The Star Mountain Association, an association of congregations and individuals in Westphalia together with the Herrnhuter Missionshilfe, would like to become more public and better inform donors. For this purpose, a new newsletter of the Star Mountain Association has been published. It reports on the association itself, on successes in the special school and also on the Star Mountain in general. The newsletter is supposed to appear every 2-3 months. Anyone who is interested can subscribe to it by simply sending an e-mail to Niels Gärtner (n.gaertner@herrnhuter-missionshilfe.de). The first newsletter can also be viewed on the website of the Star Mountain Association www.sternbergverein.de.

The UN campaign Orange the World has been drawing attention to violence against women and girls since 1991. The campaign period runs from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 to December 10, Human Rights Day. The women's education project Atsikana Walani, run by Herrnhuter Missionshilfe and the Moravian Church Malawi, is participating in this year's campaign by regularly posting on social media. With 6 posts in 16 days, the urgency of ending violence against women is highlighted. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe is proud to support this important campaign! The posts can be found on the project's Facebook and Instagram pages.

A team of teachers and students from Atsikana Walani College, together with staff from the local partner organization MoHDevS, is currently at the Permaculture Paradise Institute in Mchinji, Malawi, where they are forming the Walani Green Team. In a training course lasting several days, they learn about the most important principles of permaculture (perennial gardens), such as the use of natural cycles, the development of fertile soils and the design of sustainable plant systems. Together, they develop ideas for the school site and will soon implement their newly acquired knowledge in their own permaculture project at the school. Another step towards more sustainability and self-sufficiency for the vocational training center!

On November 13, 2024, five officers of the Surinamese police (Korps Politie Suriname) visited grades 1 to 8 of the Moravian August Theodor Pengel School in Bersaba, Suriname. The village was founded in 1858 on the grounds of the Prosperité plantation on the Coropinakreek, about a two-hour drive south of the capital, Paramaribo. The police officers were so-called neighborhood managers, i.e. officials whose particular task is to maintain contact with the population. The purpose of the visit by the four women and one man was to familiarize the primary school students with the tasks of the police, to promote a career in the police force, and to ask about problems that the police might need to deal with locally. Some pictures here. The Moravian Church School Foundation in Suriname published a new information sheet for teachers on November 8, 2024. See here.

John Franklin Wilson-Cristobal, Bishop of the Moravian Church, born and active for many years in Nicaragua, passed away on November 13, 2024 in Miami/FL. This was announced by the leadership of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua in Bilwi. They write: “We hardly find words to express our condolences on the death of Bishop Wilson. As a servant of God, he loved us. He was a pastor and a minister, the leader of the Moravian Church's Bible Institute in Bilwaskarma, a teacher, a guide for our families, a pillar of support during the process of national reconciliation in the 1980s after the civil war, and, last but not least, the author of the book Obra Morava en Nicaragua: Trasfondo y Breve Historia. He did everything conscientiously as a good and faithful servant of God. John Franklin Wilson was born on November 14, 1934 in Kuamuwatla. He was ordained a bishop on August 14, 1977 in Bluefields, Nicaragua. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things, and with your Lord's joy you will enter into his glory.” (Matthew 25:21) Read his biography here.

On November 6, 2024, the Moravian Church in Jagüey Grande, Cuba, published a brief report and a few pictures of a clothing drive in favor of the Guantánamo region, where 70,000 people recently experienced a flood and lost some of their belongings during their evacuation. See here. The report stated: “The Moravian Church Women's Association of Jagüey Grande was responsible for coordinating this campaign under the direction of the council of elders. Donations were also received from the wives of the Freemasons of the Helios of Jagüey Grande Lodge. The members of the lodge handed over various food items for Guantánamo. The members of the Moravian Church in Havana and Santa Clara acted in the same way as we did. God has promised to bless the cheerful and unselfish givers. He will multiply the goods of those who did not give what they had left over, but what they actually needed themselves.” See here.

The Cuba Foundation of the Moravian Church in North America, which is named after the first Cuban-born bishop of the Moravian Church, the Armando Rusindo Mission Foundation points out in its newsletter for fall 2024: ” It is with great joy and gratitude that we share with you in this newsletter an overview of some unforgettable moments from this year's four summer camps in the Cuban provinces of Guantánamo, Havana, Matanzas and Santa Clara. Our foundation provided the funding for these four camps and also helped with these annual events in other ways, for example, by providing staff. This year, too, the camps ensured that young hearts were filled with faith, hope and love. We studied the Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians during our Bible studies.” Read the complete newsletter here. Watch a short thank you video here.

