The situation at the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center SMRC in Palestine remains tense. The war in Gaza between the radical-ismalist Hamas and Israel does not directly threaten the SMRC in the West Bank. However, the Palestinian territories have been closed off to Palestinians since 7 October, when Hamas attacked Israel. Many have lost their jobs in Israel and now have no income. The economic crisis is also hitting Star Mountain hard. Many parents can no longer find the money to pay for transport for their children and young people to Star Mountain. They therefore have to stay at home and receive no support. "We need additional funds in this special situation," explains Ranya Karam, Director of the Star Mountain. "Every donation can help to give the children a bit of routine and peace of mind in their everyday lives at Star Mountain. This is very important in this uncertain and desperate situation in society and in the families." You can donate here. 

An electoral synod was held in the Moravian Church in Malawi at the end of October 2023. A new church leadership was elected in the rooms of the Moravian Church's Light of Hope School on the edge of the huge Dzaleka Refugee Camp (currently 60,000 refugees) operated by the UNHCR near the capital Lilongwe. It now consists of Rev. Mussa Mwangulukulu (Chairman), Rev. Joseph Chapinda (Deputy Chairman) and Rev. Mourice Chikhawo (General Secretary). Two pictures here. The beginnings of the Moravian Church in Malawi date back to the 2000s. It works in the status of a Unity Province. Today, there are ten congregations in Malawi with around 1,800 members. As far as the work in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp (school, child care centre, women's centre, various social projects) is concerned, the Moravian Church in Malawi works together with the state and also with other NGOs.

The Zeister Zendingsgenootschap ZZg's Christmas gift campaign for Suriname has recently begun. It has become a wonderful, heart-warming tradition: at Christmas, the ZZg supports elderly people in need in a nursing home (e.g. Huize Albertine and Huize Francis), single mothers with children and children in special institutions (Sukh Dhaam children's home, Leliëndaal children's home, Rebecca Scheltz boarding school for girls). The ZZg writes: "You can make people happy with a small gift, with some food and with a simple Christmas party. Every year we hear that it is very special for Surinamese people that we think of them in the Netherlands. The General Social Service of the Moravian Church in Suriname is our partner. They make sure that the Christmas parcels are distributed, they think about the organisation of the Christmas party and they listen carefully to young and old who could do with a little more attention than usual at Christmas." More in Dutch here.

On Wednesday, 1 November 2023, the Friedrich Steahelin School of the Moravian Church celebrated its 75th anniversary in Paramaribo, Suriname. The highlights of the celebrations were a thanksgiving service and a social get-together, which was also attended by a number of former pupils - including an 81-year-old - who reminisced. However, help was also requested at the anniversary: Time is taking its toll on the school's historic building. The building urgently needs a new coat of paint. An appeal was made: "The Friedrich Staehelin School is calling on all its former pupils to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the joint endeavour to renovate the school. The renovation work is an opportunity to give something back to the school from which you have received so much. Practical help with the renovation work is also welcome. Please contact the school management in this regard." Some pictures here.

Singing and dancing and celebrating together, talking and listening to each other, eating and drinking together - that's what it was all about for 500 people at the recent 100th anniversary of Sikonge Mission Hospital in the Western Province of the Moravian Church in Tanzania, with the Unity Board Administrator UBA, Jørgen Bøytler, in attendance. More in Danish here. Several choirs had written special songs for the occasion. Craftsmen were busy completing a monument and a new entrance area for the hospital. Seamstresses were busy making new festive dresses. Chickens were brought in from the small villages in the neighbourhood to be slaughtered. If you wanted to go to the hairdresser, you had to book in advance so that not everyone was at the door at the same time. The entire hospital, including the grounds and outbuildings, was spruced up. All inpatients received a small gift.

The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was the first German head of state to pay an official state visit to Tanzania from 30 October to 1 November 2023. During his dialogue with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, he emphasised the importance of economic cooperation, among other things. At a joint press conference, the Tanzanian President also emphasised the goal of expanding trade and investment between the two countries. Frank-Walter Steinmeier was particularly keen to see greater promotion in the field of renewable energies. The second focus of Frank-Walter Steinmeier's trip to Tanzania was the colonial past of the former German East Africa. Speech here (german) and here (Swahili). By asking for forgiveness for the crimes of German colonial rule, the President fulfilled the demands of many civil society groups, not least the missionary organisations. More among others here.

The second part of the report by Katharina Rühe, Moravian Church Rhine-Main, on the partnership visit to the small Moravian Church of Ibungu in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania in summer 2023 can be found in the congregation newsletter for November/December 2023. see here (pages 4+5). To quote from the opening section of the report: "On the very first day, we managed to persuade the Tanzanian cook sisters to let us help them cook. We scooped out rice, cracked beans and chopped tomatoes and spinach without a board or table using huge knives. We lit the firewood in the cookhouse and filled the large pot with rice and vegetables. At the end, we asked if we could cook something ourselves. So it was our turn one afternoon. The young people present and Zainabu, our cook sister, watched with great pleasure. In the end, we sat in the church and ate our pasta with tomato sauce in a big group."

