A Word from Gary
Lenten greetings to all. As we make our pilgrimage to the empty tomb
this year, may you truly grow in your commitment to Christ. The prayer in the Daily Texts for Ash
Wednesday was at the very heart of what it means for our district to be a
missional church -- "Lord God, in this season of Lent may we be reminded
that you seek mercy rather than sacrifice.
Instead of denying ourselves in the body, we resolve to share the spiritual
food of Jesus with our neighbor. Amen."
That, indeed, is a reminder of the calling that is ours every day and
especially during this season of Lent.
It reminds of a loving God who asks of us only that we share that love
with a hungry world. As you grow in
your relationship with Christ this Lenten season, culminating with the resurrection
joy of Easter morning, may you find new and exciting ways to live out your
faith as you follow the Risen Christ in mission.
The significant
events that occurred in February included working with the Fellowship and
Gnadenhutten congregations in the call process. We are happy to report that the Rev. Wellesley Ferguson has
accepted appointment as the half time pastor at Fellowship. Also, during the month, Brother Bill Hosking
announced his acceptance of the call to the Ephraim congregation in Wisconsin. This also means that the Reading pastorate
will be open because Barbara will be joining Bill in the summer months.
As we enter into
the month of March, I want to highlight some very important events: the
installation of the Rev. Wellesley Ferguson at Fellowship on March 2, the
alumni luncheon and reunion for Moravian Theological Seminary graduates on
March 6 including the awarding of the John Hus award to Brother Doug Caldwell,
the Weber lectures with Miroslov Volf at the seminary on March 7,
the gathering of the District Candidate Review Committee with four
potential ministerial candidates on March 8, memorial services for
Brother Al Frank at Dover at 3:30 pm on March 1 and at Central at 2 pm on March
8, the beginning of the call process for a second pastor at Palmer on
March 1, the beginning of the call process at Lancaster on March 12, the beginning
of the call process at Reading on March 24, and the next meeting of the
District Synod planning committee on March 31.
I would remind
all pastors and board leaders that your 2007 Annual Reports are now long
past due. Less than half of our district congregations have
submitted their reports thus far. Please make this a priority.
I would also remind pastors and board leaders to make sure to begin talking
about preparing a grant proposal for the two "Mission Development Grants"
that will be awarded in August (one for up to $10,000 and one for up to
$5,000). Make sure your grant proposal is on Lucille's desk by noon on
August 1. If you mail it, make sure that it has arrived by that date
because none will be considered if they arrive after that. Don't
forget our District Synod on June 18-21 on the campus of
Moravian College (delegate registration is also past due but many congregations
have still not registered their delegates -- please see to this promptly).
Finally, as I
respond to the annual reports, one of the notations I make is that our financial
picture as a district for 2007 turned out to be much better than we had
feared. Our gratitude goes to all those congregations that fully shared
in our common ministries and benevolences. However, there are a few
district congregations that have still not submitted their 2007 assessments in
full -- remember, interest is added to any of the administrative assessments
not paid on time. You also need to be aware that your synod
delegates will have voice but no vote if the administrative assessments from
2007 are still in arrears. Please see that this responsibility is covered
in the VERY near future. It is only through your partnership that we
can truly be a district in mission with Christ.
As you journey
through Lent, 2008, remember that God walks hand in hand with you. Blessings.
~ Gary
Pastoral Changes
Brother
Bill Hosking has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the Ephraim
Moravian Church, Ephraim, WI. Brother
Hosking has served the Lancaster Moravian Church since 2002. He will complete his ministry at Lancaster
at the end of March. Bill’s spouse, Barbara
Rich, will conclude her ministry at the Reading Moravian Church in early summer
and join Bill in Wisconsin in June or July.
Brother Wellesley Ferguson has accepted an appointment to serve
part-time as the pastor of the Fellowship Moravian Church and additionally
has accepted an appointment to District Service to provide assistance to the congregations of New York
City. He will be available for pulpit supply, program enhancement,
hospital visitation, etc., for the other NYC congregations. We welcome Brother Ferguson into our
pastoral circle again. We look forward
to the possibilities for full time call down the road. He will be installed at Fellowship at 3 PM
on March 2.
Prayer Concerns and Joys
It is with great sadness that we share
that Brother Albert Frank entered the more immediate presence of our
Savior on February 4, 2008. Brother Al
served the church in the Eastern West Indies, at pastorates at Philadelphia
Third, Dover First, and Dover South, as well as the Moravian Archives, the Moravian
Music Foundation, and as an adjunct professor at Moravian Theological Seminary. Services were held in Germany on February 14
with the burial in Herrnhut. Memorial
services will be held on Saturday, March 1, at 3:30 pm at First Moravian
Church, Dover, Ohio, and on Saturday, March 8, at 2:00 pm at Central Moravian
Church, Bethlehem, PA. Erdmute and
little Erdmute will be in the states for the memorial services. Erdmute’s address in Germany is:
Goerlitzerstrasse 8, 02906 Niesky, Germany.
We remember all the family in prayer.
Our condolences to the family of Sister Virginia
Stoltz who entered the more immediate presence of our Savior on Feb.
