A Pastoral Letter to the Moravian Church,
Southern and Northern Provinces

August, 2006

In the name of our Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we bring our warmest greetings from the 13th Interprovincial Bishops Conference, meeting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from August 3 to 6, 2006.

As we approach, in the year 2007, the 550th anniversary of the founding of the Moravian Church, Unitas Fratrum, in 1457, and the 275th anniversary of the Great Missionary Movement of our Renewed Moravian Church in 1732, we are thrilled with the emphasis on reclaiming the “mission outreach” of our beloved Church. We urge all entities of our denomination to accept the call to share the good news of salvation and unconditional love in Jesus Christ, reflected by the positive spirit and outlook that was experienced in each recent Synod of our provinces.

We appreciate the vision and direction our elected administrative leadership has been providing for our Moravian Church in moving from maintenance to mission. We believe our Church is receiving new direction from our Head and Chief Elder, Jesus Christ, and that the promise of power is assured as we anticipate and experience renewal in joyful service in Christ’s Kingdom.

We celebrate the particular blessings God has bestowed on the Moravian Church with its heritage of mission, its undergirding of music, its long history of outreach and service, its distinctive memories and traditions, and its unique world-wide fellowship as brothers and sisters in Christ. These gifts are to be shared with the wider community and focus us upon new opportunities for evangelism.

We remind one another that we are provinces, called by Christ to minister together in mutual love and respect. We affirm our connectedness and service together as essential characteristics of our identity as Moravians. We affirm the foundational expressions of our identity - musical and liturgical heritage, Covenant for Christian Living, Ground of the Unity - and urge our pastors and congregations to interpret them in ongoing educational ministry.

We welcome the call of the Provincial Elders’ Conferences, North and South, to urgent prayer for peace in the Middle East and wherever there is war and conflict in the family of the nations of earth.

God has blessed us with committed clergy who need our prayer support and encouragement as they share their pastoral ministry among us. Even as we have expectations of ministry from this leadership from our pastors, we likewise have opportunities to minister to our pastors and their families.

In the name of our Chief Elder, we urge our mutual commitment to engage in his mission as we experience the unfolding story of our unity in Christ, knowing that “Our Lamb has conquered: let us follow him.”

Yours in Christ,