In times of political and ecclesiastical crisis, a synod was held in the Unity Province of Nicaragua in mid-November 2023. The synod members met in the Iglesia Morava Ingnika Raya in the provincial capital of Managua. A picture (see here) shows the new church president, who bears the title of superintendent in Nicaragua.The previous superintendent, Rev Evenor Ismaël, can be seen seated behind the liturgy table. At the microphone is the newly elected superintendent, Rev Fredimil Muller. Next to him is the 2022 elected Mayangna Bishop Rogelio Juan Zacarías. During the synod, the Rev. Crispin Orozco was also consecrated as a presbyter (ordination level between pastor and bishop). This was performed by Evenor Ismaël and Rogelio Zacarías. The Moravian Church in Nicaragua is divided into the minority of the officially recognised Unity Province and a majority that is not officially recognised. The split is primarily based on political tensions within Nicaragua and less on theological disputes. The Unity Synod, which took place in Cape Town in September 2023, is attempting to initiate a reconciliation process in Nicaragua through messages to both parts.

"As Premier and on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, I apologise for all that has been done to school children, families and all Inuit in Labrador. I am sorry that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador allowed crimes to happen and that they did not step in to protect the children who should have been protected." This is what Andrew Furey, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, said to the residents of Hopedale and Makkovik on Thursday, 2 November 2023, during the third of six promised visits to Labrador. Inuit Toby Andersen from Makkovik, who was forced to attend a government residential school at the age of 12, accepted the apology on behalf of the residents of the semi-autonomous Inuit region of Nunatsiavut. However, this is only the first step towards reconciliation. Material compensation must follow. For example, there is still no doctor in Makkovik. Only three times in four years has a doctor from distant St John's been to Makkovik. - To a large English-language article by CBC News with reports from the former Herrnhut mission stations Makkovik and Hopedale here.
 

At Bethlehem Moravian College BMC in Malvern/St. Elizabeth on Jamaica, a renowned vocational training centre of the Moravian Church, one sporting event followed another over the past few days. Sport plays a very important role in all training programmes. In a football competition for college teams, the BMC team defeated the youngsters from Church Teachers' College in Mandeville 2:0 to continue their unbeaten streak. Some pictures here. Later, the team from Northern Caribbean University, also from Mandeville, was defeated 2:1 on the college campus. Some pictures here. Finally, the BMC women's netball team outclassed the team from Montego Bay Community College 21:10. Pictures here. Netball is a team game similar to basketball that uses a lighter and softer ball than basketball and is played without a board behind the basket.

Sanica Montague (photo left) and Sanya Boyd (photo right) from Bethlehem Moravian College BMC, a vocational training centre in Malvern/St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, were awarded the Esme Morgan Early Childhood Scholarship. See here. The award is a full scholarship that opens up special funding opportunities for the scholarship holders for one year. Congratulations! For some time now, the BMC has been running the BITS Academy. The trainees can acquire various IT skills here, e.g. website design, marketing, graphic design and cyber security. Alpha members of the IT Club, i.e. new members, are trained by club president Aljay Hamilton. Pictuers here. The IT Club also offers its services externally. It writes on Facebook: "Contact us today! We will design a professional website for your company." The Omega members of the IT Club are responsible for suitable photographs for websites. See here.

Following the success of the first such afternoon a few weeks ago, another fair and fun afternoon for all generations, a so-called Zatertag Braderie, will take place on 4 November 2023 from 4 to 9 pm at the Moravian Church Youth Centre in Paramaribo, Suriname. Invitation and programme with information on offers here and here. "Come to our colourful afternoon on the first Saturday of the month. We offer: Horse riding, pedal car rally, face painting for children, fun games, upbeat music, food stalls, clothes stall, fair and sales stalls and much more. All stall holders will be accommodated in one hall, so it is not necessary to have your own tent. Electricity consumption is included. Seating available. Fee for a catering stand SRD 700 (EUR 17.50), for all other stands SRD 350 (EUR 8.70). Small businesses can also rent a stand to advertise their products!"

On 5 November 1928 - 95 years ago - the doors of the Graaf von Zinzendorf School, the Moravian Church's first mulo school in Suriname, opened in Paramaribo, Suriname. See here. Previously, only girls were taught in this building in a kind of missionary primary school. As there were no secondary schools for local children at the time, the initiative to found a Mulo school was taken in 1928. Mulo (Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs = Extended Primary Education) was a type of school in Suriname until 2021. The four Mulo school years after the six years of primary school were divided into Mulo-A, which focussed more on economics, and Mulo-B, which focussed more on science. After completing Mulo, the children could transfer to a three-year preparatory school (VWO = Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs), which led to university, among other things.

