The Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America reports on 9 August 2024: ‘Hurricane Debby caused significant damage in Florida earlier this week and is now moving north along the east coast of the USA. The BWM board is currently investigating the destruction caused by the hurricane and is in contact with Dion Christopher, pastor and chairman of the district board of the Moravian Church in the US states of Florida and Georgia.’ He wrote that Sarasota in particular was hit hard. The house of the Moravian pastor there, Thomas Williams, was flooded to a depth of one metre. He lost almost everything, including his cars. Members of his congregation are already helping him, but they need the help of other Moravian Congregations. Prayers and donations for damage repair after Hurricane Debby are welcome. See here.

In July and August 2024, staff of the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center SMRC in Palestine (West Bank) took part in two five-day summer training courses attended by a total of 90 boys and girls from Palestinian villages. These training courses had the following objectives Acquiring social skills for practical life, having fun with recreational games, psychological relaxation in times of crisis. The two events took place on the premises of a partner organisation in Deïr Abu Meshal, 25 kilometres north-west of Ramallah. They were part of the Positive Youth Engagement project and were supported by the Tamkeen Foundation and the globally operating Mercy Corps. The Star Mountain team ensured that the concerns of people with disabilities were also addressed at the training sessions. Many photos hier.

On 16 August 2024, the Nicaraguan government banned over 1000 different NGOs. Among them is ADSIM, Asociación Instituto de Desarrollo Social de la Iglesia Morava, the social organisation of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua. ADSIM has worked in many ways to improve the living conditions of the people on the east coast (mostly Miskitos), for example by providing health services, promoting agriculture and training. ADSIM has also provided Emergency Aid during disasters such as the recurring hurricanes. The ban on ADSIM appears to be part of the Nicaraguan government's fight against the churches.

As the first Thursday in August is the day of prayer for the Unity Province of Honduras in the Moravian Church in North America, Fr Angel Yoperel, the President of the Province, after thanking for a variety of material and personnel support in difficult times, passes on the following prayer requests: ‘Please pray 1. that there will be no more schism in the Moravian Church in Honduras; 2. that there will be no kidnappings and no murders in Honduras; 3. for the upcoming Synod in 2025; 4. for the construction of the provincial office in Honduras, the construction of the Bible school in Puerto Lempira and for the mobile Bible institute in La Ceiba, Atlantida; 5. that there are no natural disasters in our country; 6. for our reconstruction projects (houses and plantations); 7. that we have the necessary money for our ecclesial-social work and that we receive the spirit of unity; 8. that our two bishops give good advice; 9. for the needs of the two provinces; 10. for the dissemination of the watchwords in our country.’

On 9 August 2024, women in South Africa celebrated National Women's Day, a milestone on the country's path to freedom. The Moravian Church in South Africa MCSA also recognised the courage of women in 1956, writing: ‘Let us together celebrate our resilient and strong women. National Women's Day is a South African bank holidays that commemorates the 1956 march in which 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to hand over a petition with more than 100,000 signatures against the racist Pass Laws. The laws required all black people to carry a passport at all times in order to control and curb the process of urbanisation (migrant workers). The protest, organised by the Federation of South African Women against Apartheid, was also supported by mothers, daughters, sisters and friends from the Moravian Church.’ More here.

Several churches in South Africa, including the Moravian Church, had called on people to take part in a ‘50 Days of Prayer for Reconciliation’. This prayer vigil began on 16 June 2024 and ended on 4 August. The prayer was entitled One Heart. For many people in South Africa, 16 June is a day of mourning, because on 16 June 1976, the blood of schoolchildren was shed during the so-called Soweto riots on the outskirts of the city of Johannesburg. Since 1995, 16 June has been a public day of remembrance and celebration in South Africa as Youth Day. There was also a special guide for the 50-day prayer. See here. The call to prayer was made in reliance on God's promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14: ‘If my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.’

