Moravian Magazine, Issue 5 2021

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In this issue: A musical celebration • Churches working together 250 years of Salem • and more!

“We deem it a sacred responsibility and genuine opportunity to be faithful stewards of all God has entrusted to us: our time, our talents, and our financial resources. We view all of life as a sacred trust to be used wisely.”

The Moravian Covenant for Christian Living

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From income planning for yourself and your family to ensuring your gifts go to the Moravian Ministries you’re passionate about, look to the MMFA to help you structure and organize your financial resources.

For more info visit

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119 Brookstown Avenue, Suite 305 Winston-Salem, NC 27101 336-725-2589 | mmfa.info

A CENTURY

OF GRANTING

LARGER

LIFE TO MORAVIAN

MINISTRIES

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For 100 years, the Larger Life Foundation has offered financial support to core ministries of the Moravian Church Northern Province. Today, 20 agencies in the Province receive assistance to help meet social, educational, ministerial, welfare and provincial needs.

Your gift to the Larger Life Foundation helps make this support possible. Through your generosity, we can have far-reaching impact on the life of the Moravian Church.

To learn more about our century of granting Larger Life to Moravian ministries, visit www.largerlifefoundation.org

Larger Life

Foundation

MORAVIAN CHURCH NORTHERN PROVINCE

The Moravian

On the cover: An autumn afternoon in Old Salem, North Carolina. Photo by Mike Riess

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19 In Our Congregations

Our Lamb has conquered.

Let us follow Him. In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, love God Creates. God Redeems.

God Sustains.

We Respond in Faith, Love and Hope.

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Common Grace: “We could do better together...”

Moravians in Mission 8

Mission Update: Recognition and welcomes

Our Education Heritage 11 Salem Academy and College: A 250-year Moravian connection

Moravian Traditions 15 Christmas Eve Lovefeast comes by mail with Lovefeast

in a Box

Moravian Writings 17 “Hope Shop” devotional springs from stories of hardship 23 Reflections on Mark 10:35-45

Moravian Music Visit our website at https://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 5 2021

19 Moravians celebrate music, created with inspiration and

presented with joy

In every issue...

4 Ponderings 27 Official Provincial Elders’ News 30 Obituaries

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PONDERINGS

(ISSN 1041-0961) Issue 5 2021, Vol. 52, No. 5 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: OnTrac International, 41 Northern Stacks Drive, Suite 200 Fridley, MN 55421 email: file@ontrac.com Official Journal, The Moravian Church in North America, Northern and Southern Provinces

Coffee with a mission…

Coffee is kind of a big deal for us Moravians. It’s a staple of many Lovefeasts; features prominently at most fellowship hours; and helps fuel board meetings, committee gatherings and even synods.

For me, coffee rituals are deeply ingrained in my every day. My first job each daybreak (after I check my morning Daily Texts e-mail, of course), is to make my way downstairs to the kitchen to fetch cups of freshly-brewed Ethopian Yirgacheffe or hazelnut or Nantucket Blend for my wife and me. I’m constantly on the lookout for new coffees for my morning routine.

So when Board of World Mission Executive Director Justin Rabbach proposed a partnership between the BWM and the Interprovincial Board of Communication to sell coffee as a fundraising opportunity for mission work around the world, I jumped at the chance.

Under a pilot program with Farmer’s Market Brands (part of Corus International, which includes Lutheran World Relief), BWM and IBOC are offering a custom blend of coffee under the “Moravian Mission Coffee” name. The initial style is a medium roast, Mt. Elgon, Uganda community blend, available in whole bean and ground.

Each bag purchased will help the Board of World Mission contribute to specific needs and ministries through Mission Grants. The coffee also supports the local farmers in the Mt. Elgon region: our partners at Lutheran World Relief are committed to paying their farmers a living wage to help lift their families out of poverty.

While this effort is a small step, I think this is an ideal partnership. The BWM promotes the responsibly-sourced coffee and shares how the funds raised help with ministries around the world; the IBOC assists by featuring the coffee on its online store, handling order fulfillment and distribution, and offering opportunities to pair the coffee with Moravian-themed mugs.

I’m excited when opportunities like this come along; partnering with other Moravian agencies to enhance their work is an important part of the IBOC’s role.

The chance to offer something so central to our lives as coffee—while helping our mission work around the world—feels right. Plus, there’s the added benefit of the wonderful smell of freshly roasted beans that fills the shipping room when a shipment of coffee arrives!

Moravian Mission Coffee is available through the IBOC’s online store, (store.moravian.org), and more information about this effort can be found at www. moravianmissioncoffee.org.

Now my morning cup of joe can benefit Moravian missions around the world!

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Mike Riess, editor and IBOC executive director

Published eight times per year 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.

The Moravian is sent to the families of the Moravian Church as a privilege of membership. Non Profit postage paid at Bethlehem, PA. Circulation: 15,000 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, Paul Knouse, Kat Lehman, Amy Linville, Dan Miller, Valerie Bean Wagner.

Design by Michael Riess, IBOC. Address all correspondence regarding articles, subscriptions, or advertising to The Moravian, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018 FAX: 610.866.9223 Phone: 610.867.0594 800.732.0591 e-mail: moravianmagazine@mcnp.org www.moravian.org Contents © 2021, Interprovincial Board of Communications, Moravian Church in America.

All rights reserved

The Moravian

IN OUR CONGREGATIONS

Common Grace: “We could do better together”

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t was a midsummer Sunday and the often sparsely populated sanctuary at Lakeview Moravian Community Church on Tulane Avenue on Madison, Wisconsin’s east side was pretty much full with about 60 people present.

It was not just the Moravians, though. The crowd included people from Zion Faith Community, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) which has been on the near East Side since 1890 – people who had just left their church building on Linden Avenue near the Barrymore Theater.

“I’m just so excited that we’re all here,” longtime Lakeview member Linda Shaw said near the beginning of the service. And near the end, Zion members Eric and Brenda Halverson stood up to lead the two congregations in Zion’s symbolic “here-is-the-church-here are the people” gesture.

What was happening was the first Sunday of worshiping together for these two congregations as they launched new ways Issue 5 2021

of being church by sharing space and collaborating in service to the community.

Each congregation will retain its identity and its financial structure, but together they now will be known as Common Grace. Their pastors – Rev. Pat Siegler from Zion and Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler from Lakeview – will be paid by their respective congregations and the move has the support of the leadership of both denominations.

The relationships between the two congregations have been built over several years.

“We have been doing things together for six years,” explained Siegler, referring to various service projects in the community as well as some joint online vespers last year. “We began to realize that we needed to change the way we do things. Being in our silos was not doing it any more. We could do better together.”

So how did this come to be and what does it look like now?

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Pastors Staci Marrese-Wheeler and Pat Siegler welcome people at the first joint worship service.

