A Message From the Unity President

On 1 March 2007 we were greeted with the following watchwords:

“I the Lord do not change”
— Malachi 3:6

“I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is, and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”
— Revelation 1:8

These beautiful texts given to us as we commemorate 550 years of God’s faithfulness and guidance through every era of global and local challenges. We stand in awe of the unchanging gracious God reassuring us of his ever present Spirit to lead us on.

As a pioneer church of the Protestant Missionary movement we praise and thank God for all the opportunities and the courage received from on High to prosper the Gospel.

The inspiring Word of God urges us to be obedient to the necessary zeal of our spiritual fore-bearers as Zinzendorf said: “Tell them about the Lamb of God until you can tell them no more.” We find encouragement and inspiration when we consider the faith and obedience of committed men and women who suffered persecution, were exiled and driven from their Homeland. The prayer of Comenius that “God would preserve a hidden seed” found favour and was nurtured and grew into a tree spreading its branches to all continents.

We hold dear our belief that our church was from her inception a unity of sisters and brothers. Through our intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ we are bound in fellowship with one another. We are enriched by our diverse cultures as we strive to build our unity at home and abroad. Through the years of outreach and establishing God’s reign the visible unity of the Church could be encountered in the sharing of human and material resources, through our constant prayers and fellowship.

Today we are called to renewed witness as we praise and thank our ever faithful and gracious God. We are called to witness in a world where most Christians have to live by faith in difficult and depressing situations of poverty, ethnic conflict, political oppression, gender exclusiveness, economic deprivation, religious and racial intolerance including social moral and cultural divisions, pressures of secularism, materialism and the growing technological culture. All these things raise profound challenges to our methods of evangelism and mission. Our Church has been deeply challenged by the influences of the charismatic movement.

These developments cannot be denied or rejected. We have to deal with this and other challenges constructively and courageously in the rich tradition of our history. The missionary outreach especially in Africa tasks all of us to participate vigorously and enthusiastically to enhance the witness of our Brothers and Sisters under difficult circumstances.

We are called to be actively involved in the Church universal and share our rich heritage in the Ecumenical bodies where we are represented. This will enhance the witness of Christ’s presence in the world.

With the watchwords for the year 2007, God is calling us to: “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” — Isaiah 43:19 God is summoning us to perceive the new “thing” He has started. It is a renewal calling to bear witness to God’s reconciling, healing, and transforming power in our personal lives, in our congregations, Provinces, and Unitas Fratrum.

Let us allow God to renew us, to use us as His instruments of fervent prayer and outstanding witness, as we continue to win Souls for the Lamb! We are called by ONE God to ONE Church to delight in the joys of sincere worship and faithful service. May the commemoration of a rich heritage fill your cup and give you peace.

Sincerely, your Sister in Christ,
Angelene Swart
President, Unity Board