The 2025 Unity Offering has been designated for the Moravian Church in North America to support the project “Common Moravian Theological Curriculum in Spanish.” Please make a special effort to support this important work.
The Unity Prayer Day is normally held on the first Sunday in March. That means in 2025, the Unity Prayer Day Offering could be collected on Sunday, March 2nd.
Congregations in the United States should make their check payable to the Moravian Church-Northern Province and forward it to the Finance Office, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018, with a note in the memo area indicating “Unity Offering.” Canadian congregations should forward their funds to the Canadian District treasurer. Please send all offerings no later than May 31 to ensure our being able to transmit all funds to the Unity for the current year’s project.
Or use the MMFA giving portal: https://mmfa.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1265
About the Project:
Common Moravian Theological Curriculum in Spanish
Since our earliest days, the Unitas Fratrum has placed an emphasis on education, both vocational and theological. Today, there are Moravian seminaries and theological training centers across the world. These institutions are central to our ministry as a Church because they train the leaders of our Unity and give them the knowledge needed to serve our Chief Elder in their respective cultural and political contexts.
Through this Unity Prayer Day Offering, the American Board of World Mission (ABWM) will work with the Unity Committee on Theology (UCOT) and Moravian leaders and educators worldwide to produce a common theological training curriculum that can be adapted and used throughout the Unity and starting specifically with our Spanish speaking partners. This curriculum will include training in the Bible and Biblical Languages, Theology and Church History, and Pastoral Theology. Specific courses will be identified with the support of UCOT and other partners, but some example courses are listed below.
- The Bible and Biblical Languages
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- Biblical Exegesis
- Biblical Hermeneutics
- Theology and Church History
- Protestant Reform
- Moravian Theology
- Moravian History
- Theology and Gender
- Moravian Worship and Polity
- Moravian Mission
- Pastoral Theology
- Vocation and Ministry
- Worship and Liturgy
- Evangelization
- Pastoral Fundamentals
- Pastoral Care
- Administration Fundamentals
After drawing upon existing resources as well as creating what is needed – then each province will be provided this curriculum for use in their educational programming. Translations of existing Moravian resources like the Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, The Ground of the Unity, Our Moravian Treasures, Covenant for Christian Living, the Bishops’ Handbook, and more will also be provided. The goals of this effort are to better equip our clergy, to support our Moravian educational institutions, and to promote collaboration between different areas of the Unity.
1. Equipping our clergy: By providing a common curriculum, we will expand the tools our clergy have to educate themselves and their congregants. We will also remove one barrier to education for those who are far from an existing seminary and are interested in beginning new theological education efforts.
2. Supporting our Moravian educational institutions: By creating new curriculum and translating existing resources, we are removing some of the burden from our institutions, which are already working hard to educate our Moravian leadership. They will simply be able to receive the provided curriculum, adapt it as they see fit to meet the needs in their own areas, and use it in their courses.
3. Promoting collaboration throughout the Unity: With Moravians in all Spanish-speaking areas having the option to work from the same curriculum, we will be able to have cross-partner conversations beginning from a common framework. As different Provinces address issues in their own areas, this framework will allow us to identify commonalities that may allow for collaborative solutions. (In 2022, the ABWM brought leaders from all Spanish-speaking Moravian areas together for a Moravian Resources Conference. Through hearing the same presentations and receiving common Moravian resources in Spanish, leaders were able to identify topics where they had a shared experience or could learn from each other.)
Costs associated with this effort are listed below.
1. Staff time: ABWM and other members of the Unity will dedicate many hours to this effort on the organization and compilation of the curriculum.
2. Translation: It is important that materials are translated well for best use by students around the Unity.
3. Printing and distribution: Materials will be accessible online via PDF but many resources will also need to be printed and shipped.
Thank you for your support of this Unity Prayer Day Offering, which will certainly support and equip the global ministry of our Moravian Unity.