The Weekly Watchword Sets a Great Goal: Do Right!

So let us not grow weary in doing what is right. Galatians 6:9

Watchword for the Week of July 3, 2016 from 

The Moravian Daily Texts

The folks might be a little weary after yesterday’s journey and a night of sleeping on cots in a church basement, but the T-County Moravian Mission Team is ready to get up, get going, and do what’s right!

The Team arrived late last evening at the Great Kills Moravian Church on Staten Island, New York City and will be using that church as a home base during their week-long mission adventure. After breakfast this morning, they’ll take a short jaunt to Castleton Hills Moravian Church where they will lend a hand in tending a community garden. Later in the day, they’ll learn about what it means to be in mission, and about the particular places they’ll be serving this week. (Guiding them through the orientation process will be familiar friends: The Revs. Michael and Tracy Poole-Pryor.)

On this Independence Day, they’ll finish the evening in All-American style at a minor leagues ballpark watching the Staten Island Yankees and taking in the magnificent NYC fireworks display.

And tomorrow, even though they may be weary from an exciting but late night, and from another round of sleeping on cots in a church basement, they’ll roll up their sleeves for some serious service.

I hope you will not grow weary in praying for this particular batch of missionaries this week. Pray for them in their exuberance. Pray for them in their exhaustion. Pray for them to be patient with one another as they learn and grow together. Pray for their safety as they travel around New York in vans and by ferry boats and via subway trains. And certainly, pray for them to have meaningful encounters with God, with one another, and with the people they seek to serve.

Team Members

Fry's Valley Moravian Church

Gina Green

Jase Green

Gnadenhutten (John Heckewelder Memorial) Moravian Church

Mitchell Giffen

Jayden Stearns

Jeff Stearns

Darrell Johnson

Sharon Moravian Church

Lynn Reichman

Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church

Alicia Miller

Doug Miller

Jim Karcher

First Moravian Church of Dover

Nate Grimes

Sarah Sears

Matt Stephens

Alex Swarzentruber

Sam Paden

Libby Paden

Delaney O'Brien

Emily Burrell

Sydney Numbers


Photos: Courtesy of Lynn Reichman


NOTE: Brown Bags & Big Ideas will NOT be meeting today, July 4. Tuscora Park will be filled up with picnicing families, so we will not have access to a pavilion. We'll be back next Monday, July 11, noon until 1:30 p.m.

Synod Delegates Talk About Their Mission Experiences

"I was hungry and you gave me food, 

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, 

I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 

 I was naked and you gave me clothing,

 I was sick and you took care of me, 

I was in prison and you visited me." ~ Jesus

The 2016 Synod of the Eastern District was anything but a sit-still-and-listen sort of event. With its focus grounded firmly in Jesus' words from Matthew 25, The Synod sent all of its delegates into the world for a full day of serving those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, lacking in basic necessities, sick and incarcerated. In so many cases, the experiences were moving and transforming. Here are just a couple of clips of Ohio Moravians telling about what happened last Thursday. Jill Westbrook (Sharon) talks about her time helping residents of a no-frills nursing home "go shopping" for the things that make their lives a little bit more comfortable.Sue Henriksen (Dover) discusses the day she spend serving in a soup kitchen. And Seth Angel (Fry's Valley) talks about touring a prison facility and spending time with some of the incarcerated men.

If you attend Brown Bags & Big Ideas today (noon-1:30 p.m. at Tuscora Park), I suspect you'll have a chance to debrief these and other memorable Synod experiences.

Praying for Peace in the Park

Yesterday's session of Brown Bags & Big Ideas seemed especially meaningful as we shared in conversation and prayer. With so much on our minds and hearts in the wake of the violence in Orlando, our noontime discussion group took on a more serious tone than would be typical, but that seemed an appropriate response. Powerfully, we utilized the "Peace and Justice" liturgy from the Moravian Book of Worship to shape our prayers.

We talked earnestly about ways in which our churches could/should be more effective when it comes to influencing our broken world and urging one another always toward the better impulses modeled for us by your selfless Savior.

With sincere honesty, we acknowledged that our congregations are not as impactful as they may have been in the past. With energy, we raised up ideas for how we might find renewed strength for effective ministry.

We will continue the conversation each Monday throughout the summer. Join in as you're able between noon and 1:30 p.m. at Tuscora Park. (We try to meet in the shelter closest to the train-themed playground.)

By the way...

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Meet Us in the Park

Brown Bags & Big Ideas 

meets each Monday afternoon from noon until 1:30 p.m. under a picnic pavilion in Tuscora Park, and all are welcomed! Join in conversation with gathered Moravians to talk about what's going on in our churches, what could  be going on in our churches, and what God is calling us to in our communities. Bring a lunch along, or purchase something to eat from the park's concession stand.

As a special treat, the Reichmans will be bringing fruit to share tomorrow, June 13. (Thanks for your generosity!)

