garden. This experience showed me the process it takes to grow plants, and I also got to experience community with other people. The Wachovia Garden is owned by the Salem Congregation and maintained by Home Moravian Church. The food that is grown there is donated to Sunnyside Ministry. For the past two years, my youth group has planted pumpkins and gourds in a small patch of the garden as a
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fundraiser for our mission trips. So, once a year we have a youth group day that we dedicate to planting seeds. “The first year we did this was last year, and when we got to the garden I was surprised to see a few different types of pumpkins. Honestly, I only thought there were two types of pumpkins. After planting the seeds, we still had to figure out what to do with the pumpkins. We had the idea to bake pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread to raise money for our mission trip. We also thought about selling the gourds for decorations. When it was time to have the bake sale, we sold out of both the pumpkin desserts and the gourds. “This year, we decided to help in the garden again because it worked so well last year. I was invited to come on a Tuesday to help with the other volunteers. To be honest, I was nervous because I don’t really have a green thumb, and I could tell they had a system. Then, I realized that they just wanted me to The Moravian
want to help and I ended up having a lot of fun. “When I went that time, I helped to build a trellis. A trellis is a sort of dome that helps plants grow up instead of spreading out. When we started to put up the trellis we had some difficulty putting it together, but now it is beautiful to look at. We also planted gourds. “Now the gourds have covered the trellis and you can walk through it and have all the gourds hanging down above your head. It looks really pretty. I had so much fun doing the garden in seventh grade that when Ms. Barbara [Strauss] asked me this year to help pick out the seeds, I was really excited. When I got the catalogs, I picked out a few types that I thought would be good to grow. Now I’m in eighth grade, and I am really excited to see the garden grow more and see what happens in the years to come.” Reesa Devers, Gracie Beasley and Raine Myers of Home Moravian Church harvest gourds from the Wachovia Garden gourd trellis. Sales of the gourds fund mission projects.
The Wachovia Garden Barbara Strauss, who is currently working on a music catalog project at the Moravian Music Foundation, and Margaret Norris, director of Christian Education at Home Church, helped guide the youth in the building and tending of the gourd garden. According to Barbara, the Wachovia Garden is also home to other activities that combine church, community and a love of gardening for several Winston-Salem groups. “A group of hardcore gardeners take responsibility for overall supervision, planting, harvesting and caring for the land,” explains Barbara. “Beekeeper Tracey Lounsbury maintains beehives to help with pollination.” In addition to the Home Moravian Church youth’s growing pumpkins and gourds on the walk-through trellis, the Montessori School maintains a colorful and fruitful section for (Continued on page 30)
Issue 8 • 2017
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MORAVIAN DOCTRINE
Confessing Our Unity in Christ: Studying the historical and theological background to The Ground of the Unity As part of our ongoing series to share information about key Moravian theology and doctrine, we will be excerpting the Rev. Dr. C. Daniel Crews’ study, Confessing Our Unity in Christ: Historical and Theological Background to The Ground of the Unity. Originally written in 2000 and updated twice, this study looks at the theological and historical underpinnings of The Ground of the Unity, one of the Moravian Church’s core doctrinal statements. Confessing Our Unity was originally published by the Southern Province Archives. We thank Rev. Crews and Richard Starbuck, Southern Province archivist, for permission to excerpt this work. In this installment, we cover the General Synod of 1957 and the writing of the Ground of the Unity. As the delegates to the General Synod gathered in Bethlehem on August 13, 1957, many challenges lay before them. A General Synod had not met for more than a quarter century, and delegates came from countries that had been on opposing sides in another horrible World War. Would the lingering effects spill over onto the floor of Synod itself?1 Furthermore, this Synod faced the potentially difficult task of restructuring the governing system of the worldwide Unity to allow former mission fields to assume their rightful equal place alongside the old “Home Provinces.” It is evidence of the 22
changing character of the Unity that English, rather than German, was declared to be the official language of Synod. In addition, other potentially divisive issues, which some could consider Scripture to have settled clearly, were slated to come before it. These were the ordination of women and the re-marriage of divorced persons. Besides all this, proposals for revising the official doctrinal statements of the church had to be dealt with.2 In fact, a spirit of harmony prevailed from the opening of Synod. The Czech Province was recognized as a full Unity Province, provision was made for several provinces in Africa and the Caribbean to attain that status before the next Unity Synod (as General Synods were to be called in the future), and a process was begun for still other Provinces to move closer to full equality in Unity Synods and in managing their own Provincial affairs. On some issues, specifically the re-marriage of divorced persons, an absolute consensus could not be reached, and the matter was left for the individual Provinces to decide according to their own particular circumstances.3 The ordination of women The Moravian
