550th Anniversary – Moravians Find A Makeshift Sanctuary at Sea

by Deanna Hollenbach
November 2007

Maybe it was the warmth of the sun in mid-October, or the fragrant air from the tropical flowers and bushes, or the deep blue and turquoise of the ocean but something cried out renewal as 99 Moravian travelers hit the high seas on the Crown Princess and toured the churches of St. Thomas, Antigua, and St. Kitts during the Moravian 550 Cruise.

The cruise, hosted and sponsored by Downey Moravian Church in Downey, California, was a brainstorm of a few dedicated individuals who decided such a great idea should become reality. Under the direction of the Rt. Rev. C. Hopeton Clennon, his wife, Shelia Clennon, Paul & Pam DeTilla, Don & Luanne Korn, and Phil Voigt, intense planning began. All of the Moravian Church in the United States and Canada were invited to participate in the Cruise, which was promoted to the provinces through The Moravian, Province and District websites, and the website set up especially for the cruise, www.moravian550cruise.com. Registrations began to roll in and excitement began to build as the “Cruisers” list began to grow and represent many different areas of the Northern and Southern Provinces (Alberta Canada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Carolina – 27 Moravian congregations in total represented).

October 20th arrived and our Moravian group began to arrive at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York City by bus and car, some even flying from across the country or from another country overnight. Some were expert cruisers and others were first-timers, but all were glad to be there to begin the adventure. The Crown Princess would be our new home for the next seven days; actually it seemed to be a mansion with its immaculate and luxurious interior inviting us to many activities and entertainment options as we traveled three days at sea. On Wednesday, October 24, 2007, the ship docked in St. Thomas and the group gathered on solid land for roll call (it’s hard to keep track of so many!). Soon we were greeted by the Rev. Eulencine Christopher, Minister of Christian Education for the Virgin Islands conference, and a friend holding a sign of welcome to our group. We followed to our open air buses called safaris to begin our day. The first stop was Nisky Moravian where the boys and girls of the Moravian School, Nisky Campus, greeted us with rejoicing, singing voices so strong you would have thought there were thousands inside. Singing and dancing these beautiful children captured our hearts and filled us with an excited and renewed spirit for the rest of our journey. Also on hand to speak to us was the Rev. Errol Connor, pastor of Nisky, and the many teachers and helpers for the school who made us a tasty Caribbean breakfast.

The next stop was Memorial Moravian, just down the road. Inside we were welcomed by members of the congregation, children from the Moravian School, Memorial Campus, and the Revs. Winelle Kirton-Roberts and the Rev. George Bedford.

Traveling on we made our way to New Herrnhut Moravian Church, on a winding road, up the hill toward the center of the island. Here we had a renewal of wedding vows for two cruisers, Reid and Sharon Lauderman, were welcomed by the Rev. Anique Elmes-Matthew, Pastor of New Herrnhut, and had a moment of reflection by the Rev. Lillette George, pastor of Bethany & Emmaus Churches on St. John, one of the islands we were not able to visit. A special presentation of a Trombone was made by John and Karen Hedgecock of the Downey congregation to Dr. LeRoy Trotman, who leads both the Men's Chorale and Brass Choir at New Herrnhut. Finally we were treated to a very special lovefeast with homemade buns carefully made with love by members of New Herrnhut. We celebrated lovefeast Caribbean-style, sharing portions of the bun with others as a sign of fellowship and unity with one another. Historically, we were refreshed to walk on the same ground as Leonard Dober and David Nitschman did when they came to St. Thomas in 1732 with the New Herrnhut congregation being planted in 1737. New Herrnhut is the oldest Moravian Church in the Western Hemisphere and the first in the Eastern West Indies Province.

Only halfway through the day and already we felt we had seen so much! Off we were to our lunch destination, Magens Bay beach, one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world according to National Geographic Magazine! There cruisers had a choice, swim, shop, or return to the ship. For those of us who swam, the water was warm and crystal clear and the palm trees swayed with the ocean breeze. For those who shopped, there were great treasures to be found.

