News and Events * Moravian Church in North America

Meet the Provincial Elders’ Conference, Southern Province
2006-2010

The Southern Province Synod of 2006 elected a new Provincial Elders’ Conference (PEC) to guide them through then next four years leading up to the next Synod in 2010. Special recognition goes to the Rev. Dr. Robert E. Sawyer (11 years as president), the Rev. Tom Shelton (8 years as clergy representative), and Sister Betsy Bombick (8 years as lay representative), outgoing members of the PEC for the time and dedication they have given to the Moravian Church.

The newly constituted PEC as elected by Synod are as follows:

The Rt. Rev. Dr. D. Wayne Burkette, President

2006-2010 Provincial Elders' Conference, Southern Province.
From L to R: Kathy Sparks, the Rt. Rev. Lane Sapp, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Wayne Burkette, the Rev. Richard Sides, and Donna Hurt.

Upon the announcement of the election results, Burkette declared, “Because I see this as the call of the Lord and the call of the church, and because I love the church and I love the Lord, I accept.”

Burkette, has been serving as the Vice President of Salem Academy and College; Head of Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, North Carolina since 1994. This was just one position he has held at Salem over the years, first coming to the College as the Chaplain in 1990 and serving in that capacity until 1992 when he was appointed Chaplain and Chief Planning Officer. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Burkette received his Master of Divinity degree from Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1969. He was consecrated a deacon of the Moravian Church in 1969 at Trinity Moravian Church by Bishop Samuel Tesch. In 1975 he was consecrated a presbyter by Bishop George G. Higgins. In 1978 he received his Doctorate of Ministry from the Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. In 2002, at the Provincial Synod of the Southern Province, he was elected a Bishop of the Moravian Unity and was consecrated as such by the Bishop Graham Rights, Bishop Kay Ward, and Bishop James C. Hughes in July of that year. During his years in the pastorate, he served at Olivet Moravian Church, Home Moravian Church, and Fairview Moravian Church all located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Burkette has been an ongoing and active member in many areas of the Moravian Church serving on the Moravian Archives board; serving as vice-chair of the 1998 Provincial Synod; serving on the Provincial Financial Board; serving as a Unity Synod delegate; serving on the Moravian Seminary Trustees; and serving on the Salem Congregation Board of Elders as Chair, to name a few.

Burkette is also a vibrant member of the community and greater educational system through his memberships on the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools; Southern Association of Independent Schools, Commission on Accreditation; National Association of Secondary School Principles; Home Moravian Church; Rotary Club of Winston-Salem; and the Wachovia Historical Society.

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Burkette still lives in the town where he was born. He is married to Nancy Ruth Witherspoon Burkette, who serves as the Executive Director of Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina. The have two adult daughters, Allison Paige Burkette-Tschumper and Amanda Ruth Burkette Grimstead.

The Rev. Richard L. Sides

This is a second consecutive term on the PEC for the Rev. Richard “Rick” Sides. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Master of Divinity degree from Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1975. He also completed graduate work in education from Wake Forest University. He was ordained a deacon of the Moravian church in 1975 and consecrated a presbyter in 1980 both by the Bishop George Higgins. He has served pastorates at Emmaus Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (student pastor, 1972-1974); Christ Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (1978-1981); and Home Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Associate Pastor, 1981-1994). From 1974-1978 he served as Director of Laurel Ridge and since 1994 to present Sides has served as Executive Director of the Board of Christian Education. He is an active member of the Interprovincial Board of Communication for the Moravian Church in North America and has led annual trips to the Holy Land from 1995-1999, renewing the tradition again in 2006 when he led a trip in January.

In relation to his ministry, Sides said, “After a lifetime of church involvement as a child and young adult, while teaching public school I felt a strong call to give my life (skills, gifts, time, and energy) to the church and its mission in the world for Christ. I wanted to minister to people in whatever way God can use me through the community of faith.”

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sides lives with his wife Elizabeth Ann Guthrie Sides. They are the parents of two adult children, John and Laura.

The Rt. Rev. Lane A. Sapp

Sapp makes a return to the Provincial Elders’ Conference serving before from 1995-2002 under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Robert E. Sawyer. He is a graduate of High Point College and received his Master of Divinity degree from Moravian Theological Seminary in 1987. He was ordained a deacon of the Moravian Church in 1987 by the Bishop George Higgins and was consecrated a presbyter in 1993 by Bishop Burton Rights. In 2002 at the Provincial Synod he was elected as a Bishop of the Moravian Unity and was consecrated as such on July 7, 2002 by the Bishop Graham Rights, Bishop James Hughes, and Bishop Robert Iobst. He was the organizing pastor of Good Shepherd Moravian, Winston-Salem, North Carolina from 1987-1996 and has been serving as senior pastor of Calvary Moravian in Winston-Salem, North Carolina since March of 1996.

Beyond the PEC, Brother Sapp has been actively involved through the years on the Board of Christian Education (1988-1990); Board of Evangelism & Home Missions (1995-1999); the Board of Elders of the Salem Congregation (1997-1999); and the Board of Trustees, Moravian Theological Seminary (1992-2002).

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sapp lives with his wife, Lilyann Baker Sapp and their twins, Jonathan and Charles Sapp.

Donna Hurt

The election at the 2006 Synod makes this the second consecutive term on the Provincial Elders’ Conference by Sister Hurt as a lay representative. She is a member of Grace Moravian, Mount Airy, North Carolina, where she serves on staff as the Director of Christian Education. Her primary focus in this role is adult and intergenerational ministry.

For the last four years, she has also served the province on the Board of Christian Education and was re-elected by Synod to continue another term on that board.

Sister Hurt grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as a member of Home Moravian Church. She graduated from Meredith College with plans to teach high school math. After 16 years in the classroom (interrupted by time off when her children were young), Donna felt called to enter Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, where she earned a masters degree in 1995.

Hurt resides in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She is the mother of three grown children and is a new grandmother.

Katherine “Kathy” Sheek Sparks

This is Sister Sparks first term on the Provincial Elders’ Conference as the lay representative. She has been a member of Macedonia Moravian Church, Davie County, North Carolina, all but five years during which she was a member of Oak Grove Moravian Church in Forsyth County, North Carolina.

She is a former employee of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, where she worked from 1960 until her retirement in 1994. She has served on the Provincial Women’s Board of the Southern Province and the Mission Society of the Moravian Church, South. At Macedonia, she has served at different times as a member of the Board of Trustees, President of the Women’s Fellowship, playing in the church band, singing in the chancel choir, and one of the coordinators of the Senior Ministry program. Most recently she served as Vice-Chair of the 2006 Southern Province Synod.

Upon election to the PEC she said, “I am looking forward to serving my Lord and Savior as a member of the PEC. I know it will be challenging, but He is sufficient to see us through and will be faithful if we will just seek His guidance.”