was approved “in principle,” but here also the decision of whether to do so was left to the Provinces.4 Interestingly enough, much of the opposition to ordaining women came from the American delegates, and a prominent Northern Province leader was quoted in the Allentown, Pa., Morning Call as saying that women ministers “would not be accepted here.”5 It is, of course, with the formulation of a doctrinal statement at the 1957 Synod that we are most concerned. Bishop Hermann G. Steinberg of Zeist in the Netherlands provides a helpful summary of how the document to be known as “The Ground of the Unity” came to be laid before the Synod: The impetus for this: . . .arose in a large measure from the storm, earthquake, and fire through which some of the Provinces of the Unity, particularly Germany, had passed since 1931. The ‘still small voice’ was speaking to those with ears to hear. Attempts were made to express in words what the Spirit was saying to the Church at the Provincial Synods at Bad Boll in 1949 and 1951. The nearer the Quincentenary and the General Synod grew and the more loudly the Unity of tomorrow knocked at our door, the more urgently we saw the necessity of preparing the ground of the future. During 1955 and 1956 a group of Brethren from the continental Province (Europe) gathered to prepare a draft of a doctrinal statement.6 Given the stand taken by the General Synod of 1909 on keeping the old doctrinal statements intact, and the General Synod of 1931’s declining to deal with a new form of doctrinal expression, Bishop Steinberg had reason to write that it seemed a “hazardous enterprise” to propose this new statement to the Synod of 1957, for as he observes, other provinces had not gone through the “shattering and almost Issue 8 • 2017
overwhelming” experiences of the Continental Moravians. Still, as Bishop Kenneth Hamilton notes in his “The Ground of the Unity (an Explanation),” the fact that no changes were made in the doctrinal sections of the Results of several previous Synods was not because everyone in the church was satisfied with the current forms, but rather because no specific form proposed could be agreed upon by a majority of the delegates to those Synods.7 Bishop Steinberg attributes to the working of the Holy Spirit the fact that in the new situation of 1957 the General Synod did approve the new statement, and Bishop Hamilton agrees: . . .the fact that in 1957 the representatives of our world-wide Unity were of one heart and mind in matters of the faith and adopted the new document without a single dissenting vote, may be recognized as the over-ruling of the Holy Spirit and as a gift of grace to our Church from its Chief Elder and Head.8 After the Synod’s doctrinal committee revised and edited the document as to language,9 the General Synod of 1957 in its sessions 26 and 27 on September 2nd and 3rd read and approved each section of the document separately.10 Hamilton says that the full Synod made only one change in the doctrinal committee’s revised draft. This apparently involved dropping a statement on the place of the episcopacy in the “Conclusion” and adding the reference to the Headship of Christ experienced on September 16th and November 13th, 1741.11 Here, as so often before, the Moravian Church exalts Christ, and all else, even that which is dearest to us, is put in second place. As Bishop Steinberg says: And so it was that a Statement was adopted which attempts to say in the terms of our own day what the Lord’s will is for the (Continued on next page) 23
Church Universal and for the Unitas Fratrum. Synod gave to this statement the title of ‘The Ground of the Unity’. This name indicates the twofold meaning of the document. First, it points to the one unchanging ground upon which, by God’s grace, our Unity has been founded. Second, it points to the living ground in which our Church is rooted and springs continually into fruit. It points to the very foundation and to the fertile ground-spring at one and the same time.12 Steinberg also goes on to note that Synod directed that “this Statement or Creed should be sent to all congregations of the world-wide Unity, to be read and considered in all the varied languages and in one spirit of adoration, of joy and dedication.”13 Bishop Hamilton notes that the new statement is only about one third the length of the one it replaces in the Results (Unity Book of Order). He continues: In the second place, the 1957 document represents what is in the main a doctrine of the Church. It contains no specific summaries, for example, of the doctrines of God, of universal depravity, of the two natures of Christ, of the function of the Holy Spirit, of good works as the fruit of the Spirit, of sanctification, or of the resurrection of the dead. Yet much of what was included under these specific doctrines is implied and preserved in the more general terms which the new statement employs.14 “The Ground of the Unity” indeed employs different terms to express itself than did the eight “truths” or doctrinal statements that preceded it. Now the section on Scripture comes not first (as in 1782, 1909, etc.), but later in the document, and in its entirety it reads: The Holy Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are and abide the only source 24
and rule of the faith, doctrine, and life of the Unitas Fratrum. The Unitas Fratrum realizes that the mystery of Jesus Christ to which the Bible bears witness cannot be fully comprehended in any human statement. Yet the Holy Spirit makes God’s purpose of salvation sufficiently plain in the Old and New Testaments. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes the Word of the Cross to be the center of the Holy Scriptures and of evangelical preaching. Its main commission and its reason for existence is to witness unfailingly to these glad tidings. We pray our Lord for strength never to desist from doing so.15 n In our next issue, we continue with the Synod of 1957, the Ground of the Unity and our conclusion.