Together (Continued from previous page) Both congregations faced challenges common to smaller churches – an aging building, an aging membership, financial struggles.

Zion had about 110 members, Lakeview about 85. A few years ago, Zion sold its gorgeous organ for about $70,000 and paid off the debt it had for its roof repair. There were staff cuts. The congregation had already committed to the idea that the people who were there were more important than the building, Siegler said.

Lakeview, founded in 1953, had moved in recent years to become a sort of community center, following the advice that the founding pastor, Milo Loppnow, gave to Marrese-Wheeler when she went to visit him as she began her pastorate in 2009. “Get to know your neighbors” he told her as he talked about the legacy of ecumenical work on Madison’s east side.

With the agreement of the Lakeview congregation, she began inviting neighborhood groups to use the space, including child care and theater group rehearsals. But the building was aging, repairs would be costly and there 6

were limits on what could be done to make this a true community center.

The leaders of the two churches met in August of 2020 to discuss a path forward. They quickly agreed to the idea of Zion selling its building and the two congregations meeting at Lakeview, including having a joint worship service. The two congregations concurred at their annual meetings and the path was set.

When they had that first worship service together on July 11, the spirit of excitement was palpable; so was the care in finding ways to weave together two distinct traditions.

Lakeview had removed its pews and replaced them with the chairs from Zion. Lakeview took out its organ console and upright piano and replaced them with the grand piano from Zion. Lakeview kept its cross and communion table, Zion brought over its baptismal font.

Some who could not be physically present joined the service on Zoom, so Marrese-Wheeler welcomed both “the roomies and the zoomies,” helping set a light tone that pervaded the day.

And when it came time for the sermon, Marrese-Wheeler wove the story of the connections between the Moravians – who trace their The Moravian

origins to the early 1400s – and the Lutherans – who trace their beginnings to the early 1500s. Both grew out of movements to reform the church, she noted.

“They were breaking down walls back then,” she said. “What we have done in the church is rebuild those walls.” With this project, she suggested, those walls are coming down, both literally and figuratively.

“We are not going to be constrained by this building or by any building,” she said.

The pastors and congregations have partners as they plan their next steps. They are part of Awaken Dane, a two-year project working with a cohort of congregations to explore ways they can engage with their communities. They are also working with the Oikos Accelerator, which helps congregations find ways to use their property to further their ministry.

Siegler and Marrese-Wheeler know there are challenges ahead. As she said on that Sunday, “Why is it that we are one of the few doing this? Because it’s hard work.”

They talked about the challenges of finding the right way to worship together. Even though there was much joy on that first joint worship

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service, they know that familiar patterns from each congregation will need to be woven together, including differences in music, in the frequency of communion. “Neither group knew what liturgy looked like for the other,” Siegler noted.

Zion still has to sell its building – it has an offer, but there are issues to be worked out. The Lakeview building still needs repairs.

Together they need to figure out the best ways to serve the neighborhood and to move from simply being a church building to a community center.

But together, they have broken down some of the walls that have kept congregations from collaborating and they are doing that hard work to create something new from the strengths each congregation has. n This article and photographs by Phil Haslanger, UCC pastor, were originally published by Collaboration Project (www.collaborationproject.us), a Madison, Wis.-based ministry group that exists to foster collaboration between churches for the good of the city and the flourishing of every person.

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MISSION

UPDATE The Board of World Mission offers regular updates in The Moravian to share news from around the Moravian Unity. We hope that this will give each of you a more up-to-date picture of what is happening in the Moravian world so that together we can be at prayer,

provide support, and be in partnership to help build up the kingdom of God. In addition to what you will read here we invite you to visit our web site regularly at www.moravianmission.org where you will find more information.

Dr. Bill and Dr. Peg Hoffman receive the Ted Wilde Mission Service Award The Board of World Mission established the Ted Wilde Mission Service Award in 2019 in memory of The Rev. Ted Wilde, who served as our executive director from 1983 to 1995. This award is presented to Moravian church members who have been willing to follow Ted’s example to take up the great commission by learning from our Chief Elder, Jesus Christ, and then engage in humble service in his name. Through this recognition, we honor those who have responded to BWM’s Chris Giesler presents a Tanzanian banner to Drs. Bill and Peg Hoffman

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God’s call to mission in the worldwide parish that we serve.

On Aug. 8, 2021, the Rt. Rev. Chris Giesler, representing the BWM, presented this award to Dr. Bill and Dr. Peg Hoffman of the Central Moravian Church during the Sunday morning worship hour.

Since beginning their ministry in 2000, the Hoffmans have been instrumental in establishing the medical mission work based in Sikonge, Tanzania. This ministry began to address the impacts of the Aids epidemic on our Moravian brothers and sisters in Tanzania. In the 21 years since then and in the 33 different trips that they have made to Tanzania, the Hoffmans have accomplished the following: • Established a comprehensive AIDS diagnosis and treatment program • Provided instruction to local medical staff and learned from them as well • Overseen the construction or renovation of 24 medical buildings, which include treatment centers, maternal child health centers, dispensaries, orphan centers • Sought funding programs to provide medications • Provided operating room equipment and supplies • Helped to design and establish an orphan care program The Moravian

• Helped to acquire funding for secondary school scholarships knowing that education that can lift communities out of the cycle of poverty • Assisted in building and outfitting seven schools • Helped to raise money that built 16 churches • Expanded the electrical grid and dug 16 wells to include poor neighborhoods to benefit family homes, schools and churches • Helped with other community infrastructure needs to combat some of the underlying causes of community poverty

• Inspired many Moravians from across North America to join in support of the mission to Tanzania through the Adopt a Village program This is an impressive list and it puts life and breath into the words of a hymn written by Ted Wilde in 1984: Christ, engage us in your mission; worldwide let our parish be.

We take up this great commission, traveling first to Calvary.

There absorbing, Christ-like going, taught by your humility.

Central Moravian receives Herrnhut Congregational Affirmation for Dedicated Mission and Service In 2019, the Board of World Mission voted to recognize congregations in North America who were doing exemplary mission and service work both in their local communities and global mission efforts. The pandemic delayed the implementation of the program, but we are thankful to begin that process today.

After discussion among board members, it was decided to name this the Herrnhut Congregational Affirmation for Dedicated Mission and Service. It is named after the Herrnhut congregation because of its dynamic work, beginning in 1732, in sending out missionaries worldwide.

Furthermore, they chose to work with people and groups who were being enslaved and persecuted, such as the sugar plantation slaves on the island of St. Thomas.

The Herrnhut Congregational Affirmation for Dedicated Mission and Service goes to a Moravian Congregation in North America that is in some way following the example of the Moravian community in Herrnhut by actively giving of themselves in terms of time, talent and treasure to be the light of Christ to others. We are thrilled to name Central Moravian Church as the first recipient of this affirmation.