The Moravian Church in South Africa also commemorates the revival in old Herrnhut in August 1727 every year, especially in the tradition-conscious congregation of Genadendal. On Sunday, 18 August 2024, Genadendal celebrated a Herrnhut Children's Festival to commemorate the piety of the child Susanne Kühnel in old Herrnhut. Pupils from the local school pick flowers to honour the legacy of Sussanne Kühnel. See here. A local honey ‘Golden Goodness: 100 percent pure natural honey (R170) from the farm “The Hippy Haven” was presented this weekend. Produced and bottled with love for nature’. See here. Children from Greyton Primary School visited Genadendal on 14 August 2024 and immersed themselves in the history of the place in a special way at the local mission museum: ‘in a way they will never forget’. See here.

The large church of the Moravian Church in Genadendal, South Africa, was filled to the last seat for the Children's Festival service on 18 August 2024. The church is usually only decorated in such rich style for the Children's Festival. The motto of the service was: ‘Unity in Song and Spirit’. Child-orientated preaching, a play, various testimonies and, of course, choir singing alternated with each other. But there was also singing in great fellowship. See a video of the children singing here. The children from the schools in Genadendal and the schools in the surrounding area also took part in the children's festival service. Genadendal, founded in 1738 by the missionary Georg Schmidt, now has a population of 5,800. The Moravian Congregation in the village has almost 1,900 members. The church music in Genadendal has long been led by Andy Davids.

The Moravian Church's Summer Camp 2024 for young people from the district of Matanzas (Cuba) ended on Saturday 17 August. A review on Facebook states: ‘The pastor couple Obed and Alay Martinez lean back. They haven't done that for days. They say their last prayer. Their hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the happy faces of the young people, for the help of volunteers from Jagüey Grande, for the money from the Moravian Church's Cuba Foundation. They sigh: So many dear people! They raise their prayers to the God of life for every young person. At the camp they laughed, were full of energy, spoke of the dreams they want to realise, of their aspirations. So much innocence! They gave thanks for over 25 young people between the ages of 12 and 30. The couple were able to accompany most of the young people from an early age, while others joined them later.’ The full report, some videos and 30 pictures here and here.

Ecology has been a major topic for the Stichting Onderweijs of the EBGS (School Foundation of the Moravian Church in Suriname) for years. In the middle of the summer holidays, the foundation now drew the attention of all children in the country to two illustrative children's books published in Dutch by the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature). Both books present a green family and focus on ecological and nature-friendly behaviour on holiday. They are available both for purchase in bookshops and for free download. See here: The Green Family travels to the Surinamese interior and The Green Family is travelling to Bigi Pan. The foundation writes: ‘Take time to read! Find a shady spot and get to know the Green Family! Suriname has many wonderful animals and many traditional customs. We will give away a package of Green Family books, colouring books and other books if you send us beautiful holiday photos with your comments showing the beautiful Surinamese nature.’

On Saturday, 3 August 2024, there was a big children's day at the Moravian Church Youth Centre in Paramaribo as part of the current festive month of August, the annual Moravian month. The Moravian Church in the country reported on the event on Facebook as follows: ‘What a wonderful day! Today 250 children came together in our youth centre to celebrate together. We commemorated the great revival in Herrrnhut in the summer of 1727 with singing, meditation on a special text and interesting talks. It was a day full of joy, inspiration and fellowship.’ Not only were delicious snacks and drinks prepared, but also games for older and younger children and a clothes bazaar. A short video of this event here. On the evening before Children's Day, the young people were invited to a street evangelisation. See here.

The July 2024 issue of Wegweiser, the magazine of the Moravian Church School Foundation in Suriname, is dedicated to singing. An introductory article states that it has been scientifically proven that children who have mastered an instrument perform better at school than children without specialised musical skills. The article then mentions that the Moravian missionaries in Suriname encountered a singing slave population in the 18th century. Singing helped the people to cope with their difficult fate - a good starting point for the Moravian Mission. A second article recalls what led to a school festival organised by Mavis Noordwijk in 2018 entitled ‘Praising and extolling the Moravians’. At the time, the teacher regretfully realised that schoolchildren no longer sing the way they used to. To the article here. A video (30 minutes) of the 2024 Singing Festival in the Great City Church in Paramaribo here.

