At the beginning of October 2024, Ranya Karam, the director of the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center near Ramallah (Palestine, West Bank), gave an interview to the Brødremenighedens Danske Mission, the Danish sister organization of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe, in which she talks about her dreams and the current situation on Star Mountain. In the interview, she says, among other things: “The current war affects us all. It's really depressing. But when we compare ourselves to the people in the Gaza Strip, we tell ourselves not to be depressed. But in fact we are. At the same time, in a way, we are still blessed because we have food on the table. We We can't go anywhere without worrying.” Read the interview in German translation here.

Abel Appel, synod president of the Moravian Church in South Africa, reports on the results of the elections at the most recent synod of the Unity Province of South Africa in Jeffreys Bay from September 28 to October 5, 2024. “Under the doctrine of October 3, 2024, which reads about Jerusalem and the cities of Judah: “You shall be inhabited and rebuilt,” the first female bishop of the Moravian Church from Africa was elected: Rev. Rochelle A. Petrus. May God guide and bless her! Pray also for the new provincial council and especially for the two sisters serving there: for the chair of the church council, Br. Lizwi X. Mtumtum, and his deputies Ntsikelelo C. Tyokolwana and Msawenkosi P. Sambane. Jerome A. Slamat was also elected bishop of the Moravian Church. The new synodical board is composed as follows: Br. David W. Daniels, Schw. Coleta J. Wesso and Schw. Colleen E. Cunningham.” For the original report here.

At the beginning of October, the 2024/2025 academic year began in all schools in Suriname. After a long summer break, the staff of the Moravian Church School Foundation in Suriname welcomed around 13,000 children and young people in 65 schools across the country who are learning under their responsibility. At the Graf von Zinzendorf School in Paramaribo, Pastor Lucia Breeveld opened the new academic year with a morning blessing and a prayer. See here. She said: “I wish us all the very best for the new school year. After all, we experience the school year together.” There are also some pictures from the Ludwig Schütz School in Paramaribo. See here. There, the first weeks of school were referred to as the golden weeks. During the morning blessing, it was said, “The greatest thing you can give children is a chance!” Teamwork makes the dream work!

The information magazine of the Moravian Church Mission Society in the Netherlands, ZZg Nieuws (October 2024), has just been published. See here.The editorial on pages 2/3 (by Daniël Claas) and an article on page 7 (by Urmie Mingoen) focus on the 300th anniversary of the educational work of the Moravian Church, particularly in Suriname. It also covers the Mission Festival in Zeist on September 21, 2024, and the Mission Society's Christmas campaign in 2024. This time, donations are requested for gift vouchers for families of schoolchildren in Surinam who struggle to buy teaching materials. Several projects funded from the Netherlands are then presented: Paramaribo: transit house for pregnant women from rural areas; Malawi: El Niño disaster relief; Honduras: clean water project; Suriname: pre-school support; Suriname: theological seminary; South Africa: Elim Home.

The World Evangelical Mission (WEM), of which the European-Continental Province of the Moravian Church is a member, has put a seven-minute film about the Cook Islands online. See here: The film's promotional material reads: “Join us in Rarotonga and learn how marine biologist Teina Rongo and his organization Kōrero o te 'Ōrau are passing on indigenous knowledge of heaven, land and sea to future generations. From diving at the endangered reef, to growing fruit and vegetables on traditional terraces in the mountains, to sporting events promoting a healthy lifestyle – Teina Rongo shows how sustainable decisions based on traditional knowledge can protect our environment and ensure a better future, and what role the church and faith play in this.” Further material for the preparation of the World Day of Prayer 2025 can be found here.

Angelica Regalado-Cieza, director of mission operations for the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church in North America, recently visited Costa Rica to strengthen relationships with church leaders and congregations in the small Central American Unitarian province. She also offered a Zoom Bible study for members of all four congregations (two in San José and two in Limón). The meeting focused on the spiritual life in the congregations and future challenges. Angelica Regalado-Cieza also made a detour to the Latin American Bible Seminary (UNELA), an important institution for theological studies in the region. She discussed possible ways of cooperation, as the Moravian Church is developing a curriculum for pastors and lay preachers in Latin America. It was also important to attend a service in the poor congregation of El Refugio, which, after moving to a commercial hall made possible by donations from the USA, still has quite modest premises, but is nevertheless very lively. Pictures here.

On October 11, 2024, two new classrooms at the Moravian Church School in Pokigron in the tropical interior of Suriname were officially opened. The ceremony was attended by Sandra Panka, director of the Moravian Church school foundation in Suriname, Vishal Jadnanansing, head of the Moravian Kersten group, several local politicians, the school management and, of course, the children of the popular school and other guests. The ceremony began with a warm welcome from the children, who sang a welcome song, followed by a morning blessing. After this inspiring start, the dignitaries expressed their appreciation to the school management and the village authorities for the important school project and for its positive impact on the congregation. The Kersten boss said: “We believe in the success of our company (a former missionary company), but also in our responsibility to society. Education is the key to the development of every child, and a good education lays the foundation for a successful future.” The company spent $50,000 on the construction and equipping of the two new classrooms. More here.