Here are just a few of the ways Central MoraIssue 5 2021

vian Church is involved in mission: • Central’s involvement in the ministry of Dr. Bill and Dr. Peg Hoffman in Tanzania.

Through the Central congregation, the Hoffmans were made aware of the profound need in Tanzania and supported them with prayers, financial support and constant encouragement.

• Central church members have been active in support the Moravian work in Nepal • They are currently hosting Moravian University students from Tanzania and Nepal while (Continued on next page)

Presenting the award to Mary Catherine Tachovsky, chair of Central Moravian’s mission committee.

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BWM Update (Continued from previous page) these students are in Bethlehem for their studies In addition to these more internationally focused mission projects, Central provides the following for the local community: • A food pantry providing food for the hungry • Cynthia’s Boutique providing clothing for those in need • Assists with the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter providing a safe and warm place for the homeless during the winter months • Selling Fair Trade Coffee that benefits farmers in developing countries • Central Santas provides Christmas gifts for about 165 local children • Moravian Meals on Wheels (Currently on hold due to Covid) • Providing meals to local outreach ministries to help their clients and bolster these ministries • BAM Freezer Ministry giving food to those in need • Crop Walk, raising funds that are used both locally and globally to feed the hungry • Bread for the World, providing food and advocacy to help combat global hunger • Luminaria Night Supporting New Bethany • Providing the AA organization with meeting space to help those battling addictions • The Refugee Resettlement Committee, through public policy advocacy and direct aid to refugee organizations, assists those seeking a new home in North America.

As recorded in the latter half of Matthew’s 25th chapter, Jesus teaches that, “When you do this for the least of these, who do it also unto me.” It is clear that at its core Central Moravian Church is all about sharing the love of God in very tangible ways to improve the lives of the least of these,

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both near and far. The Board of World Mission salutes the Central congregation for all they have done over these many years and for the dynamic ministry that is yet to come.

Board of World Mission welcomes Sylvie Hauser to Staff

Sylvie Hauser joined the BWM staff as director of communications and development. Sylvie graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Political Science and International Relations and is an alumnus of the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program.

She was raised in the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church and was involved in mission from a young age, volunteering locally and abroad with her family, home congregation and the Board of World Mission.

In her role, Sylvie will manage the information flowing from the BWM to congregations for use in newsletters and bulletins. She will manage our website and social media accounts and send out communications to our supporters and donors.

Sylvie will also be working with our mission partners to provide support and guidance with BWM granting programs that are in place to help the provinces that we supervise move towards self-sufficiency. She will also coordinate our fund raising appeals and grant writing efforts to support our varied mission efforts.

Sylvie is passionate and excited about building connections between Moravians and sharing the stories of the good work being done around the world. Please feel free to contact her at sylvie@moravianmission.org.

Welcome, Sylvie! n

The Moravian

OUR EDUCATION HERITAGE

Salem Academy and College: a 250-year Moravian connection In the 2021-22 academic year, Salem Academy and College celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding. In 1772, Salem Academy and College was founded on the revolutionary idea that girls and women deserve a rigorous education to prepare them to lead the way for a better world. Over the last 250 years, Salem has built upon this foundation and pushed boundaries for women, empowering them to be leaders by preparing girls and women from all around the world to affect change, shatter expectations and lead through the challenges and triumphs of their times.

Throughout this school year, Salem will offer a variety of events to mark the occasion. This month, Michelle Hopkins Lawrence, co-chair of The Anna Maria Samuel Project: Race, Remembrance and Reconciliation at Salem Academy and College, Salem Academy History Department, offers a history of the school and its Moravian Heritage.

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our years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Salem Academy and College began with a revolutionary idea that girls and women deserve an education. Salem is the oldest educational institution for both girls and women in the United States.

Its origins lie in the little girls’ school in the town of Salem, North Carolina which was established by Moravian missionaries in 1766.

Although no longer a part of the Moravian Church, the history of the school has been an integral part of the town of Salem. Remarkably, the school has always remained in operation even during wars and pandemics.

Today, the Academy and College share a 47-acre campus at its original location in the heart of Old Salem, part of the city of WinstonSalem. During its long history, the institution has developed into Salem Academy, a col(Continued on next page) 11

Salem (Continued from previous page) lege preparatory school for girls in grades 9 through 12, Salem College, a liberal arts school for women, and The Fleer Center for adult education, as well as a graduate program open to men and women.

According to the research of Adelaide Fries, church records indicate that the founding of the school began with Traugott Bagge and Jacob Meyer, residents of Salem who made arrangements with Elisabeth Osterlein for the care of their young daughters in the spring of 1772. A school for boys had already been established in the town a year earlier. Oesterlein was one of the single sisters who had travelled in 1766 from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to help grow the Moravian community in Wachovia.

She taught her first class of little girls in Salem’s Gemeinhaus, which must have been crowded with the living quarters of the single sisters, the

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pastor and his family, and the meeting room for worship services.

From its beginning, the school was dedicated to female education. At a time when public education did not exist in most areas of the country even for boys, Moravians believed in the importance of educating all members of the church community. As the Moravian Bishop John Amos Comenius declared in the 17th century: “No reason can be shown why the female sex…should be kept from a knowledge of languages and wisdom. For they are also human beings, an image of God, as we are ...in their minds they are equally gifted to acquire wisdom.”

Comenius believed in universal education of all children regardless of gender or station in life. His ideas were revolutionary in the 17th century, as were the attitudes toward women’s education and work among the Moravians of the 18th century. Women, like Rebecca Protten, were even allowed to preach in some churches.

The success of the school and its reputation led to the decision by the governing board of the church and town of Salem to open admission to non-Moravian girls. On May 13, 1804, the first three students arrived even before the building to house the school was completed. Temporary arrangements were made for students to board with families and classes were held in the Gemeinhaus.

Governance of the school was under the control of the church. When the Boarding School was officially created in 1802, the governing board of the Southern Province selected Rev. Samuel Kramsch, then serving as the pastor of Hope in North Carolina, to lead the school as an “agent of the church.” Kramsch accepted the call to serve as inspector of the Boarding School, and for the next 147 years, every head of the school was a Moravian minister. Of the 22 men and women who have The Moravian

served as inspector, principal or president, the first 12 were ordained. Dr. Dale H. Gramley, who served from 1949 to 1971, was the first lay president.

School catalogs from the 19th century describe the school as “under the auspices and control of the Moravian Church” established “as a means of Christian usefulness.” In 1888, there were five institutions of higher learning in the United States which were the property of the Moravian Church. Many had their origins in the practical need for a boarding school for Moravian children whose parents were engaged in missionary work. Salem promised these parents to provide their daughters with a “solid education, healthy physical development, moral discipline and spiritual knowledge.” Students were expected to attend Moravian services and the school celebrated its own Festival Day each year with a special lovefeast.