The opening service of the recent 78th Synod of the Moravian Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the Holy Cross Moravian Congregation in Santa Cruz/St. Elizabeth was broadcast on the Internet. See here. The theme of the synod was: Living as God's people in a digital Babylon. - On the occasion of Jamaica's independence from the British Empire on 6 August 1962, the leadership of the Moravian Church once again streamed its Annual Emancipation Lecture. The lecture was given by Lowel G. Morgan, Judge of the Supreme Court of Jamaica, and dealt with the background of slavery and its effects up to the present day. Beginning at 19:30, the lecture tells of the involvement of the Moravian Church in the system of slavery, but also of its contribution to overcoming this system. The complete lecture under the title ‘Freedom come: Understanding Land Rights, Ownership and Estate Planning Considerations in Jamaica ’ here.

The Moravian Church in North America celebrates a Moravian Day of Service every year. The next such day of action is planned for 15 September 2024. A special website with information videos has been set up. See here. Call from Bishop Chris Giesler here. The Facebook call to congregations to take part in the day of action states: ‘On this day, congregations should focus their worship services on the theme of serving others and raise awareness of the importance of mission work as a response to God's love. The day aims to encourage congregations to reflect on ways to make a concrete difference in mission and demonstrate a desire to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. The day can also be used to recognise the service that people are doing in mission, encouraging others to get involved too.’ There is also a prayer guide. Contact the organiser:chris@moravianmission.org.

A dedicated Facebook page has been set up for the 14th Moravian Women's Conference, which will take place from 22 to 28 June 2025 and will provide constant updates. The conference will be a very special one, as it will not take place at a specific location, but on a cruise ship travelling through the Caribbean. More here. In this way, many different encounters are possible. The motto of the conference is based on Psalm 119:73: Fashioned - Focused - Faithful. 15 August 2024 was the last day on which those sisters who would like to give a talk or present something at the conference should register. More about the rough planning of the programme here. The region in which the huge cruise ship The Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas will be travelling and docking at several islands is shown here. The voyage, and therefore the conference, begins and ends in the harbour of Fort Lauderale in Florida, the Venice of America.

• Several directors of the Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America connected digitally on 30 July 2024 for a conference with pastor and evangelist Will Cuthbert. He lives in Costa Rica, but also does great work outside the country's borders in the BWM's Spanish-speaking partner regions (Peru, Brazil, Nicaragua, Honduras, Koba). A snapshot here.
• Angelica Regalado-Cieza, BWM's Director of Practical Missions, had the opportunity to speak at an evening meeting, the South Branch Regional Conference Fellowship Supper, of various congregations in the Winston-Salem/NC area in early July 2024. The focus was on the Blessings Flow project of the Moravian Church in Honduras on the Mosquitia River, a drinking water project for which a total of 2,000 US dollars was collected. Some photos here.

The mission organisation of the Moravian Church in Denmark BDM presents the Tanzanian pharmacist Ibrahim Mahimbali, who looks after the pharmacy at Sikonge Hospital, in an online article. See in Danish here. The employee, who was hired three years ago, ensures that the necessary medication is ordered in Dar es Salaam in good time and is always in stock at the hospital in the Western Province of the Moravian Church in Tanzania. The pharmacy is also used by external people and institutions, even by a state hospital. The pharmacist says: ‘I most frequently dispense antibiotics for inflammation, followed by diabetes medication and tablets for high blood pressure. I trained as a pharmacist for two years, and I still have two years of further training ahead of me. The pharmacy used to have a lot of debt, but now it's in balance.’ The pharmacy is located in the centre of the hospital grounds. Sikonge Hospital serves a population of 210,000 people.