(Endnotes) 1 See J. Kenneth Pfohl, Memorabilia of Salem Congregation, 1931-1961 (WinstonSalem: Moravian Archives, 1993), p. 414. 2 For a general description of this Synod’s proceedings and decisions, see Hamilton, History, pp. 343-345. 3 Minutes of the 1957 General Synod, Resolutions 5 and 6, p. 84. Mimeographed copy in the Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 4 1957 Minutes, Resolutions 7 and 8, pp. 84-85. See also failed motion on p. 86. 5 Wednesday, September 4, 1957. 6 “The Ground of the Unity,” Moravian Messenger (British Province), December, 1957, p. 3. In this light, a comparison of “The Ground of the Unity” with the “Declaration of Barmen” (1934), in which some German Protestants affirmed loyalty to God over loyalty to human government, as the Nazis demanded, would be valuable. 7 p. 1. Typescript (mimeographed) in the Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Bishop Hamilton in his History, p. 344, says surprisingly little about “The Ground of the Unity” and does not refer to it by name. Hamilton’s “Explanation” says the last major doctrinal change was in 1889. This must be a typographical error (repeated later), for in his History (p. 321), he says that 1889 left the doctrinal section “essentially unchanged,” but does note that changes were made in 1879 (p. 319). The version in the History is in accord with the 1889 Results, and in its Resolutions (p. 2) that Synod “confesses anew” the doctrinal chapter as it stood. Note, however, in regard to the statement in History, p. 319, it was 1857 which actually added the “sixth point,” and 1879 added the “seventh” and “eighth.” 8 “Explanation,” p. 1. 9 The British Moravian Archives has kindly furnished a photocopy of the working copy with changes written in by A. J. Lewis, secretary of the doctrinal committee. 10 1957 Minutes, pp. 61-67. 11“Explanation,” pp. 1, 8. The 1957 minutes themselves (p. 67) note only that after the adoption of its sections, the whole first partial report of the doctrinal committee “as amended” was adopted. The minutes give final results, not what the precise amendment was. 12 Moravian Messenger, December, 1957, p. 3. 13 These are his words. The 1957 minutes themselves, p. 67, are less effusive: “. . .the Unity Synod recommends to the Provincial Boards that the document ‘The Ground of the Unity’ shall be communicated to all congregations, especially by the ministers concerned, that it might be carefully considered by every member of the Unity. Carried 28-3.” 14 “Explanation,” p. 1. 15 Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, Bethlehem, Pa., 1957, Part I, ¶4, pp. 11-12.
The Moravian
Blessed to Be a Blessing:
Gifts of Change This holiday season, would you consider taking part in the growing holiday tradition of giving gifts to those in need? Gifts of Change is a representative giving program sponsored by the Moravian Board of World Mission (BWM )that allows us to walk with our global partners in specific ministries. With your gifts, we can help to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate and in need of food, education, health care, the dignity of self-reliance and their desire to learn more about God’s love. Please consider helping us fund one of the mission projects listed below.
Scholarship Programs
Further education is a critical means by which our global churches build up their leadership and provide opportunities for many to improve their quality of life. In addition to current medical scholarships in Honduras, BWM is hoping to provide scholarships for technician training at the Ahuas Clinic, for high school fees for the orphans at Ray of Hope in Kenya, for posthigh school training for Adopt a Village orphans in Tanzania, for higher theological education for Going to school in Rajpur both the Honduras Province and the Honduras Mission Province, for children to study at the Rajpur Institute in India, and for children to attend the kindergarten in Nepal. Consider donating what you are able toward a general scholarship fund to begin addressing these and other needs, or toward a specific program that touches your heart. (Continued on next page) Issue 8 • 2017
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Blessed to Be a Blessing:
Gifts of Change Health Care
Adequate health care is a basic need for all people and we especially see these needs among the indigenous people in the area of the Ahuas Clinic in Honduras. The clinic recently began an infant nutrition program that now has expanded to three villages, providing basic nutrition to approximately 100 children. Another important program at Ahuas is for treatment for those with HIV. The number treated has grown to eight, with costs to get to the government hospital every three months in order to monitor their treatment and receive their medications.