26. Virginia and Gordon served
congregations in the Eastern District until his retirement in 1979. Brother Stoltz died in 1999. Sister Stoltz was residing at Moravian Hall
Square.
Please uphold Bishop Blair Couch
as she faces surgery on March 7 for a colon resection. A cancerous polyp was found during a
colonoscopy on February 15.
Also uphold our brothers and sisters who
have recently been hospitalized.
Brother Fred Lehr is rehabilitating at home following hip
replacement surgery. Sister Kay Rohn
is home recovering from surgery. Sister
Pat Honszer is doing well following surgery for a kidney stone. Baby Declan Patrick Edwards is home and doing well
following his hospitalization.
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 Denny Rohn, Leslie McKoy, Sharon Conn, Sam
Propsom, Kathy Nicholas, Katherina Gordon, John Hoenig, Sandra Thigpen, and Glenn
Heintzelman.
- 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.
May 3, 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Annual Penn-Mar Mission Society Meeting - at Graceham
Moravian Church, Graceham MD. Theme for
this year's event is "In It For The Long Haul", and features speaker
Mark Ebert, Director
of Volunteer Ministries for the Board of World Mission.
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.
February 28, 2009 - cruise sponsored by the Moravian Church of
Downey. For more information visit the
cruise website at www.Moravian552Cruise.com
or phone 562-927-0718; or e-mail moraviancruise@aol.com.
Continuing Education Event for Pastors and Youth Workers at
Advent Moravian Church April 18-19
Over the years we have
gotten something confused. We have come
to the place where we see busyness, activity, and numbers as meaning that we
have a successful ministry with children and youth. But these were hardly the benchmarks used by Jesus as he focused
his ministry on discipleship through relationships. Furthermore, as Jesus
gathered his team of disciples, he didn’t just bring them in and send them out,
he spent a significant amount of time with them developing their relationship
with God. This event will offer congregational
leaders, especially those working with young people, the opportunity to focus
their attention on the thing that is most important: being attentive to the
voice of God in their ministry.
Our keynote speaker will be nationally known
author Mark Yaconelli. Mark is the co-founder and Director of the Youth Ministry
and Spirituality Project. He is the
author of Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Christ,
and Growing Souls: Experiments in Contemplative Youth Ministry. Based on ten years of
research within The Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project, Mark’s
presentations will explore an approach to ministry grounded in prayer and
presence.
This workshop is
being sponsored by the Eastern District Christian Education Commission and
being hosted by Marie Couts and Chris Giesler.
This will also be offering breakout sessions during the event. Brochures have been mailed to each
congregation in the Eastern District.
That brochure is also available on-line at www.mcnp.org/youth. Cost for Moravian Church members is only
$15.00. Please contact Chris Giesler if
you have any questions at 610-867-7566 or at chris@mcnp.org .
Confirmation Retreat
The Eastern District Confirmation Retreat will be held at
the Hope Center April 25-27. Program
leaders this year will be Marie Couts and Chris Giesler. This
year’s program will center on Moravian history, polity, and faithful church
membership. This is a wonderful opportunity for pastors to bring their
confirmation class together to build community, get to know confirmands from
other congregations, and introduce Camp Hope to young people who might not ordinarily
come to Camp. Congregations are
reminded that they need to bring a male and female counselor with their
group. An information packet has been
mailed to each Eastern District Congregation.
Please reply promptly! If you
need more of the packets, please contact Chris Giesler at 610-867-7566 or chris@mcnp.org .
Birthdays and Anniversaries
March
Birthdays
1 The Rev. Donald Fulton
2 Mrs. Mary Harke
3 Mrs. Elizabeth Sawyer
4 The Rev. Abzal Sahadath
5 The Rev. Marvin Henkelmann
Mrs.
Wilma Henkelmann
7
Mrs. Mary
Ellen Henkelmann
Mrs. Alma McMahan
The Rev. Sayward Lippincott
8 The
Rev. Dr. David Schwarz
The
Rev. Leslie McKoy
12 Mrs.
Geraldine Eichman
The
Rev. Peter Skelly
Mrs.
Joyce Trievel
18 The
Rev. Dr. Howard Cox
19 The
Rev. George Richmond
21 The
Rev. Michael Johnson
23 Mrs.
Susan Sommers
25 The
Rt. Rev. C. Hopeton Clennon
30 The
Rev. Dr. David Schattschneider
31 Mrs.
Marie Couts
March
Anniversaries
1 The Rev. Wanda Weidman & Mr. Richard
Everhart
9 Mr. & Mrs. John Ziegler
12 The
Rev. Barbara Rich &
The
Rev. Dr. William Hosking
20 The
Rev. & Mrs. Gary Straughan
23 The
Rev. & Mrs. John Hoenig
27 The
Rev. & Mrs. Douglass Norwood
Churches celebrating March anniversaries:
5
- 1939 - Calvary, Allentown, PA
14 - 1886 - Great Kills, Staten Island,
NY
14 - 1951 - Mountainview, Hellertown, PA
25 - 1752 - First, York, PA
27 - 1966 - John Hus, Brooklyn, NY