One of the school’s early inspectors was Rev. Abraham Steiner who worked with the mission to the Cherokees at Spring Place in Georgia. After serving as inspector, he was called to missionary work at the separate conIssue 5 2021

gregation which was begun in 1822 for the free and enslaved African Americans in Salem. Today that congregation is known as St. Philips Moravian Church.

The inspectors’ wives served the school with their husbands and were listed in the catalogs of the 19th century with the title “Lady Principal.” Their daughters were usually enrolled at the school, and in keeping with a tradition that extends to alumnae of the late 18th century, they often became teachers at the school after graduation. For example, Abraham Steiner’s daughter, Maria Steiner Denke, entered the school in 1804 and taught at the school before her marriage. After the death of her husband, she returned to Salem to teach in 1848 until her own death in 1868 at the age of 75.

In addition to the Moravian leadership of the school, the church provided the physical plant of the institution. Until the completion of the Boarding School building, now known as South Hall, in 1805, the school was located in the Gemeinhaus. The success of the Boarding School led to a serious lack of space for pupils.

(Continued on next page) 13

Salem

(Continued from previous page) At times in the early 1800s, the school leadership posted notices in newspapers in North Carolina beseeching parents not to send their daughters to Salem. At times, students were housed in the former boys’ school building on the northwest corner of the Salem Square. They were even placed in the former Single Brothers House and in private homes. The shortage of space led the town to decided to demolish the Gemienhaus in 1854 so that a larger school building could be erected. Now known as Main Hall, this building contained classroom spaces, a dining hall, and dormitory with hot and cold running water and central heat.

Yet, the student body soon outgrew even these spacious accommodations. Eventually the Single Sisters House, which had been built in 1785 and had sheltered generations of school’s teachers, was deeded to the school for use as a dormitory in 1910. Today it is the oldest building on the Academy and College campus.

The administrative separation of school and church began with the appointment of a separate board of trustees and the creation of a separate endowment in 1909. Until then, the Southern Provincial Elders Conference functioned as the school’s board of trustees and 14

appointed the inspectors or presidents. The Moravian Church continued to have a strong presence on the board until recently. A large part of its membership was elected by the Southern Province Synod and/or appointed by the provincial elders until 2019. Currently, all trustees are elected by the Board of Salem Academy and College with the exception of the alumnae association presidents who are on the board in their official capacity.

The school catalogs contain a wealth of information about the history, students and teachers of Salem Academy and College. Thousands of young girls and women have been educated at Salem over the years. For many years, every girl who lived in Salem was educated in the school. Anyone can search the records through DigitalNC.org. Check it out. You may find a family member listed among the teachers and alumnae of the school.

Michelle Hopkins Lawrence is co-chair of The Anna Maria Samuel Project: Race, Remembrance, and Reconciliation at Salem Academy and College, Salem Academy History Department. More on Salem’s 250th Anniversary can be found at www.salem.edu/250. Images: Salem Academy and College Archives.

The Moravian

MORAVIAN TRADITIONS

Christmas Eve Lovefeast comes by mail with Lovefeast in a Box™ Few things compare to that first sip of sweet, creamy lovefeast coffee on Christmas Eve in a Moravian church. You cradle the warm mug in your hands and admire the golden glow of a Moravian star hung aloft, as beautiful music swells all around you. But in 2020, Christmas felt very different. For some, it was the first time they’d ever been without their traditional inperson lovefeast service. For others, however, lovefeast at home with a webcast service was not new at all.

Long before the pandemic hit, many people were unable to make it to a Moravian church for Christmas Eve, whether because they were

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homebound, deployed military, relocated to a city without a Moravian congregation, or just out of town for the holidays. It was with these people in mind that the Sisters Fellowship at Calvary Moravian in Winston-Salem, NC, created the Lovefeast in a Box™ program. “It’s a modern way to share a Christmas Eve tradition that has always been so important to my family and me,” says Ginni Baker, who founded the program in 2015.

At that time, Calvary was already streaming its services online. All it would take for the Moravian diaspora to feel more included in (Continued on next page)

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Lovefeast

(Continued from previous page) Christmas worship would be a trimmed beeswax candle, a service ode, some sweet coffee, and cookies or a bun. With a little creativity and teamwork, the Sisters Fellowship carefully prepared and boxed up these lovefeast essentials and shipped them far and wide. The idea was an instant success. Proceeds from sales were dedicated to funding community care projects, and the program grew with each successive year.

Then came 2020, when the need for lovefeast-at-a-distance became greater than anyone could ever have foreseen. Because the Sisters Fellowship members were already well-versed in the concept of at-home lovefeast, it was a simple matter of scaling up—by a lot. Ginni Baker devised a plan to assist other congregations by taking pre-orders for bulk boxes, which any church could use to supply their own local members.

Orders from around North Carolina and beyond for single, double, or family-size kits added up quickly, and the Sisters got to work, packaging cookies and trimming candles in

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their own homes. One member reported that she trimmed over 100 candles at home while watching newly released episodes of The Crown on Netflix. Others enlisted their children’s help in packing up individual servings of instant coffee and creamer and sugar packets. Once assembled in homes, the supplies were all transported to a warehouse owned by a church member, where everything was boxed up and sent out. In its inaugural year (2015), the group sold about 25 boxes, but in 2020, the total number of lovefeast servings shipped was 864!

The only hitch came when the US Postal Service ran into a major backlog in 2020 holiday deliveries. Although the Calvary Sisters couldn’t solve the postal crisis, they weren’t about to let that ruin Christmas. For any customers in a drivable distance who hadn’t received their order, the Sisters assembled new boxes and personally delivered them all on Christmas Eve, just in time for worship.

“You’re like dieners on wheels!” one customer declared when she answered the door and received her replacement box.

(Continued on page 18)

The Moravian

MORAVIAN WRITINGS

“Hope Shop” devotional springs from stories of hardship The Moravian Center of Lancaster—Lancaster Moravian Church and Adult Day Center—are located in the heart of Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. The community is a diverse one with people of different races, ages, ethnicities, religions and socio-economic statuses. Being located above the bus station, a block from the park and the police station, means that we see a great deal of poverty. We have become a safe place for individuals who are homeless, living with addictions and working through mental health concerns to come and ask for assistance and to share their stories.

I am deeply humbled and often in awe of the vulnerability of people who meet me for the first time and share openly of themselves and their hurts, of their mistakes and their losses, of their struggles and their hopes. Time and time again, that simple question opens the door to a deeper conversation, one that leads us into a relationship that goes beyond the need for a bus pass, a snack or some toiletries. I have learned to never underestimate the value of giving a person a safe space, a listening ear and an invitation to share his or her story.

The people sharing these stories have seen and experienced so much hardship, and yet, through our conversations and relationships, I have had encounter after encounter that have left me hopeful and blessed by some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. Often, there are no easy answers or quick fixes for these Issue 5 2021

individuals. Most of those who come into my office are homeless and will still be sleeping on the street after they leave. Church staff, volunteers and I do what we can with material resources, and we make referrals to and give out information about community programs that may be more equipped to help with tangible needs. We always try to do this in a way that is welcoming, nonthreatening and nonjudgmental.