Students at Star Mountain
Water filtration in Cuba
The Star Mountain Rehabilitation Centre in Palestine is a program of the Moravian Unity that provides excellent care and training to around 80 disabled children. They have ongoing needs that would benefit from our help, with intentional efforts to integrate the disabled into their home communities. BWM also supports an initiative by the Armando Rusindo Moravian Foundation to provide clean water in Cuba. The placement of simple water filters has already decreased the risk for cholera in the rural areas.
Mission Outreach
We are all about sharing the news of God’s love throughout the world. Consider donating to support efforts to explore new areas of mission in Marshall, Alaska, among the Yupik peoples; in Cuba to support their growing youth camp ministry, in Honduras as they reach out to the isolated Tawahka people group, and in Peru as they continue to grow their churches in Lima and Chiclayo. These are just some of the outreach programs supported by BWM.
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A new church in Marshall, Alaska
The Moravian
Economic Strengthening BWM strongly feels that going “upstream,” helping others to help themselves, is foundational to our mission. Our primary initiative in this is the HUKWAFA—Huduma kwa Watoto na Familia (Serving Children and Families)—program in Tanzania, where two communities have developed income-generating projects and are seeing an overall improved quality of life and sense of well-being. Thank you for your ongoing support of this work. There are continued opportunities to help with animal husbandry and agricultural projects, as well as expansion of the program to a new village. Raising chickens in Tanzania
! Interested in making a Gift of Change? I would like to donate to support scholarships for education toward:
I would like to donate to support mission outreach in:
q a general scholarship fund q support for a Rajpur student (full support is $100/month) q support for higher education for orphans in Tanzania q support for higher theological education q technical training at the Ahuas Clinic (lab, x-ray, nursing) q Tuition Aid in Nepal q support for Ray of Hope orphans (for one orphan around $52.50/month)
q In Marshall, Alaska q In Cuba through their youth camps q In Honduras q In Peru q Wherever it is needed.
I would like to donate to alleviate health care needs with: q the infant nutrition program in Ahuas q the HIV treatment program in Ahuas ($174 per adult per quarter) q support for the work at the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Centre q the Cuban clean water program ($10,000 per site estimated) ** Funds received in excess of amounts needed for specific projects will be applied to another project in the particular category. Tax receipts are provided for each gift.
I would like to donate to support the HUKWAFA project: q To provide a bag of corn or rice ($30) q To provide project animals (goats, chicken, etc.) q Toward the start-up of the HUKWAFA program in a new village (total estimated cost around $10,000) In the USA:
Make check payable to Board of World Mission and mail to: BWM Gifts of Change 1021 Center St. Bethlehem, PA 18018
In Canada:
Make cheque payable to Moravian Church in Canada and mail to: BWM Gifts of Change 600 Acadia Drive SE Calgary, AB T2J 0B8
You can also give online at www.moravianmission.org/give
OFFICIAL PROVINCIAL ELDERS’ NEWS NORTHERN PROVINCE Prayer Day for Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary November 26, 2017 On Sunday, November 26, congregations of the Northern Province are asked to remember in prayer all who share in the important work of Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary. Let us pray for the administration, the faculty, and the students. Watertown, Wisconsin Sister Katie Van Der Linden, who has been serving as pastor at Glenwood Moravian Church, Madison, Wisconsin, has accepted the call to serve as pastor for Ebenezer Moravian Church, Watertown, Wisconsin. Sister Van Der Linden will be installed into her new work January 7, 2018. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Brother Ronald Rice has accepted an appointment to serve as part-time pastor for the Lebanon Moravian Church, Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Brother Rice began his work October 23, 2017. Newfoundland, Pennsylvania Brother Mark Newman has accepted an appointment to serve as part-time pastor for the Newfoundland Moravian Church, Newfoundland, Pennsylvania. Brother Newman began his work October 30, 2017.
