March 10, 2025
Dear Moravian Friends:
We, the bishops serving in the Northern and Southern Provinces, greet you with the grace, mercy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ, our Chief Elder. We send you this letter as we find ourselves in a divided world that needs God’s love. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote these words to a church that was in the midst of deep conflict, “Now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13)
We realize divisions have found their way into our families, communities, and congregations. Into these difficult moments, we lift up the Moravian ideal of “In all things, love.” This notion calls us to lean in with more determination to see that all of God’s children feel the love of God and to advocate for those who have no voice when injustice is evident. We are alarmed by the current state of division and acrimony found in the United States and the bending of the Gospel message to support Christian nationalism.. We stand with our Moravian brothers and sisters and their countryfolk who seek asylum and legal status with our resources and advocacy and encourage all Moravians to do everything possible to assist their successful navigation through the path to citizenship.
The Board of World Mission has posted the following statement regarding cuts in USAID for our consideration:
The Board of World Mission is not a recipient of federal grants and would not be directly impacted on a budgetary level, but our ecumenical partner organizations who are key collaborators in disaster response and humanitarian work are being forced to scale back, furlough staff, and restructure their efforts in the face of uncertainty and, at least, temporary funding cuts. These changes will have a ripple effect on the communities they serve, and, if sustained, would also greatly impact the Board of World Mission’s ability to partner with these organizations in relief efforts.
BWM’s global partners and Moravian communities could experience increased strain as food aid and community development programs are reduced or eliminated. We are committed to our partnerships and will do what we can to meet needs and sustain the vital work occurring within our partner areas, but we recognize that we cannot replace the full scope of what could be lost (February 15, 2025).
As Moravians, we affirm the essential that God creates, redeems, and blesses. We also affirm that our response is essential as well. We respond to God’s gifts with Faith, knowing that the One who is in us, is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We respond with Love, knowing that our relationships must begin in love, continue in love, and hold deep respect for everyone no matter their ideas or beliefs (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). We respond with Hope by looking beyond the now to the kingdom that God has taught us about. A place where God’s children are safe, lie down in peace, and believe this is our future (Isaiah 11:6).
It is our prayer that we can look upon each other and the world around us with the same compassion with which Jesus looked at a hungry crowd waiting to hear his sermon. Or the same compassion that filled the hearts of our Moravian forefathers and mothers as they left the comforts of home to share God’s love with enslaved souls in a distant land. This witness is desperately needed today. May we, working together, provide it.
We are your servants in Christ,
Bishops Serving the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in North America
Wayne Burkette
Blair Couch
Carol Foltz
Chris Giesler
Amy Gohdes-Luhman
Paul Graf
Sam Gray
Michael Johnson
Doug Kleintop
Lane Sapp
Tom Shelton
Kay Ward
Download this letter here.