It is always my sincere desire that each (Continued on next page)

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Lovefeast

(Continued from page 16) Then, on December 24, 2020, Lovefeastin-a-Box™ recipients unpacked their kits, prepped their coffee, laid out their cookies and bulletins, went online with countless others around the country, and were reminded that even when cherished traditions are upended, the captivating beauty of sacred worship is still possible. It looked a little different, but the community was still there, as were all of the other essentials: the spirit of God, the story of Christ’s birth, and the Moravian lovefeast, full of light and warmth, wrapped up in centuries-old hymnody, scented with the aroma of handmade beeswax candles, and enriched by the delicious flavors of Moravian coffee and cookies.

The best things never really change. It’s as Bishop Lane Sapp said, “This has been a wonderful outreach ministry for our congregation: sharing the good news of Christmas with neighbors far and wide, sharing the unchanging message of Immanuel, God with us!”

While it is everyone’s hope and prayer that safe, in-person Christmas lovefeasts will be the norm again soon, there will always be some folks who are blessed by the option of an athome version. If you are interested in ordering a Lovefeast in a Box™ this year, please visit www.lovefeastinabox.com and place your order by November 15. Calvary’s long-distance dieners will be happy to serve you! n Lydia Ingram is a member of Calvary Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. Photos courtesy of Calvary Moravian.

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Hope Shop

(Continued from previous page) person leaves with a bit more hope than when that person came in the door, but the truth is, those who come to shop at the “Hope Shop” often leave a payment of hope that equals or exceeds what they took with them. I have had experience after experience where these individuals have touched my life in deeply powerful ways. Those experiences form the basis of a new Advent devotional.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hope Shop includes 25 stories of Hope Shop customers.

It is an Advent devotional that shares true and hope-filled stories of remarkable people living on the streets of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Each day’s entry includes a Bible verse to consider, the story of an individual, a reflection, a question or two to ponder and a prayer. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, let us use this book as a reminder that God’s grace and love often come to us in unexpected ways through everyday people.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Lanc Co MyHome, “a network of organizations and individuals working together to provide all the people experiencing homelessness within the Lancaster community with shelter and a place to stay.” More information about their programs and the organizations they partner with can be found in the appendix of the book.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Hope Shop is available on Amazon.com and from the Interprovincial Board of Communication online bookstore. n The Rev. Mandy M. Mastros, LSW, is pastor of the Moravian Center of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Learn more at www.lancastermoravian.org

The Moravian

MORAVIAN MUSIC

Festival celebrates music, created with inspiration and presented with joy.

Since 1950, Moravian musicians have gathered at Moravian Music Festivals to worship, be in fellowship, share experiences and knowledge, learn from others, and celebrate the gift of Moravian music. There have now been 26 Moravian Music Festivals in North America, planned and managed by thousands of volunteers, in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Bethlehem, Pa., but also in Lancaster Co. (Pa.); Columbus and Tuscarawas Co. (Ohio); Madison (Wis.); and Edmonton (Alberta, Canada).

This year was different.

The 26th Moravian Music Festival was initially scheduled to take place in Bethlehem (in person) July 18 – 24, 2021. With the pandemic, however, the planning committee was forced to decide by late fall of 2020, whether or not singing and playing together would be safe by the summer of 2021.

Out of an abundance of care and caution, it was determined that the July 2021 Festival should be held completely online, and maximize the capabilities and benefits of technology.

The committee also decided to divide the 26th

Festival into two parts: an online Part 1 (July 18-24, 2021), and an in-person Part 2 (July 26-30, 2022) which will be held in Bethlehem, Pa. (Registration for Part 2 will go live in late fall of this year.)

Maximizing Technology Making the Festival happen required applying new techniques to sharing the music. In 2021, the programs and sessions of the Moravian Music Festival focused on learning and sharing using video and online platforms. In addition, social time was provided, via online conferencing, to connect Festival participants with one another and share in fellowship. Both of these approaches allowed for participation from many states and several different countries.

A robust website kept all the resources, links and instructions organized for participants. Each day, registrants received an email with links to the sessions, social gatherings, and concerts. While we did forgo the banal totebag, registered musicians

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A Moravian Music Festival “virtual choir” performance featured singers from many places.

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Festival

(Continued from previous page) received an envelope of fun swag (stuff we all get) and had the option to purchase a Festival t-shirt.

A complete musical week had been planned for an in-person festival by MMF Director and Assistant Director, the Rev. Dr. Nola R. Knouse and Gwyneth Michel. They selected anthems and hymns, invited musicians, and created music for children.

Most of these plans survived the switch to an online Festival, and will advance to next summer’s Festival in Bethlehem.

The main disadvantage of the online Festival was the inability of any of the ensembles to rehearse together. We re-focused our efforts toward creating “virtual” band and “virtual” choir videos; these became our greatest challenges. They required syncing up audio and video of individual voices or instruments, recorded at different places and times, into a cohesive ensemble.

First, recordings had to be produced for each piece and each vocal part, with count-offs and clicks for the musicians to follow. Then, a conducting video was married to the audio. Each musician then practiced their individual part, and finally recorded themselves, following the audio and conducting tracks as they played or sang. Many found this to be much more challenging than staying with an ensemble and conductor in real time.

Thanks to our musicians for making their own wonderful recordings, and especially to our virtual video and audio editors, Jacob Patrick, Sean Devlin and Seth Frack who produced the final videos. We also had expert assistance from the team at Rollins College (Dr. John V. Sinclair) in making the choir rehearsal tracks, instrumental tracks, and performing and recording Mary Wilson’s recital.

The excellent results of the virtual 20

bands and choirs may be heard and seen in the Friday evening service of music, now available online (see information at the end of this article).

Soli Deo Gloria Concerts have always been a main focal point of Festival, allowing us to share our talents and treasures with the community, for the glory of God. The Sunday and Friday evenings were live-streamed and took the form of a Singstunde (a service of word and music) with both live and recorded elements.

These services were planned beautifully by Festival Chaplain, the Rev. Melissa Johnson, and presented over Zoom with the help of IBOC Executive Director, Mike Riess. The Monday through Thursday evening concerts were pre-recorded and premiered each night, opening with devotions and a musical prelude. The weekday concerts and preludes were

The Moravian

The 26th Moravian Music Festival featured online performances by musicians and singers from around the globe.

produced by Erik Salzwedel and incorporated recordings from over 60 ensembles, representing hundreds of Moravian musicians worldwide.

If you have not yet watched the Festival concerts, you owe it to yourself and your soul to do so.

These are available free to the public and can be found on the Festival YouTube Channel.