As a small but global church, the Moravian Church is extraordinarily colourful. The term colourful is often used in a figurative sense: diverse in terms of language, culture, history and theology.  Sometimes, however, the Moravian Church is also a colourful church in a very literal sense, such as recently in Leichester (UK), when a coloured sister celebrated the Independence Day of her homeland Antigua and Barbuda with her festive and colourful service dress. See here. The sister's dress is reminiscent of the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, designed by Reginald Samuel in 1966, a few years before independence from Great Britain in 1981. see here. The seven rays of the sun symbolise the beginning of a new era. Red symbolises the blood from the time of slavery and the fiery temeprament of mankind. Blue symbolises everlasting hope. Black symbolises the soil and the omnipresent African heritage. The triad of gold, blue and white symbolises the main attractions of Antigua: sun, sea and sand. Finally, the V symbolises victory. The theme of the Leichester Moravian Church service was: "Power of Art - Beauty of Music - Serenity of Prayer".

Four years ago, on 31 October 2019, Ladakh gained its new status as a Union Territory of India after the Jammu and Kahmir Reorganisation Act came into force. Prior to this, Ladakh was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Now the new structures are beginning to take effect. In this context, the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor, Brigadier Dr B. D. Mishra, met with the Director of the Moravian Institute in Rajpur near Dehradun, Thsespal Kundan, at his Raj Niwas residence in Delhi. During the audience, he informed the senior government official about his initiatives to set up a new type of teacher training programme at state schools in Ladakh. He had previously been introduced as an expert for this specific task at a round table meeting between the Deputy Governor and Ladakhi leaders in July 2023 (see here) to discuss various problems facing the country.

The President of the Republic of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, in office since July 2022, visited the Ladakh region from 31 October to 1 November 2023. On 31 October 2023, she attended the official celebrations of the fourth foundation day of the Union Territory of India Ladakh in the city of Leh. Press release here. A short video of this event in the 24x7 News Ladakh here. Pastor Danish from the Moravian Church Shey was invited to pray publicly with the President at an interfaith ceremony in Leh on 1 November 2023. The Moravian Church has been working in the Ladakh region for 140 years; it had previously been active in the Lahoul region for 30 years. There are currently three Moravian Churches in Ladakh - one each in Leh, Shey and Khalatse (with outposts). And there are three Moravian Church schools in Ladakh in addition to other congregations and schools in other parts of India (in the states of Uttarakhand and Assam) that have been established as a result of the work of the Moravian Church in Ladakh. Director Elijah Gergan in a longer TV interview about the Moravian Mission School in Leh, which is considered the best school in the city, here. Click here for the school's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MoravianSchoolleh?locale=de_DE

Dr hist. Gundars Ceipe (Riga) spoke on 28 October 2023 in Riga's St Peter's Church on the topic "The Herrnhut Watchwords - a spiritual asset for the world and also for Latvia". See here (25 Min.). The lecture was given at the 8th conference in the church theme year Colours of the Reformation, organised by the Latvian Evangelical Alliance (LEA).Another lecture on this day was given by Dr phil. Beata Paškevica, a Germanist at the Latvian National Library. She spoke on the topic of "Lutheran texts in the Latvian language edition by Friedrich Bernhard Blaufuß (1697-1756)". See here (35 Min.). This lecture also had a connection to the Moravian Church, as Friedrich Bernhard Blaufuß was one of its most important friends and supporters in the early days. He had studied theology in Halle a. d. Saale and then worked as a house preacher for Magdalena Elisabeth von Hallart, née von Bülow, in Wolmarshof (Valmiermuiza). It was she who invited the Moravians to Latvia and ensured that they spread throughout Livonia and Estonia.

For around 15 years, the diverse network of relationships between Herrnhut and Halle Pietism has been the subject of intensive academic research. And the intensity of research continues to increase. Much of the research is also related to the Herrnhut Mission. A conference taking place from 22 to 25 November 2023 at the Francke Foundations in Halle a. d. Saale bears witness to this. See here. The conference is entitled: Halle and Herrnhut Pietism: Conflicts, Strategies, Practices. Speakers from the Moravian Church are Christoph Theodor Beck (Gnadau), Paul Peucker (Bethlehem/PA), Peter Vogt (Herrnhut) and Peter Zimmerling. Click here for the topics of all 25 presentations. Leading researchers from Denmark, Canada and the USA will also be attending the conference. Registrations by 15 November 2023 to annegret.jummrich(at)izp.uni-halle.de.

Pastor Ipyana Mwambona from the Moravian Church in Tanzania (Eastern Province, Dar es Salaam; Chamazi congregation) recently offered a new Moravian Church hymnal via Facebook, along with three other books (Bible, Liturgy Book, Watchwords for 2024). See here. He wrote: "The delivery has arrived! We can finally start using the new book of Christian songs. Order now! There are only a few copies left". Within a very short time, the pastor received many enquiries and orders via Facebook. The slogans in Tanzania have the somewhat misleading title Kiongozi Kalenda (Calendar for Leaders). See also hier. They contain the watchwords and the teaching text for each day as well as a great deal of personal and function data, addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers - and no third texts. In Tanzania, the watchwords are also often broadcast over the radio (Radio Baraka FM) and the village loudspeaker radio.