On Thursday, October 25th, we awoke to find ourselves docked in Antigua. Apparently the islands are so close that we had unknowingly docked in the middle of the night. Our day began at Spring Gardens Moravian Church with a service of worship with wonderful refreshments following. During the service led by the Rev Adrian Smith, Pastor of Cana Moravian Church, we met the Rev. Cortroy Jarvis, Chairman of the Provincial Elders’ Conference, Eastern West Indies, who still serves as the pastor of Spring Gardens; the honorable W. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; the Rev. Adrian Lewis, associate pastor of Spring Gardens Moravian Church, and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Kingsley Lewis, who gave us a brief history of the Moravian Church in Antigua. We were also greeted by the pre-schoolers of the Spring Gardens School located adjacent to the church. We continued on from there to tour Cana Moravian Church, Gracehill Moravian Church, and Gracebay Moravian Church. Gracehill hosted us for a wonderful feast of a lunch in a tent outside of their building, a building that was built by the Rev. William Gramley who lives in our Southern Province. Imagine our surprise as we saw black and white photos of a very youthful Reverend Gramley assisting in the construction! They even provided musical entertainment for us. At Gracebay we witnessed half-ruined outbuildings that are the remains of the camp where they used to hold activities for youth. These remains reminded us of how delicate the environment is and the fact that the islands face hurricanes that quickly destroy what they have built.

In addition to our church tours, we stopped at the Dow's Hill Interpretation Center where we had astounding views from above along with an informational historical presentation, we continued on to Shirley Heights Lookout where we could again take in the beauty of the islands while vendors treated us to shop their handmade jewelry. Again we were given a choice of shop or swim, with some of us traveling to Turners Beach, just one of the islands 365 beaches, for a dip in the very blue ocean. Back on the boat after a very long and fulfilling day, we experienced night storms that were powerful and beautiful all at the same time, prayers fulfilled that rain held off until our Moravian tour had ended for the day.

On Friday, we awoke to a new scene, that of St. Kitts. We were brought to tears and appreciation of sacrament at a communion service at Zion Moravian Church led by the Rev. Denise Smith-Lewis. We visited Bethesda, Estridge, and Bethel Moravian Churches, very much aware of the differences in structure and locale. Here in St. Kitts we were struck with the many signs along the road asking for social awareness about AIDS and health issues such as breast cancer and a need to keep the environment clean. We viewed the Black Rocks and Black Sand Beaches created by the volcano that birthed the island but no longer lives. And during our tour we visited the Brimstone Hill Fortress squeezing our vans on one lane roads and through tunnels only barely big enough to let us through to the treasure of this place that was huge in history and in size. We saw rainforests and flowers and the creation of Batik cloth that made crafters and non-crafters alike amazed. Our return to the ship that night was the last night of our journey as we headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we would once again go our separate ways, back to life as we know it.

What did we learn? An appreciation for a more leisurely pace, what some of us call “island time.” While the beauty of the island can be breathtaking, we were struck with the realization that many in our world live in small shacks, with little luxury or even amenity. Those shacks are juxtaposed against large, colorful homes that obviously create the landscape of many of the islands. We found Moravian churches, in the midst of busy life, in buildings that may need repair or congregations who struggle for funds, but yet they were full to the brim with wanting to do ministry, with succeeding at their task to bring the Good News to the lives inside the doors, and with a great sense of generating hospitality to lives outside the doors. We were overwhelmed with their generosity and excitement of meeting their brothers and sisters from the United States and Canada. Their vibrant personalities and desire to serve filled us at every stop and created a new-found zeal for what the future might hold. And on the ship, we learned about our fellowship with one another, of meeting Moravians from within our own Provinces, some of whom we may have never otherwise met.

For seven days, we were at sea, learning and loving in a sanctuary outside of the church building, being rocked and comforted by God’s creation. The services in this make-shift sanctuary were rich to the core. Who could ask for more?

Deanna Hollenbach serves as Executive Director of the Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in North America. She served as staff photographer for the Moravian 550 Cruise; photos can be seen by visiting www.webshots.com and searching with the words “Moravian 550 Cruise.”