• Sunday, July 18: Opening Worship, Christian Hearts in Love United; a Singstunde, featuring speakers/readers from around the world; • Monday, July 19: I Have Chosen You, featuring Mary Wilson, soprano, and musicians of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park (FL); John Sinclair, conducting; • Tuesday, July 20: Pipes and Pedals, featuring 9 organists from 4 countries, and including 5 Tannenberg organs from around the Moravian world; • Wednesday, July 21: Summer Serenade, music for smaller forces - vocal and instrumental; • Thursday, July 22: Resounding Joy, brass ensemble and solo music from around the world; • Friday, July 23: Service of Word and Music, We Are Members of Christ’s Body; a service featuring nine virtual band and chorus videos made by Festival participants.

Exploring new music The Moravian Church is blessed with many composers writing new anthems and songs. Recent publications have celebrated contemporary songand hymn-writing, such as, Sing to the Lord a New Song and the red (contemporary) series of MMF’s Moravian Star Anthems. The Festival session, Worship Ensembles Today was convened by Rev. Dr. C. Riddick Weber and explored the opportunities to collaborate and present quality worship music in new and creative ways.

That session is also an example of the advantages afforded by technology, i.e., being able to convene a panel of musicians with a variety of experiences, in one place, viewable by anyone, in any Issue 5 2021

place, on any device. This ability to include panelists from far and wide was experienced with our choir director, band director, and Making Music with Children panels. David Blum’s Moravian Musicology Today session included researchers from around the world and introduced us to a wealth of perspectives in musicology and the Moravians!

The Music of the Bach Family, a second video by MMF Research Librarian, David Blum, is further testament to the advancing technical and creative capabilities of the MMF staff.

A team effort Bringing the 26th Moravian Music Festival to life required the work – and flexibility – of many people.

The staff of the Moravian Music Foundation Rev. Nola R. Knouse, Gwyneth Michel, Erik Salzwedel, Sarah Durham – moderated the sessions and

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Festival

(Continued from previous page) social hours, while Hanna Cheek Jackson of the Board of Cooperative Ministries, handled the technical side: hosting the webinars and connecting us all through Zoom. The trustees of the Moravian Music Foundation created and contributed devotions, music, and video content and were both moderators and experts in sessions and webinars.

Myra Jones and Sarah Hriniak kept our youngest participants engaged online as they learned songs and dialogue from the musical theater production, ACTS. They shared some fun social time and enjoyed the Instrument Zoo, crafts, games, coloring, word search, and crosswords. The Rev. Dr. Lynnette Delbridge hosted Zoom youth gatherings, connecting teen-aged Moravians from across the provinces.

The Board and staff of MMF and the Festival Planning Committee would like to express their deepest and most sincere appreciation to the many worship leaders, educators, and musicians from around the world who recorded themselves, edited, uploaded and shared their music with us all.

We enjoyed submissions of music videos from South Africa, Nepal, the Netherlands, Germany and several states. In return, and as evidence of our growing worldwide connections and relationships, many North American Moravian band players submitted video to the Brass Band Union of South Africa for their 70th Anniversary Festival in October!

Looking Ahead While we all missed the close fellowship and musical collaboration of past Festivals, we enjoyed long distance connections that may have been impossible otherwise. An online Festival eliminates many of the barriers to participation, such as time off work, time away from family, and travel. Over 100 registered for the Festival, participating in the sessions, webinars, virtual music projects and social times.

Beyond that, public viewing of the concerts and services was in the thousands during Festival week.

The MMF staff and the local Festival Planning Committee, led by Hank Naisby, are already planning and making arrangements with Moravian University, Central Moravian Church, and other entities for the in-person Festival, Part 2, July 26-30, 2022. For now, the registration site is set up for the Access Pass to the 2021 content. By the end of this year, you will be able to register for Part 2 at www.moravianmusicfestival.org The Festival Committee requests financial support from those who value Moravian music and want to encourage participation, especially by younger musicians. You may give to the Festival Scholarship Fund and the Children’s program (which is free to participants). Underwriting, sponsorships, and donations of any amount are invited. www.moravianmusicfestival.org/contribute/ n Erik Salzwedel is business manager for the Moravian Music Foundation and was instrumental in bringing the 26th Moravian Music Festival to life. To learn more and revisit Part I of the Festival, visit www.moravianmusic.org/the-26th-festival-part-1/

The 26th Moravian Music Festival featured online performances by musicians and singers from around the globe.

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The Moravian

MORAVIAN WRITINGS

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve...”

Each week, Moravians across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean share a common message through their Sunday bulletins. This month, we share insights written for the Twentyfirst Sunday after Pentecost, based on Mark 10:35-45. Thanks to writers past and present for their contributions to the Moravian bulletin series.

Business-as-Usual

Jennika Borger, chaplain, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania • Oct. 17, 2021

When I was a little girl, I would pretend that I was the queen and my little sister was my servant. This game worked well, for me, as I wore my plastic bejeweled crown and bossed my sister around. Then one day she realized that she did not have to listen to me anymore.

We became bitter enemies for a little while, until I began to accept her as my equal.

Business-as-usual in much of our world is an established hierarchy, where some are given (or take) power and others submit to, fear, or resent that power. Business-as-usual immediately creates inequality, and this inIssue 5 2021

equality divides people into an “us versus them” reality.

James and John understand businessas-usual. They know that Jesus is a powerful leader and can spark a revolution in Rome.

They want to be right by his side, sharing in the power and the glory. What they do not understand is that Jesus has been teaching and living that business-as-usual is not divine business. He shows us, through his life and more explicitly through his death, that worldly power is dominion over while spiritual power is service with.

Following Jesus is not business-as-usual.

Jesus came “not to be served but to serve.”

In following him we are called to let go of (Continued on next page) 23

...but to be served

(Continued from previous page)

our desire to control and have power over others, and instead to serve. How does Jesus’ understanding of power change how we structure our governments, our communities, our churches, and our households?

Being the queen worked in my favor for a moment. A relationship based on the power of love and service created a meaningful relationship for a lifetime.

Upside-down Jesus

Carol Vogler, pastor, Rio Terrace Moravian Church, Edmonton, Alberta • Oct. 18, 2009

Young Erik with Down syndrome has recently embraced the concept of “upside-down.”

Holding his stuffed teddy by one foot, he exclaims, “Look . . . bear . . . up-tide down .

. . funny!” In fact, anything “up-tide down” prompts Erik’s infectious laughter, as “uptide down” just doesn’t “fit” with the way he’s trying to understand the world.

So it was with the disciples. So it is with us, as we engage the “upside-down” reality of Jesus’ words, actions and being. What we see in Jesus, and hear in the words attributed to him, defies common understandings of power: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.”

In Jesus’ time, social, political and religious power was understood and structured hierarchically: from top down. This understanding and structure persists today. But time and again, in word and action, Jesus turns this understanding of power upside down. Washing the feet of his followers; touching those considered unclean; refusing to side with religious intolerance; speaking words of forgiveness, reconciliation and

“...but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared...”

