Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Eastern
District Watchword 2006
A Word from Gary
Greetings to all pastors and board
members of congregations in the Eastern District. My prayer is that each
of you and your congregations will experience the joy of the Easter Resurrection
following a meaningful Lenten and Holy Week journey. One of the messages
that I need to internalize this year has to do with how the questions that the
women were asking as they approached the tomb that first Easter were
answered. You remember the question -- "Who will roll the stone
away?" It is a question that we have before us every day --
"who will roll the stone away from the places in our lives where death and
decay have locked us in, and where we find ourselves trapped?" What
was the answer for those faithful disciples that first Easter morning?
Those women discovered that one of the great lessons of the Resurrection is
that the solution to our problems does not depend on us. Can you find
that answer this year? Thank God -- the Solution to our problems has
risen!
The Resurrection
reminds us that God still moves stones! Many Christians spend much
of their time acting and behaving as if their salvation depends on them.
Do you ever do that? I know I do. And of course we become depressed
and discouraged when we find ourselves in impossible circumstances. Each
of us face our own tomb where our hopes and dreams seem to be buried and
sealed, when God seems to have forgotten us. But the Good News,
powerfully brought home to us in the Easter message is that God will not
forget us! God still moves stones.
God has been
moving stones and continues to move stones throughout our district. Healing
is occurring. New pastor-parish relationships are developing. Good
things are happening. It is a pleasure to welcome the Rev. Burton Parry
into the clergy rolls of our district as he begins his assignment as the Intentional
Interim Director of Pastoral Ministries at the Lititz Moravian Church on April
1. His installation will occur during both worship services (8 AM and
10:30 AM) on April 2. Brother Parry is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian
Church who has been trained in interim pastoral work. His appointment is
for one year and he will join with Dean Jurgen in pastoral ministry at
Lititz. Welcome, Burt.
The official
installation for Sister Rosieta Burton as the pastor at Battle Hill Moravian congregation
in Union, NJ, will finally take place at 4 PM on Sunday, April 2. This is
the postponed date from the snowed out February 12 date. Welcome, Rosieta.
The official
installation for Brother Leslie McKoy as the pastor of United Moravian Church
in New York City will occur on Sunday, April 23, at 4 PM. Brother McKoy
began his ministry at United several weeks ago. Welcome to a different
borough of New York, Leslie.
The District
Board looks forward to meeting with pastors and members of the Joint Boards of
our congregations in Maryland and DC on Saturday morning, April 29, at 10
AM. The meeting will occur at the Trinity congregation and Brother Dave Wickmann
(our Provincial President) will be present to challenge us with the Provincial
vision. This will also be a time for local board members to discuss any
items of interest with the District Board and will conclude with lunch
together.
Pray for our College
and Seminary Trustees who will be meeting in Bethlehem during the week of April
25-28. In case you have not heard, the Trustees recently announced that
the new president of Moravian College and Theological Seminary will be Dr.
Christopher Thomforde who currently serves as the President of St. Olaf College
in Northfield, MN. Dr. Thomforde will begin his duties on August 1,
2006. The one thing that everyone seems to talk about is that our new
president is even an inch or two taller than our current president, Dr. Erv
Rokke, who will be truly missed following his outstanding leadership this past
several years at Moravian. God's speed to you, Erv and Pam, and welcome
to you, Christopher and Kathy. --Gary
Prayer Concerns and Joys
Continue to hold
in prayer our brothers and sisters dealing with health issues as they move
towards strength and healing. Brother Ned
Williams has returned home after several hospitalizations and a brief stay
in the rehab unit at ManorCare in Bethlehem.
Sister Diane Joseph continues on medical leave. Sister Jan Schanck, who has served
our district as head teller at synods and has served on many district and
provincial boards and committees, is recovering from surgery and awaiting test
results to determine further treatment.
Condolences to
Brother Steve Nicholas and family on the recent death of his father.
Continue also to
remember those churches attempting to discern God’s will for pastoral
leadership.
Pastoral Changes
The Rev. Burton
Parry has accepted a one-year appointment as the intentional interim
Director of Pastoral Ministries at Lititz Moravian Church. Brother
Parry, a Presbyterian pastor who lives in York, PA, is just completing an intentional
interim pastorate at a Presbyterian Church.
He has over thirty years of experience in the ministry. He has been doing intentional interim
pastorates since 2003. He will be installed
on April 2 at both the 8 and 10:30 worship services.
- Schedule of Events
April 1, 9:30 am-1:30 pm. Inquirer’s
Day Moravian Theological Seminary.
For more information & to register online: www.moravianseminary.edu
or contact Ann Gibson, 610-861-1512.
April 5, 10:30 am-3 pm. Science and
Religion Symposium, Artificial Intelligence, Cybertheology, and the Human
Prospect. MTS, 610-861-1519.
April 21, 9:30 am-2:30 pm. Zeisberger
Lectures in Evangelism, A Conference
on the Emergent Church with Brian McLaren.
MTS, 610-861-1519.
April 27, 9:30 am-1:30 pm. Moses
Lectures in Moravian Studies, Moravian Music on a Mission. MTS,
610-861-1519.
