Gathering Around the Table of Oneness
at the 12th Interprovincial Bishops’ Conference

One the name in which we pray, one our Savior day by day;
with one cup and with one bread, thus one cov’nant way we tread.
One in spirit, one in life, one amid earth’s frequent strife;
one in faith and one in love, one in hope of heav’n above.

Moravian Book of Worship, #525, verse 3

No hymn better describes the spirit and tone of the 12th Inter-Provincial Bishops’ Conference held in Watertown, Wisconsin, August 19-22, 2004, attended by 13 bishops of the Moravian Unity residing in the Southern and Northern provinces. Marquardt Village graciously and generously hosted the bishops for their bi-annual meetings in which prayerful attention is given to items and issues affecting the life and spirit of the Moravian Church. Theological and doctrinal questions, the order of the church, the office and function of Bishops, and Unity issues all received attention. Among the more specific items discussed were “the meaning and role of the Moravian Unity,” “curriculum revision at Moravian Theological Seminary,” “the Bishop’s role in doctrinal/theological/ scriptural conflicts,” and “a policy on who does the preaching at services of ordination and consecration.”

A demonstration of the Moravian Church’s long-standing commitment to ecumenism in an afternoon of discussion and fellowship was the presence of the Right Rev. George Carlson (Madison, WI) and the Right Rev. April Ulring Larson (La Cross, WI), bishops in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Right Rev. Steven Miller, (Milwaukee, WI) and the Right Rev. J. Neil Alexander, (Atlanta, Georgia) bishops of the Episcopal Church. The Moravian Church is in a Full Communion relationship with the ELCA while discussions are underway with the Episcopal Church seeking to bring our two denominations into that same relationship. This first of a kind gathering of Bishops from the three church bodies was truly an expression of the common faith we hold in Jesus Christ as Lord and our desire to serve and follow the Christ in faithfulness and obedience in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. The blessing of true fellowship was profound.

The office of Moravian Bishops carries a unique and distinctive characteristic among the many denominations and church bodies. Bishops, while having no administrative function or geographical assignment, are entrusted with responsibility of serving as spiritual advisors, bringing counsel to provincial leadership and our congregations, serving as pastors to pastors and their families, engaging in intercessory prayer for the church, and officiating at ordinations and consecrations as commissioned by the respective Provincial Elders’ Conference.

As significant as the results of conversation on the various issues and concerns was the spirit of unity around the table. Though a variety of opinions and understandings were shared, sometimes differing with one another, all decisions made were ultimately made by unanimous consensus in coming to agreement on each of the assigned agenda items.

This was truly a demonstration of the belief of just how important it is to stay at the table with one another. The attitude of “my way or no way” found no voice in the conference.

The next Interprovincial Bishop’s gathering will be in 2006 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the Southern Province hosting the event. Bishops Graham Rights and Lane Sapp will be coordinating the conference.