Moravian Church in North America
In Essentials, Unity; In Nonessentials, Liberty; In All Things, Love.
In Essentials, Unity; In Nonessentials, Liberty; In All Things, Love.
On the cover: Laurel Ridge Senior High Campers make the most of a rainy day. Photo by Lynn Davis.
For generations of Moravians, the weeks spent at a Moravian summer camp represent pivotal events in their spiritual growth. While having fun, making friends and communing with nature, campers build a closer connection to their faith and to God.
There are a lot of places you could go this summer. You could travel to New York, the city that never sleeps, or to a quaint New England town. You could hop a plane to L.A. and hob nob with celebrities; hitch a ride to Omaha, Nebraska for a taste of Americana; or take a bus to Washington, D.C. and try to change the world.
May I offer an alternative for your consideration? Come to the top of the mountain at Laurel Ridge.
My guitar and I stood in a quick-draw face-off with a car appearing to be moaning over the thought of pulling my camp bulk up and over the continental divide for a fifth time in two months. My eyes went back and forth from my over packed car to my seldom-played guitar, remembering that with limited skills, little practice, and with numbness in my hand associated with a bulging disk, I figured that I was being overly optimistic about camp songs reverberating over the hills as they had in summers past; plus, my role for the next six days was to lead nature hikes, so the guitar could, as it had all summer, stay at home. But suspecting that Laurel Ridge's Junior 3 camp was going to have a small staff with few musicians, I shook my head and stuffed one more bulky item into the back seat. My thought: Why am I putting this guitar in my car?
Hope Conference & Renewal Center, an outdoor ministry of the Eastern District, is preparing for hundreds of campers and staff members to experience a memorable week of camp this summer. The season will be filled with swimming in the pool, boating on the lake, singing and learning in Hassler Hall, meeting new friends, laughing at campfires, playing basketball and volleyball, worshipping by the lake or on the hill, and much more.
What do you get when you mix cardboard, tie-dyed stockings, guitars, running across a field trying not to be tagged, stars across the expanse of the sky, and an opportunity to grow in faith with children, youth and even adults over age 50? The answer is Western District camps.
The essence of faith is to be alive. We as followers understand that to be alive is to be renewed each day, to experience life in the light of a joy that surpasses all understanding, and live in and share the love of a Savior. At Camp Van-Es kids come to experience just that.
The Mid-states camping program will return to Tar Hollow State Park near Chillicothe, Ohio on July 21-27 for Senior/Post High Camp for 2013. The mid-states camping program has been held at Tar Hollow since 1948.
California Moravian Youth Camp has been a fun and meaningful part of every summer for decades. Young Moravians have been blessed by the relationships and profoundly spiritual experiences afforded by camp each year.
Moravian Bishop Kay Ward will share her faith and wisdom with sisters from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as she hosts a nine-month Bible study event on the pages of Gather magazine.
Gather is the magazine of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Rt. Rev. Ward is author of the Bible study, "In Good Company: Stories of Biblical Women," which will run in the magazine from September 2013 through May 2014.
Some of my memorable ministry experiences working with youth and adults have come from short term mission trips. As I began my position as the Director of Youth, College and Young Adult Ministries in the Southern Province, I wanted to see if there was any interest among our college students for a Spring Break trip to Staten Island to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and to see New York City. Two trips were offered the first two weeks of March, and thirteen college age young adults answered the call to serve. Here are some of their experiences:
The brothers and sisters of the Palmyra Moravian Church rejoice as we celebrate our 150th Anniversary on May 17, 2013. Our mission statement: "Grow in Faith, Live in Love, Share the Hope, as we Journey with Jesus" will guide us as we continue to serve the Lord through the ministry of our congregation.
I always get excited driving to Mt. Morris in Wautoma, Wis.; not just because of the beauty Mt. Morris has to offer but because of the people I am going to meet upon my arrival. The weekend of March 1-3, 2013 was no different.
I traveled west on Hwy 21 from Oshkosh, Wis. with a car full of four young adults. As we got further from the cities and closer to Mt. Morris I started to feel my excitement building. I thought about the laughter to be had, the songs to be sung and the inside jokes that only this special group will understand and fully appreciate.
Day of Pentecost
Watchword for the Week – For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8:14
Sunday, May 19 – Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34,35b
Romans 8:14-17; John 14:8-17,(25-27)
They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. Psalm 106:20
Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
Come, Holy Spirit, come. Renew us with your grace. Empower us with your gifts. Fill us with your joy. Come, Holy Spirit, come! Amen.
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May 2013
Zinzendorf's Pennsylvania JourneyCount Zinzendorf speaks once again in this collection of sermons preached during his sojourn in Pennsylvania in the 1740s. These sermons, translated by Craig Atwood and Julie Tomberlin Weber, will touch your heart as they did those who heard them more than 250 years ago.