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The Moravian

love—these characterize the way of Jesus and his call to newness of life.

Unfortunately for many who can’t grasp the concept, and for those of us who want to justify our vocation, our faith, our purchases, or our prejudices, the upside-down value system of Jesus/God is not at all amusing.

Seeing Christ in others, serving others and loving others as we have been loved is often too challenging to consider.

But when I look at Erik, I am grateful to the God who welcomes, embraces, and includes Erik, and those others whom society has under-valued. And I smile, imagining how different, delightful, equitable this world would be, if structured according to the standards and call of love: the upside-down way of Jesus.

Who Wishes to Be Great

Martha Griffis, elder, Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania • Oct. 18, 2015

James and John approach Jesus and ask if they may be seated on Jesus’ right and left hand in his glory. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus replies and then asks the important question: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Jesus assures them that they will in fact drink of his cup and be baptized with his baptism. He continues by pointing out that, unlike the case in worldly endeavors, to be great among their group would be to be a servant to them.

Jesus wants them and us to serve in our communities.

We would ask ourselves these same questions frequently. In the service for baptism, the baptized in the congregation are (Continued on next page) Issue 5 2021

Mark 10:35-45

New Revised Standard Version

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.

So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

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...but to be served

(Continued from previous page)

asked: “How were you baptized?” The response is: “Into his death.”

It seems to be human nature to wish to be recognized; to have our fifteen minutes of fame; to be seated above the salt (closer to the host) at a state dinner. This is not what Jesus is about. He makes it clear to his disciples that he came to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. If we are to share in his baptism and in his cup, we must give ourselves over to God’s service.

Where is the source of recognition of this service? From God! God knows who we are and what we are about. God gives us commendation and affirmation when we need it. God understands what we need. To accept the baptism and cup of Jesus may mean something different to each believer.

It could mean forgoing new clothes to give the money to charity. It could mean eating simpler meals at home and giving the extra money to charity. It could mean walking the streets to help those you find there. God and the Holy Spirit can be trusted to help each one find his or her cross, their way to share the cup of Jesus.

If we are to share in his baptism and in his cup, we must give ourselves over to God’s service.

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Be a Miracle

John Wallace, Pastor, Waconia Moravian Church, Waconia, Minn. • Oct. 22, 2006

We will do just about anything to keep one step ahead of our neighbor. We will scratch, crawl, whine, connive, weasel and maneuver our way to the top. We do not need to go to some remote jungle island to see this phenomenon unfold. In school, the church, the workplace and politics, people schmooze their way into a promotion, sweet talk their way out of trouble, or flirt their way to the top, at the expense of those around them.

James and John in today’s Gospel are trying to scheme their way into choice seats in heaven. Jesus uses the moment to teach us what true greatness is. For Jesus, the social values of rank, what’s parked in the driveway or the clothes on your back are of little consequence. Jesus came to serve and not be served. Jesus takes what we conceive to be the most important values and flips them upside down.

Jesus reminds us that in the ordinary, everyday experiences of life we can encounter the extraordinary grace of God. Want to see a miracle? Be the miracle. Volunteer your time, talent, and treasure to serve at a local food shelf, teach a child to read, consistently visit a person in hospice care. Be an advocate for affordable housing or attention to global warming, serve on the local school board, lead a Bible study at church, deliver Meals on Wheels.

Jesus did not come to be served to serve, and to give his live a ransom for many. In serving we will experience the Almighty. n

The Moravian

OFFICIAL PROVINCIAL ELDERS’ NEWS Prayer Day for Children On a Sunday in October, congregations of the Northern and Southern Provinces are invited to join with thousands of other congregations across the nation in the national observance of Children’s Sabbath. Endorsement of the Children’s Sabbath was made by the Provincial Elders’ Conferences in January 1994.

Prayer Day for World Mission, October 10, 2021 The second Sunday in October has been designated as a special Day of Prayer for World Mission. Pray for the ministries in our partner provinces, our mission areas, and for wisdom and guidance for our worldwide unity.

May God hold us together in celebration of our wonderful diversity, and may God persist in revealing to us where the church in North America and throughout the world is called to mission, both locally and globally, that God’s love may be known by all.

For specific information for your prayers about these and other new and continuing ministries, please see the BWM website, www.moravianmission.org.

Prayer Day for Human Rights for Women, October 17, 2021 By action of the 2018 Synod of the Moravian Church Northern Province, the Provincial Elders’ Conference has designated the 4th Sunday in October as a Prayer Day to raise awareness of Violence against Women. Synod called for Moravians to establish resources for victims of violence, form study groups to provide discussions and support to victims of such violence, pressure governments to pass legislation pe-

nalizing violence against women and children and address excessive violence in the media.

Resources may be forthcoming from the Unity Women’s Desk.

NORTHERN PROVINCE Prayer Day for the Church’s Ministry to Older Adults, September 26, 2021 The 2002 Synod reaffirmed the fourth Sunday in September as a time to recognize older generations and to pray for our mutual ministry.

Each congregation can make ministry to and with older generations in their midst a special cause for prayer.

Prayer Day for Peace with Justice and Freedom, October 17, 2021 The third Sunday in October is designated as a Day of Prayer for Peace with Justice and Freedom.

Easton, Pennsylvania Sister Eileen Edwards, who had been Released for Other Service to the Anglican Church of Canada, has accepted the call to serve as pastor for Palmer Township Community Moravian Church, Easton, Pennsylvania. Sister Edwards was installed into her new work August 29, 2021.

Lititz, Pennsylvania Sister Sayward Lippincott, presently serving as pastor for First Moravian Church, York, Pennsylvania, has accepted the call to serve as co-pastor for Lititz Moravian Church, Lititz, Pennsylvania. Sister Lippincott was installed into her new work September 26, 2021.

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OFFICIAL PROVINCIAL ELDERS’ NEWS Specialized Ministry Sister Mary Bielke, who has been serving under call to specialized ministry as chaplain for Cedar Crest, Inc., has accepted the call to serve as chaplain for Amedisys Hospice Center, Brookfield, Wisconsin. Sister Bielke began her new work August 16, 2021.

Calgary, Alberta Brother Matthew Gillard, who has been serving as pastor for Good Shepherd Moravian Church, Calgary, Alberta, has accepted a call to Canadian District Service. Brother Gillard concluded his ministry at Good Shepherd on August 20, 2021.

Presbyterial Consecration Brother Daniel Miller, presently serving as pastor of Edgeboro Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was consecrated a presbyter of the Moravian Church on September 26, 2021. Bishop Kay Ward officiated at the service, held at the Edgeboro congregation in Bethlehem.