In an effort to effectively reach as many people as possible with the gospel, a new project has been launched in the Moravian Church in Tanzania (Lake Tanganyika Province): the Evangelists on Wheels project. The aim is to give people in remote villages around the city of Mwanza the chance to see a missionary movie about the life of Jesus. With the help of the Moravian Church's mission organization in Denmark, BDM, a three-wheeled cargo motorcycle and the technology for sound film screenings have been purchased. Half of the general transportation costs will cover the ongoing maintenance of the cargo motorcycle, while the other half of the vehicle will be available for evangelistic work. A sociable evangelist and two other co-workers travel with the vehicle: one person for the technology and one person for organizational matters. More in Danish here.

“It's time for music” was the motto on November 18, 2024 at the Moravian Church's International Kindergarten & Shristi Academy in Kathmandu-Baneshwor, Nepal. A short video in which children from Classes 3 and 4 sing the song “Hami Sabai Nepali” allows you to experience the school music day to some extent. See here. Music education and musical practice are a central part of the school's profile. Four days later, the school invited all its friends to a vegetable market. See here. What could be purchased can be seen here (please also click left and right). The children enjoyed the visit to the wholesale market, where the food was purchased, just as much as the marketing of the healthy food. See here. The shopping day as well as the vegetable market were integrated into a school education program.

In 2024, the Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America again presented the Ted Wilde Mission Service Award (in memory of one of its former directors). During a service on November 24, 2024, at Grace Moravian Church in Mount Airy, North Carolina, this award was presented to Jim and Glenda Littleton in recognition of decades of missionary and diaconal service. The couple has always had the marginalized in their congregation in mind. In a laudatory speech by Rev. Andrew Heil and Rev. Neil Routh, it was said: “Jim and Glenda do the small and hidden things. Their hearts for others are expressed in ways that go unnoticed by many, except those they serve. They seek no attention for their devotion nor recognition. They never put themselves in the center. They were also involved in disaster relief in many places.” A photo here.

Beginning in mid-February 2025, Dan Miller will serve on the leadership team of the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church in North America. He will take on the role of Director of Mission Service at the office in Bethlehem, PA. He holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in theology. He grew up in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, and married Elisabeth, he initially worked as a math teacher in the public school system. After studying theology, he served as a student pastor in Bethlehem, PA, and in 2016 he took over the pastorate of the Edgeboro Moravian Church. He has been volunteering for the Board of World Mission since 2019. He enjoys playing bass guitar in his free time and will now organize training and mission trips in the US and abroad, as well as talking to young people and young adults interested in missions. He will also be responsible for the “Convos” (international American youth and young adult retreats) in the future. Photo here.

An exhibition of cribs from around the world is on display at Het Hernhutter Huis Museum in Zeist, the Netherlands, Lageweg 27. It opened on November 16, 2024 and is still on display until January 12, 2025 (Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.). See here. The exhibits reveal a great variety of nativity scenes in terms of materials, shapes, colors and ethnic origin. On display are magnificent ancient as well as very minimalist, modern cribs and cribs for children. Most of the cribs are handmade and therefore unique. You can read interesting facts about the origin of the Christmas cribs tradition, the symbolism of the Three Wise Men, and about individual nativity scenes and special manufacturing traditions. All cribs are privately owned. The squares in Zeist and Nassau Odijklaan are lavishly decorated with Moravian stars during Advent.

• The Lansdowne Moravian Church had come up with something special for their bazaar at the Spangenberg School, a former Moravian elementary school that has since been nationalized. In addition to an abundance of delicious food and drinks, on November 1, 2024, there was a raffle in favor of the congregation's education fund with beautiful prizes and a domino game with the lamb symbol on the back of each playing piece. See here.
• In 2024, the Elim Moravian Church in South Africa - near the Cape of Needles - was able to look back on its foundation in August 1824. To mark the occasion, the online magazine News24 - Trusted News published an article entitled “The 200th anniversary of Elim was characterized by transformation and community spirit”. See in English here.
• Following a major fire in December 2018, many residents of Wupperthal in South Africa are still living in temporary accommodation on the outskirts of the village. See an article in the Mail & Guardian from October 19, 2024 under the headline “Wupperthal in the Western Cape is so safe you can sleep on your veranda”. The entire article with many pictures in English here.