A Word from Gary
Greetings from your District Office. If you are a newly elected board member, you
will probably be new to this monthly newsletter. If you are new, I welcome you
into your position of service to Christ and to the Church, the Body of
Christ. I remind all of us that this is
a position of service and to be careful about the many ways that such a
position can be misused or abused. We
serve on Boards of the Church to forward the agenda of Christ and not our own
agendas, to lead the church in mission to the world and not to serve our own
selfish interests, to work in partnership with our pastors and not in conflict
with them, and to connect the local congregation with the wider church and not
to disparage that relationship. Through
"District Developments," we try to keep you informed about news from
the congregations of the district, district and province-wide events, clergy
and spouse birthdays and anniversaries, and any other items of interest to our
district. If you wish for something to
be included, please give such information by email to Lucille before the 20th
of the month preceding the month for which it is requested.
I remind all
pastors and congregational secretaries to make sure to get your annual reports
into our office and into the Provincial office by Feb. 15. Board members, please help me in encouraging
a timely submission of these reports that are very important to us. Believe me, they are referenced on an almost
daily basis. Remember -- two copies --
one for the district office and one for the provincial office.
With Ash
Wednesday on February 6, we begin the Lenten pilgrimage to Good Friday and
Easter. It is a time for all of us as
individuals and for us as congregations to resolve to walk daily in a more
disciplined and deliberate pilgrimage that brings us nearer to the heart of
God. It is traditionally a time for
self-examination and reflection, for a renewed and disciplined prayer life, and
for a focused spiritual regimen. May
you truly experience a rekindling of your faith this Lenten season.
I am pleased to
be able to share with you the news that the Rev. Rowan Simmons has accepted the
call of the church to serve in ministry with the members of New Dawn Moravian
congregation in Toronto. Brother Simmons
is currently serving as a pastor in the East West Indies Province and a time
line is currently being discussed with that Province, but a summer move seems
likely. Brother Simmons has begun the
process for immigration. Brother
Simmons will be joined in this move by his wife, Earlene, and their children,
Janique (age 6) and J'Dae (age 1).
During the month
of January, approximately 45 pastors of our district gathered at the Mary
Immaculate Center for our annual Pastors' Conference on January 22-24. They were joined by several students from
the seminary. Sincere appreciation is
extended to Mary Wright (a member of our Advent congregation) who was our
program person and who led participants in the art of storytelling. Then, at the end of the month, our Ohio pastors
joined with me in attending the 2008 Ohio Ministries Convocation in Columbus,
sponsored by the Ohio Council of Churches.
We had two
joyous installation occasions during the month of January -- on January 13 we
celebrated with St. Paul's congregation in Upper Marlboro as they welcomed the
Rev. Bill (and Gail) Andrews as their new pastor and, on January 20, the Midway
Manor congregation welcomed the Rev. Norman Prochnau to serve as their
pastor. Norm is once again coming out
of retirement to serve the church.
The District
Board will be meeting on Feb. 15-16. As
a part of that meeting, we will be meeting with provincial seminary students
for dinner at Coopersburg. The
Evangelism Commission will be meeting on February 25 at 10 AM.
Included with
the congregational packets containing this newsletter is an invitation to
congregations to apply for one of two Mission Development Grants that will
be awarded this summer. Please consider
how your congregation might be in mission to the community.
Have a great month. -- Gary
Pastoral Changes
Brother
Rowan Simmons has accepted an appointment to serve as Pastor of the
New Dawn Moravian Church, Toronto.
Brother Simmons currently serves the Moravian Church in the East West
Indies Province.
Prayer Concerns and Joys
Brother Glenn Heintzelman is
recovering from surgery on January 17 in Rochester, MN. He was released from the hospital on the 22nd and will be recuperating in Unionville
prior to moving to the Lehigh Valley.
Please continue
to hold in prayer all our brothers and sisters dealing with health issues as
they move towards strength and healing.
We particularly remember Kay Rohn, Denny Rohn, Leslie McKoy, Sharon
Conn, Sam Propsom, Joan Engelbrecht, Kathy Nicholas, Katherina Gordon, John
Hoenig, Sandra Thigpen, and baby Declan Patrick Edwards.
- Schedule of Events
March
7, 9:30-2:30 - Weber Memorial Lectures, God and Human Flourishing,
presented by Miroslav Volf at Prosser Auditorium, Moravian College.
April
10, 9:30-2:30 – Zeisberger Lectures on Evangelism, Unbinding the Gospel:
Real-Life Evangelism, presented by Martha Grace Reese at Prosser
Auditorium, Moravian College.
April
18-19 – Ministry with Children and Youth as the Presence of Christ,
a workshop sponsored by the ED Christian Education Commission. Info at www.mcnp.org/youth
April
25-26 - Healthy Congregations Workshop to be held in New Philadelphia,
Ohio.