Elizabeth D. Miller Provincial Elders’ Conference Ad Policy for The Moravian — The Moravian accepts paid advertising that is consistent with the magazine’s objectives and editorial convictions as they are stated in the purpose and mission of the Interprovincial Board of Communication. Advertisements for activities, services and products of specific interest to members of the Moravian Church have priority. The Moravian does not accept purely editorial advertisements that advocate specific ideas or issues. Articles, columns and letters to the editor are the appropriate vehicles for the presentation of ideas and issues. The Interprovincial Board of Communication is responsible for the content and design of the magazine, including advertisements. Ad rates and specifications are available www.moravian.org.

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SOUTHERN PROVINCE David Guthrie Retirement The Provincial Elders’ Conference (PEC) reports to the province that it has approved a retirement request from President, The Rev. David Guthrie, effective Sept. 30, 2021. On behalf of the Province, the PEC extends great gratitude to David for his 11 years’ service as president and his dedicated service to the Moravian Church. David left a construction career to pursue ministry in 1983. A 1986 graduate of Moravian Theological Seminary, he was ordained that year and consecrated as a Presbyter in 1991. After graduation, David accepted a call to Prince of Peace Moravian Church and later Rolling Hills Moravian Church, both in Florida, where he served until 2003. He returned to Winston-Salem to serve as executive director of the Board of Evangelism and Home Missions for seven years before being elected PEC president in 2010. In 2018, David was elected vice president of the Unity Board of the Worldwide Moravian Church and in January 2020 he became its president. He has also served on the Moravian Seminary Board of Trustees as well as in numerous ecumenical positions on behalf of the Moravian Church.

The Moravian

Chris Thore appointed PEC President The PEC also announces that continuing PEC members have appointed The Rev. Chris Thore to fill the vacancy on the Conference as well as to become its new president, effective Oct. 1, 2021. Chris returns to the PEC after serving two terms from 2010 – 2018, when he was vice president. After a management career in music, Chris earned a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell University and a certificate in theology from Moravian Seminary. Ordained in 1998, Chris’s first call was to Trinity Moravian Church. In 2001, he accepted a call to become the founding pastor of a new church plant in Huntersville, N.C., New Beginnings Moravian Church. Consecrated as a Presbyter in 2004, Chris led the growth of the congregation and expansion of facilities at New Beginnings until called to Clemmons Moravian in March 2018. Chris will continue as pastor of Clemmons Moravian Church while serving the province. He will serve as PEC president through transition after provincial elections at the next Synod, which convenes June 1, 2022.

Bethania Moravian Church Brother Joe Moore has accepted a call to Bethania Moravian Church, Bethania, NC to serve as pastor. Joe will begin his service at Bethania on October 4th and be installed on October 10, 2021. Prior to his call to Bethania, Joe served as associate pastor at New Philadelphia Moravian Church, WinstonSalem, N.C. and had recently completed an interim ministry at Unity Moravian Church.

Presbyterial Consecration The Rev. Christy Clore was consecrated a Presbyter on Sunday, September 19, 2021, 3:00 p.m. at Kernersville Moravian Church, Kernersville, N.C. with The Rt. Rev. Graham Rights officiating. Christy was ordained July 3, 2005 at Mayodan Moravian Church with bishop Graham Rights officiating.

Discover the ever-present wonder of God’s grace for your Advent & Christmas season

Specialized Ministry Sister Adriana Bliss Craver, an approved candidate for ordination, has accepted a call to specialized ministry with Jackson Health in Miami, FL serving as a chaplain resident. A service of ordination will be held on October 10, 2021 at Konnoak Hills Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, N.C. at 3 p.m. with Bishop Carol Foltz officiating.

Christ Moravian Church Brother Jeffrey Reed Lawson, an approved candidate for ordination, has accepted a call to become pastor of Christ Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, NC. A service of ordination will be held on October 3, 2021 at Bethania Moravian Church, Bethania, N.C. at 3 p.m. with Bishop Graham Rights officiating. Reed will begin his service at Christ Moravian on Sunday, October 10, 2021.

Issue 5 2021

Contemporary Christmas Eve stories of light overcoming the darkness.

By Rev. Barry Lehman, retired Moravian pastor.

Available on Amazon.com in E-book, paperback and Audible audio book.

www.balehman.com/christmas 29

OBITUARIES

Mr. Ralford I. Watson

Mrs. Margaret Smith

Brother Ralford Watson died August 27, 2021 at age 87. He was born February 10, 1936 at St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

Brother Watson was united in marriage to Sister Valrey May (Tennant) Watson on April 14, 1962 at Kingston, Jamaica.

He was a graduate of Kingston Technical High School and Ryerson Polytechnic College.

He served alongside Sr. Watson in the Southern Province (First Moravian Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia) and the Northern Province (Fellowship Moravian Church, Brooklyn, New York).

Brother Watson is survived by his wife, Valrey; daughter, Karen; and sons, Warren and Craig.

Services were held at First Moravian Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia on September 4, 2021.

Sister Margaret (Dittmer) Smith died at Nooksack, Washington on September 7, 2021 at age 79. She was born February 12, 1942 at Bethel, Alaska, a daughter of James and Grace (Giesler) Dittmer.

Sister Smith was united in marriage to Brother Robert H. Smith on July 15, 1961 at Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

She graduated from Gibraltar High School in Sister Bay, Wisconsin and attended Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she met Brother Smith. Sister Smith served alongside her husband in pastorates and specialized ministry settings at St. Croix, Virgin Islands; Wisconsin (Rudolph-Veedum, Glenwood, DeForest, Milwaukee, Seymour); and North Dakota (Fargo).

Sister Smith is survived by her husband, Robert; daughter, Brenda; son, David; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts were gratefully received for the American Lung Association or Whatcom Hospice at St. Joseph Hospital, Bellingham, Washington.

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The world’s oldest daily devotional that’s new every morning!

The 2022 edition of The Moravian Daily Texts continues a 290-year-long tradition of offering an inspirational connection to the Holy Scriptures every day.

Each entry in this beloved daily devotional includes “watchwords”—Old and New Testament verses to accompany readers throughout the day—combined with beautiful hymn texts and heartfelt prayers selected and written by Moravians across North America.

The Moravian Daily Texts 2022 begins shipping in Nov. 2021, but you can preorder yours online now at store.moravian.org.

Learn more at store.moravian.org

MORAVIAN MISSION COFFEE Order today at: MoravianMissionCoffee.org Moravian Mission Coffee supports mission grants to Moravian ministries around the world, like the Seminario Moravo Latinoamericano: The Seminario Moravo Latinoamericano

is a seminary in Chiclayo, Perú, created by a local pastor to contribute to the academic formation of candidates for pastoral ministry and to serve as a center for continual pastoral guidance. So far, two classes of candidates, including three Moravian pastors, have been blessed to receive a degree in theology.

LEARN MORE:

Follow the BWM on Facebook & Instagram and check out our website at MoravianMission.org

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