Resignation Sister Desna Henry Goulbourne, who has been serving as part-time pastor for Tremont Terrace Moravian Church, Bronx, New York, resigned her appointment effective October 29, 2017. Western District Sister Jennifer Moran, who has been serving as pastor at Christ’s Community Moravian Church, Maple Grove, Minnesota, has accepted a call to temporary service with the Western District. The call was effective October 9, 2017. Presbyterial Consecration Brother Lloyd Gooden, presently serving as pastor of Sharon Moravian Church, New Philadelphia, Ohio, will be consecrated a presbyter of the Moravian Church on November 12, 2017. Bishop Douglas H. Kleintop will officiate at the service, which will be held at Sharon Moravian Church. Retirement Brother Jeffrey Gehris requested and was granted permission to retire from the active call of the Moravian Church effective December 11, 2017. Brother Gehris was ordained a deacon of the Moravian Church June 24, 1984 and has served the church in pastorates in Pennsylvania (Emmaus, Lancaster, and Nazareth), New Jersey (Battle Hill), and Maryland (Graceham). The church is grateful for his 33 years of faithful service. Elizabeth D. Miller Provincial Elders’ Conference
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The Moravian
SOUTHERN PROVINCE Peace Moravian, Charlotte, N.C. Rusty Rushing, an approved candidate for ordination, has accepted a call to be pastor of the Peace congregation, Charlotte, N.C. He will be ordained by Bishop Graham Rights, Sunday, Nov. 19 at 3:00 p.m. at Little Church on the Lane, Charlotte (his home congregation); and installed during morning worship at Peace on Nov. 26. Rusty has served as student pastor/intern for the congregation, which currently meets at Hawk Ridge Elementary School. Please be in prayer for Rusty, his family and the congregation. Retirement The Rev. Robert Wolfe, the chaplain with Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministry since 1995, has requested and been granted permission to retire from active service under call September 1, 2018. Robert was associate pastor of the Friedberg congregation before becoming a chaplain. He has ministered faithfully to those incarcerated at the Forsyth Correctional Center (Cherry Street) and the Forsyth County Detention Center (Church Street), to their families, and to the staff of those facilities and their families. Remember Robert and his wife, Sandy, as he continues and concludes this work.
David Guthrie Provincial Elders’ Conference
Issue 8 • 2017
Obituary: The Rev. Christian D. Weber The Rev. Christian D. Weber passed into the more immediate presence of the Savior, Sunday, October 29, at Salemtowne, the Moravian Retirement Community. He was 90 years old. Brother Weber was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 13, 1927, the son of the Rev. Christian Otto Weber and Dorothy Pfohl Weber. His father and two brothers (F. Herbert, and C. Bruce) were also pastors. Chris graduated Davidson College, and Moravian Theological Seminary, and pursued further studies at Manchester University, in England. He was married to Dorothy Esta Sohn (d. 2009). Together they served the Oak Grove, Boca Raton (Fla.), and Bethania congregations. Chris conducted the original survey in 1957 for our province’s work in Florida before becoming pastor at Boca Raton. In retirement, he and Dorothy helped in establishing the Palm Beach congregation, and in supporting Christ the King, ECLA Church in Tequesta, FL. A memorial service was held at Fairview Moravian Church, Saturday Nov. 4 at 11:00 a.m. A private internment will be held by the family later in Boca Raton. Please remember in prayer: Chris’s family—niece Marie Weber Nodine, and husband, Dennis; and four nephews: the late Christian E. Weber and wife Leigh; C. Riddick Weber and wife Jane; Herbert A. Weber and F. David Weber; 4 great nieces and 5 great nephews; and special friend Sallie Greenfield.
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Justin Rabbach named BWM Executive Director
Gourd garden
The Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church North America is pleased to announce that Justin Rabbach has been named the Board’s new executive director. He replaces the Rev. Judy Ganz, who is retiring at the end of 2017. Justin currently serves as the director of Mission Engagement, a position he has held since it was created in 2014. In that role, he facilitated mission education and discernment within our congregations to promote engagement with BWM initiatives and programs. Justin has also been active in helping ministries within both the Northern and Southern Provinces. A lifelong Moravian, Justin was born and raised in the Ebenezer Moravian congregation in Wisconsin. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Social Welfare and a master’s degree in International Public Affairs from the University of WisconsinMadison. He served as an intern with the U.S. State Department in Honduras and worked with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s World Hunger program prior to his service with the Board of World Mission. Justin will transition into the new role beginning November 11 and will work alongside Judy until her retirement at the end of the year. n
the young children. The Home Moravian Vacation Bible School visited the garden daily during VBS to help harvest food, enjoyed the garden as a place to study in the shade of a huge tree and understand the garden as an example of the church at work. “Likewise, youth groups from other Salem congregations visit the garden to harvest and learn about feeding people in the neighborhood,” continues Barbara. “Students from Wake Forest University have conducted studies there and visitors at God’s Acre wander into the garden to see what is going on.” “Some people ask if we are a farmers’ market or a community garden—no. Wachovia Garden is a church garden—a place to produce food for families, a place to learn about sustainable gardening practices, a place to see the church in action, a place for fellowship and the home for vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, berries, an ensemble of song birds, two hawks, three hives of honey bees, an obese ground hog and an itinerant fox.” n
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(Continued from page 21)
Thanks to Barbara Strauss and Margaret Norris for text and images for this article.
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