Board of World Mission Update, Sept. 4-6, 2019

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Hurricane Dorian Update Board of World Mission (Sept. 6, 2019)

As of the early morning hours of September 6, 2019, Hurricane Dorian continues its northern trek up the eastern seaboard and is far from done with its ability to do damage. As reported earlier the Moravian congregations on the Caribbean islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas and Tortola were largely spared heavy damage from the storm. They are reporting only minor water and wind damage.

Our Moravian brothers and sisters in Florida were also spared any significant damage as the storm made a turn to the north. We then turned our attention to our Moravian brothers and sisters in Wilmington, NC at the Covenant Moravian Church. We are thankful to report that they came through the storm in very good shape. While Pastor Jeff Jones has not heard from all members as of yet, he reports that the church building lost only a gutter. Pastor Jeff’s home lost power for only a brief period of time early on Friday morning but this has since been restored and his property is otherwise in good shape. We are aware that isolated areas around Wilmington suffered from tornado and flooding damage, so we certainly want to keep them in our prayers as they move into a recovery mode. The Covenant Moravian Church has hosted mission teams helping with recovery from Hurricane Florence and this work will only continue.

Dorian’s greatest damage to date has been in the Bahamas and while we don’t have Moravian congregations there, we are still quite concerned about the loss of life and the catastrophic damage to homes, buildings, and infrastructure. Our United Methodist partners do have congregations there and if you are led to support them, we ask that you send your donations to the Board of World Mission marked for the Bahamas and we will forward them to UMCOR, the United Methodist relief organization.

We ask for your continued support of the Moravian Disaster Response fund which allows the BWM to respond to disasters immediately with funds for emergency needs, as well as ongoing rebuilding projects. US residents can send donations to: The Board of World Mission, 1021 Center St. Bethlehem, PA 18018. Canadian residents can send donations to: The Moravian Church in Canada, 600 Acadia Drive SE, Calgary, AB T2J 0B8. US residents may also give online by going to www.moravianmission.org/give. Please mark your donation “For MDR”.

 

From Sept 4:

The Board of World Mission would like to bring you up to date on two places in the Moravian world that need our prayers and support. First, we are happy to report that the Moravian congregations on the Caribbean islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Tortola were largely spared heavy damage from Hurricane Dorian. They are reporting only minor water and wind damage. As the storm tracks north, we hope and pray it will miss Wilmington, NC since we are still sending mission teams, hosted by the Covenant Moravian Church, to repair damage in the area caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018. While we do not have Moravian congregations in the Bahamas, we ask your prayers for all those whose lives have been impacted by Dorian. We also ask for your continued support of the Moravian Disaster Response fund which allows the BWM to respond to disasters immediately with funds for emergency needs, as well as ongoing rebuilding projects. US residents can send donations to: The Board of World Mission, 1021 Center St. Bethlehem, PA 18018. Canadian residents can send donations to: The Moravian Church in Canada, 600 Acadia Drive SE, Calgary, AB T2J 0B8. US residents may also give online by going to www.moravianmission.org/give. Please mark your donation “For MDR”.

We also ask your prayers for the Moravian Church in Nicaragua where a deep-seated conflict has unfortunately led to some violence. Delegations from the Unity Board of the Moravian Church have sought to aid in reconciliation, but so far, a lasting resolution has not been found. The actions of some involved with the conflict are not consistent with who we are as Moravians. This is an ongoing and ever-changing situation that we are monitoring closely. We pray that a peaceful resolution can be found and for wisdom for the leadership on both sides of this conflict so Moravians in Nicaragua can again be the love of Christ in their country.

For more on the Board of World Mission, visit www.moravianmission.org.