Apr. 30, 7:30 pm – Unitas Chorale concert, College Hill Moravian Church, Bethlehem (new location.)
May 6, 7:30 pm – Unitas Chorale concert- Lancaster Moravian Church, Lancaster.
May 13 - Moravian Health and Wellness Ministry meeting at Lititz Moravian Church for Central PA and Maryland area churches. Participants will receive notebooks which they can use as a resource for starting Health and Wellness ministries in their local congregations. Time still TBA.
May 15-17 – The 56th Johns Hopkins Institute for Spirituality and Medicine. What Does It Mean to Be Human? A Public Discourse on Genetics, Ethics, and Spirituality. www.hopkinscme.net.
June 3 (rescheduled from Apr. 29 due to a scheduling conflict)- Moravian Health and Wellness Ministries Networking Event sponsored by the ED Lay Ministry Commission. Emmaus Moravian Church. Each participant will receive a resource notebook with information for starting and developing a congregational health and wellness ministry. Time will also be set aside for a health fair and for participants to meet in small groups according to their interests. Times and registration fees will be announced soon. Moravians from all areas of the Eastern District are welcome to attend. For information contact Lynnette Delbridge, 718-442-5215, or
pastorchmc@si.rr.com.
June 5-16 – German Script course at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem. www.moravianchurcharchives.org.
June
15-19 - Provincial Synod at Moravian College, Bethlehem
July
2-8 – 22nd Moravian Music Festival and Seminars, Capital
University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH. www.MoravianMusicFestival.org
2006 Programs at Hope Center
Apr.
28-30 – Confirmation Retreat
May
26-29 – Memorial Day Family Camp
May
29 – Memorial Day Picnic
June
25-27 – PrePrimary Conference
June
25-July 1 – Fishing Camp
July
9-15 – Middler Conference
July
16-22 – Jr. High Conference
July
23-29 – Swimming Camp
July
23-29 – Performing Arts Camp
July
30-Aug. 5 – Sr./Post High Conference
Aug.
6-12 – Primary Conference
Oct.
4-7 – Quilt Camp
Info
available at www.camphope.org or
908-459-4435
Interprovincial Board of
Communication announces Moravian Book of Worship PEW EDITION REPRINT SALE!
·
Are your hymnals starting to look a little rough around the
edges?
·
Have years of use made some of your hymnals unusable?
·
Is your congregation growing and you don’t have enough
hymnals to go around?
·
Would your members like to have a copy of their own to have
in their homes?
·
Are you still using the hymnals from 1969 and would like to
update to the 1995 Moravian Book of Worship?
If the answer
to any of these questions is YES! we have an offer for you…
As
a PEW EDITION REPRINT SALE we would like to offer you the opportunity to buy the
hymnals at a reduced rate.
On
preorders placed between now and April 30, 2006, you will receive the following
special rates:
Orders up to 50 in quantity - $13.50 each
(a savings of $4.50 each)
Orders of more than 50 - $11.00 each (a
savings of $7.00 each)
On
orders from this promotion you will be charged our real cost to ship the books to you. You can place your order with
the IBOC by calling 800.732.0591 and speaking to a Customer Relations
Representative or by emailing us your order at pubs@mcnp.org.
Orders
received after April 30, 2006 will be charged the regular hymnal price of
$18.00 each plus actual shipping costs.
Don’t
wait, now is the time to order the 1995
Moravian Book of Worship.
Birthdays
and Anniversaries
April Birthdays
1 The
Rev. James Bruckart
The Rev. Barbara Rich
2 Mrs.
Kathleen Pfeiffer
Mrs. Edna Knight
Mr. Charles Stutzenberger
12 The Rev. Vernon Nelson
Mr. Michael Koenig
13 The Rev. Nancy Von Boeckmann
14 Mrs. Connie Bennett
17 The Rev. Kay Ward
18 The Rev. Dr. William Pfeiffer
Mrs. Julia Folk
20 Mrs. Jennifer Grannum
Mrs. Valarie Ferguson
23 The Rev. Dr. Darryl Bell
24 Mrs. Pamela Thierolf
25 Mr. Halfred Smith
26 Mr. Jonathan Borger
27 Mrs. Grace Lindenmuth
Mrs. Catherine Woltjen
The Rev. Allen Bergmann
30 The Rev. Dr. Reed Acheson
April Anniversaries
3 The
Rev. Nancy Von Boeckmann
& Mr. Thomas Von Boeckmann
6 The Rev. Dr. & Mrs. James Hilander
9 The Rev. Dr. & Mrs. Hermann Weinlick
14 Mr.
Ralford Watson &
The Rev. Valrey Watson
25 The
Revs. Tom & Hannelore Nalesnik
Churches
celebrating April anniversaries:
1 - 1888 - First, Easton, PA
10
-1949 - Palmer Twsp., Easton, PA
13
- 1859 - Egg Harbor City, NJ
27 - 1852 - Tremont Terrace, Bronx, NY
Please submit information for publication to the District Office by the 15th of each month