Get ready to win Suriname for Jesus! Under this motto, young people from the Moravian Church in Paramaribo, Suriname, and other young people are invited to a missionary sing-along, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting point is the centrally located Moravian Church Youth Center (Johan Raillardlaan 5-7). A short invitation video can be found here. On Facebook, it says: “After a few months break, we want to get back out there with worship songs. Come share the good news of Jesus' love. We will encourage people, pray with them, and pray for healing if they want. Are you seeking your calling? Here is your chance to get started! Do you find it difficult to talk to strangers? Then sing with us. Can't sing? Then pray instead! Don't let the difficulty of praying stop you.”

In July 2023, Daniël Claas of the Moravian Church's mission organization in the Netherlands visited the Moravian Church's Soender Singh Girls' Boarding School in Paramaribo, Suriname. One year later – in July 2024 – he was there again and found a beautifully renovated classic wooden building. Many individual donors in the Netherlands, as well as visitors to the 2023 Mission Festival in Zeist (€10,000!), generously contributed to the renovation work at the popular facility, which was completed to the delight of the girls. New sanitary facilities were also installed in house 1. More here. A short video of the visit by Daniël Claas and the reopening of the girls' boarding school can be found here. The director of the boarding school, Audrey Millerson-Tjin A Sjoe, and all the residents of the boarding school were extremely grateful for the help and support they have now received.

• New information for the friends of the Moravian Church Mission is provided by two reports published in Denmark on October 11, 2024. The texts can also be read in German using a translator tool. See here and here. Report 1 is about the Moravian Church orphanage in Uvira (D. R. Congo). The home offers around 300 orphans with physical disabilities good accommodation, food, healthcare (including orthopaedic surgery in some cases) and education. Knud Elmo Knudsen, the founder of the institution, explains how it all began.
• Report 2 is about the 30-year-old Moravian Church in Albania. It is entitled No congregations without lay people. It briefly presents the work of the congregation groups in Albania, with reports and testimonials from old hands and hares, as well as new members: Laureta and Arben Bektasha (Pogradec), Shpresa Gjestila and Blerina Taka (Burrel), Irena Xhaferri (Elbasan), Qamile and Haxhi Murati (Tirana-Bathore), Fatbardha and Nikolin Paplekaj (Lezha) and Elona Mandro and Dena Fortuzis (Tirana). See also the entire issue of BDM nyt (October 2024) as a PDF file here.

• From October 18-24, 2024, the Moravian Church in North America will meet in the Moravian Church in North America, which was newly established by the Unity Synod in 2023 Unity Commission on Theology.
• In January 2025 (after the constituent synod at the beginning of 2024), the second synod of the Moravian Church in North India and Nepal is to take place. The Unitarian Synod 2023 declared this to be a mission province with its own church leadership. The venue and date of the meeting are still to be decided. The first sisters' conference of the new mission province will take place in Rajpur near Dehradun in November 2024.
• The next synod of the British Unity Province is scheduled to take place from July 9 to 13, 2026 (sic!) at Highgate House in Northamptonshire.
• On November 6, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., Clair Summers (Great Britain; British Mission Board) will report via ZOOM on her recent visit to the Moravian Church's Sikonge Hospital in Tanzania (Western Province). Meeting ID: 836 5887 7983; Passcode: 044052.

On October 15, 2024, the Moravian Church in Genadendal, South Africa, invited people to take a spiritual walk around the village for the first time. A 40-second video of the tour in the morning hours can be found here. Afterwards, the message on Facebook read: “What a beautiful way to start the day! Our first ‘Genadendal Wellness Walk’ was extremely pleasant and a success. It set the perfect tone for a month in which we want to focus on mindfulness and building community connections. Our next walk dates: Thursday, October 17, 2024 (6-7 p.m.), Tuesday, October 22, 2024 (6-7 a.m.) and Thursday, October 24, 2024 (6-7 p.m.). The meeting point is always the Mission Museum in Genadendal. The spiritual walks are suitable for people of all ages and are free of charge for all participants. Do something for your spiritual well-being! Let's take steps together towards greater psycho-physical health and a stronger community!”

In 2024, there will be another conference in Latvia entitled The Colors of the Reformation, organized by the Latvian Evangelical Alliance. See here. As part of this conference, Gundars Ceipe, the pastor of the Moravian Church in Latvia, will give a lecture on October 26, 2024, in St. Peter's Church in Riga with the following topic: Ludvigs Adamovičs and the Moravian Church. The Latvian media group TV9 Pakalni also reported on the work of Ludvigs Adamovičs (1884-1943) in a four-minute video. See here. In the video, in addition to Gundars Ceipe, one of the descendants of the honored man also has his say. Ludvigs Adamovičs played an important role in the formation of the Latvian nation as a professor, Lutheran pastor and minister of the First Latvian Republic. The prominent pedagogue and chairman of the Association of Latvian Secondary School Teachers was strongly inspired by the Moravian Brethren. He was sentenced to death by the Soviets in 1941 for his fight for Latvian independence, deported to the USSR and executed there.