And that reminds me..."The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." (Galatians 5:22-23) 

Brown Bags & Big Ideas Resumes for the Summer

It's been awhile...but this BLOG is back, and we hope to fill up its pages with helpful information about what's going on in the Ohio Moravian Church World. So let's begin with something happening TODAY.

Brown Bag & Big Ideas

Today and Every Summer Monday
Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia                Noon - 1:30 p.m.

Pack up your lunch, bring it to the park, and join us for some free-flowing conversation about the things that matter to us. Some days we talk about what's happening in our congregations, some days we discuss what's happening in the world. Ideally, we figure out connections and challenges, and look for positive ways to live as people of faith in the midst of it all. We have no set agenda, so bring your ideas along with your lunch! (And if you come lunchless, you may visit the concession stand to purchase eats.)

Come for the entire time, or pop in and out as needed. Look for us under the shelter of a picnic pavilion. We try to stake out a space near the permanent buildings and playgrounds. We hope you'll join us today and/or any Summer Monday.

This Week in the World of Ohio Moravians...

TODAY, June 22

Join us from noon until 1:30 p.m. at Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia for Brown Bags & Big Ideas: A Possibility Exchange. We've been meeting informally for several weeks now, and folks have been reporting that it's a very positive thing. There is no particular agenda, so feel free to bring conversation topics as well as your own lunch. (The park's concession stand will be open in case you need to grab a quick bite.)

Can't find us in the park? Call or text Chris Johnson at 484-894-9077.

THURSDAY,  June 25

It's "Moravian Night" at Trumpet in the Land! Everyone is invited to come to the Trumpet Amphitheater (http://www.trumpetintheland.com/directions.php) beginning at 6:00 p.m. for a POTLUCK PICNIC in the pavilion at 6:30 p.m. Please bring something delicious to eat in a quantity large enough to share. (Plates and utensils and napkins and all that kind of stuff will be provided.) Then...

At 7:15 p.m. we will be treated to a lovely, charming HANDBELL concert given by The Morning Star Ringers, a youth handbell choir from Olivet Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC. It will be a fun, interactive, family-friendly happening.

Finally, you will want to attend the 8:30 p.m. performance of Trumpet in the Land, the "thrilling and compassionate story of a peaceful people's influence on the war and the tragic events that encircled the founding of Ohio's first settlement, Schoenbrunn." Who were those peaceful people? The Moravian missionaries and the Native American community they worked among! The Trumpet story is an integral chapter in the Moravian story, and a timely one even as we work through current concerns of how to live together harmoniously in a multi-cultural, sometimes violent world.

Tickets for the Trumpet performance may be purchased at the box office. $15, adults/$8, children.

FRIDAY, June 26

The "I AMs" (In-between Adult Ministries) will be gathering at the home of Christin and James Fouts at 7:00 p.m. for a hotdog roast and family gathering. Everyone in the 20-30Something range is invited for food, fun, fellowship and faith! Please bring a side dish or dessert to share with the group. The "I AMs" is organized through Sharon Moravian Church. To RSVP and to learn the address of the hosts, please call the Sharon Church office (940-92205507), or send a text to Rev. Rebecca Sisley (330-340-8701). This is an event for the whole family; children are included.

FRIDAY, June 26 and Saturday, June 27

·       Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church, 2200 East High Avenue in New Philadelphia, will hold a Garage Sale. On Friday, the sale will go from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and on Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

      SATURDAY, June 27

     

         Dover Moravian Church and its youth-led ministry Sole Purpose invite you to the 4^th Annual Kickin’ Chicken Barbecue from noon until 6 p.m. Each $8 ticket provides you with a BBQ chicken breast, apple sauce, baked beans, roll, dessert and beverage. Dine in or take-out. To pre-order tickets, contact the church at 330-364-8831. The church is located at 319 N. Walnut Street in Dover. Sole Purpose raises funds to put shoes on the feet of local kids in need. 

Brown Bags & Big Ideas: A Possibility Exchange

Pack a lunch and head to Tuscora Park
each summer Monday 
to join up with other Moravians for partnership-building, info-sharing, crowd-sourcing, fellow-shiping conversations around a picnic table. Join in the noon hour "think tank" that's being called
"Brown Bags and Big Ideas." Come to exchange thoughts about faith and life and church and everything.

Beginning on June 1, gatherings will take place between noon and 1:30 p.m. They'll be informal, so feel free to drop-in when you can, and leave when you must.

Pastors Darrell and Chris Johnson will be staking out a location somewhere in the vicinity of the Park Place/Dining Pavilion parking lot. They'll have a Moravian Star banner to mark the spot.

There's no set agenda. We'll have free-flowing discussions about what is working well in our faith journeys, and what might need adjustment. Feel free to bring discussion topics as well as resource recommendations. Most of all, though, just bring yourself!

As with all programs sponsored by the Ohio Moravian Ministries Commission, the goals are simply to strengthen our local ministries and engage in cooperative ministries for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.

What will these gatherings be like?  Nobody is exactly sure, but let's find out together!