• On 11 August 2024, a seminar for evangelists ended in the small Moravian congregation of Bujela, Tukuyu region. Pastor Jeremia Kapyela led the seminar. Two photos here.
• The Moravian Church Secondary School in Lutengano was very proud recently. The head of the Mbeya political region, Juma Zuberi Homera, praised the standard of the school. He encouraged parents living in the area to enrol their children at Lutengano. The school has done well in performance comparisons and is the best in the district. A short video with excerpts from the politician's speech here.
• The Mahenge Moravian Congregation in Kiwira near Rungwe is planning to build a new church. There are many pictures of a fundraising day on Sunday, 11 August 2024, in aid of the church building with numerous prominent guests and several choirs from near and far. See here. The chairman of the Tanzanian Southern Province, Ezekiel Mwasamboma, preached at the festive service. Some pictures of the service and the choir performances here.

On its website, Alaska Travel magazine invites you to visit the regional capital of Bethel on the Kuskokwim River (40 miles from the Bering Sea). See here. Bethel was home to 6,400 people; it was the largest indigenous congregation in Alaska. With the establishment of a mission station in 1884, the Moravian Church ensured that what had been a trading post since 1870 became a real town. Before the settlement was named after a place in the Holy Land, the indigenous Yup'ik living here called themselves ‘Mumtrekhlogamute’ (i.e. Smokehouse People). More than two thirds of the population of Bethel are still Yup'ik today, who fish for salmon, hunt wild birds and gather berries. In Bethel there is a local Moravian congregation, the Moravian theological seminary and a Moravian bookshop. The Unity Province of Alaska includes 24 congregations. 

The Moravian Congregation Rhine-Main invites you to a bibliodrama workshop on the weekend of 13 to 15 December 2024 in the so-called Lichtenburg on the Herrnhaag above Büdingen. Costs for accommodation, meals and materials EUR 50 per person. Led by Trevor Leonard Engel (South Africa/Germany). Overnight stay in the sisters' house. It is about the creative appropriation of the Bible text Genesis 32:1 to 33:16 (Jacob and Esau) with drama, painting and writing as well as other methods. The workshop, entitled Discover the depths of biblical stories, is intended as a pre-workshop for a main workshop from 11 to 19 August 2025, also at Herrnhaag, with participants from South Africa, Tanzania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany. Registrations until 13 November 2024 to Rev. Katharina Rühe. Telephone: +49 6101 9844 577. e-mail: katharina.ruehe@herrnhuter-in-hessen.de. More here.

On the occasion of the Day of Prayer for the Iglesia Evangélica Morava En Perú on 15 August 2024, proclaimed by the Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America, new prayer information from the country is available on Facebook. See here. It says, among other things: Pray for: ‘the physical health of our pastors, for the registration of the church with SUNARP (Superintendencia Nacional de los Registros Públicos), for growth in the Moravian Church in Peru, for the pastoral leadership of the Moravian Church in Peru, for Unity among women, for wisdom in the fulfilment of God's will, for the congregation ‘El Admirable’ in Zaña and its evangelisation work, for overcoming the political problems in Peru, for an end to corruption in both the executive and legislative branches of Peru, for the eradication of violence against women, for our participants in the meeting of the ‘Unity Women's Desk’ UWD in Winston-Salem/NC’.

A monument has now been erected to the Latvian singer and songwriter Haralds Sīmanis in his birthplace of Cesis. He lived from 1951 to the end of 2022 and was one of the supporters of the re-established Moravian Church in Latvia. With his charismatic stage presence, the Latvian troubadour delighted adults and children alike. He repeatedly performed at Moravian Church events (including in Rauna, Lubana and Ringi) and was also a welcome guest at the annual Moravian Church summer camps in various regions of Latvia. Before he devoted himself to the guitar and singing - his father was Roma, his mother Latvian - he was a well-known sportsman and even became Latvian junior downhill skiing champion in 1967. The trained roofer also helped to build churches. Gundars Ceipe, the pastor of the Moravian Church in Latvia, recently laid a few flowers at his memorial in gratitude. Pictures here.