April
25-27 – Confirmation retreat at Hope Center. Contact Chris Giesler at 610-867-7566 or by email at
chris@mcnp.org.
June
18-21, 2008 – Eastern District Synod at Moravian College.
Information can be found on the Eastern District
website at: www.mcnp.org/easterndistrict
August 1, noon – Deadline for submission
of 2008 Eastern District Mission Development Grants.
Continuing Ed events sponsored by Moravian Seminary
For more
information, to register online, and to see the full program schedule visit http://www.moravianseminary.edu/continuingEd/index.htm. Unless noted otherwise, all events will be held at
Moravian Seminary located at 60 W. Locust Street in Bethlehem. For more
information or to register call 610-861-1519.
Ministry with
Our Elders shows clergy
and laity how to become more effective in ministry with the senior adults with
whom they serve.
Presented by Dianne
Kareha, chaplain at Luther Crest/Diakon Retirement Community.
Dates: Mondays (6 sessions) February 4 – March 10, 2008; 1:30 – 4:30 pm
Location:
Luther Crest/Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, 800 Hausman Road, Allentown, PA
Created with
a Purpose! A Discussion about Call and Vocation will be based on Kevin & Kay Marie
Brennfleck’s book Live Your Calling: A Practical Guide to Finding and
Fulfilling Your Mission in Life
Presented by Melissa
Johnson, ordained Moravian pastor and director of Admissions and Student
Life at MTS.
Dates: Mondays (4 sessions) February 4 –25, 2008; 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Psychology
and Spirituality Lectures
Many Voices: Interrogating “Integration,” Embracing Multiplicity — God,
Persons, and Psychotherapy
Presented by Pamela
Cooper-White, professor of Pastoral Theology at the Lutheran Theological
Seminary at Philadelphia.
Date: Friday, February 8, 2008; 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Theology,
Literature, and Coffee: TLC — Bethlehem
Dates: Thursdays
(7 sessions, every other week) February 21 – May 15, 2008; 9:30 – 11:30 am
February 21: Girl
with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
March 6: The Sunlight Dialogues by John Gardner
March 20: Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
April 3: The Epic of Gilgamesh, tr. Stephen Mitchell
April 17: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
May 1: Collected Poems, 1943-2004 by Richard Wilbur
May 15: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Congregational
pictures for Synod
If your congregation has not yet
submitted congregation pictures to the Synod Planning Committee, please make it
a priority to do so this month. The
theme of our synod, “One in Mission, One in Call,” will be highlighted in a
variety of multimedia expressions that will affirm our unity.
We are asking each of our
district churches to send 25 digital pictures capturing life in your
congregation. Please visit the Eastern
District website, www.mcnp.org/easterndistrict,
for the particulars on what and where regarding your pictures.
2009
Cruise
Celebrate
the 552nd anniversary of the Worldwide Moravian Unity (March 1, 2009) onboard a
cruise sponsored by the Moravian Church of Downey.
The Ruby Princess ship departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday
afternoon, February 28, 2009, for seven days in the Western Caribbean.
Bishop Hopeton Clennon will be our tour host for visits to Moravian Churches
and points of interest in Jamaica and Grand Cayman.
There will be additional ports of call in Cozumel (Mexico) and The Bahamas.
For more information visit the cruise website at www.Moravian552Cruise.com
or
phone 562-927-0718; or e-mail moraviancruise@aol.com.
Congregation
closing
It is with a
deep sense of regret that the Provincial Elders reluctantly concluded the ministry
of the Faith Moravian Church of Palo Alto, California, on November 30,
2007. The appreciation of the Province
is extended to Brother Raymond Humphrey and the faithful servants at Palo
Alto.
Birthdays
and Anniversaries
February
Birthdays
2 Mrs. Jill Bruckart
4 Mrs.
Chloe McKoy
7 Mrs. Lydia Schultz
The
Rev. Valrey Watson
8 Mr. Greg Bowden
9 The Rev. Gordon Mowrer
10 Mr.
Ralford Watson
11 Mrs.
Marcia Johnston
13 The
Rev. Gary Marsh
14 The
Rev. Dr. Claude Knight
15 Mrs.
Helen Ziegler
18 Mrs.
Barbara Hoenig
19 The
Rev. Norman Prochnau
The
Rev. Hannelore Nalesnik
22 Mrs.
Esther Richmond
24 Mr.
Steven Couts
25 The
Rev. Dr. Lynnette Delbridge
27 The
Rev. Gary Harke
February Anniversaries
3 The Rev. & Mrs. Richard Michel
15 The
Rev. & Mrs. Charlesworth Edwards
Churches celebrating February anniversaries:
2
- 1964 - Trinity, New Carrollton, Maryland
9
- 1749 - Warwick, now Lititz, Pennsylvania