News of the worldwide Unity
Here you will find brief information about some Unity provinces and mission areas, as well as the information about them from our newsletter.
Alaska
Work in Alaska began soon after Alaska was sold to the United States. In 1885, the American work was extended to the new territory of Alaska. Experience in arctic regions had long existed through work in Greenland, which began in 1733, and in Labrador, where the first mission station was established in 1771.
In the sparsely populated area, missionaries had to be very mobile from the beginning to follow the Yupik. They alternated between summer and winter quarters and depending on hunting grounds. By now, most of Alaska's inhabitants have settled down. Given the small populations, Alaska's congregations are also small in number and often far apart.
The transformation process of sedentarization, with multiple problems such as alcohol abuse, drugs, and domestic violence, has also affected congregations in the province of Alaska.
In 1983, the first indigenous bishop was elected, and in 1984 a Bible school was established. Since 1988, Alaska has been a full-fledged Unity Province with its headquarters in Bethel.
Pictures Alaska
News from this region
Adventure tourists invited to Bethel/AK

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.
Team of archaeologists visited the Moravian Church of Quinhagak, Alaska
The prestigious Archaeology Magazine recently reported in a long article by Daniel Weiss on archaeological investigations in Alaska, especially in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, an area in which the Moravian Mission worked from 1885. The archaeologists also visited the Moravian Church of Quinhagak, where mainly indigenous Yup'ik people live. The article states: "The Moravians were particularly successful in suppressing mask dances and other traditional Yup'ik customs. As a result, the Yup'ik congregations believed that their own traditional religious practice was fundamentally wrong and that all forms of dancing were a sin. Many community members also died as a result of epidemics brought into the country by the missionaries. The excavation helped the Yup'ik people of Quinhagak to reconnect with their lost heritage. Several residents took part in the excavations." To the article here.
Now also Moravian Church Hopedale in "Archaeology Magazine"
After recently reporting from the Moravian Church of Quinhagak in Alaska, Archaeology Magazine has now published an article by Marley Brown about the former Moravian Church mission station Hopedale - now a town of 600 inhabitants - in the middle of the 1,100 kilometre long Labrador coast. See here. The archaeological investigations taking place in Hopedale aim to find the remains of the historic Inuit settlement of Agvituk. When the Moravians arrived here in the 1780s, Agvituk still existed, but soon disappeared. The place name means ‘where the whales are found’. The article states that Agvituk was to the Inuit what Paris or London is to Europeans. Previous excavations in the historic core of Hopedale have uncovered a mixture of indigenous and European artefacts dating back to the 16th century. In order to publicise the finds, young volunteers from the Inuit community are making use of social media in particular.
Bethel/AK now has a "van ministry"
A van pick-up and delivery service is now available for people from the Moravian Church in Alaska, who often find it difficult to get from their sometimes remote homes to the meetings in the Bethel/AK regional centre in winter. The church leadership wrote on Facebook: "We have now set up a van ministry. If you call, we will pick you up: for services on Sunday morning (10am for Sunday School, 11am for sermon) and Sunday evening (7pm), youth night on Monday (7pm), women's night on Tuesday (7pm), prayer meeting and Bible study on Wednesday (7pm) and choir practice on Thursday (7pm). Please call the following telephone number: 907-545-9174". During the women's evenings in Bethel/AK, this beautiful, warming scarf was created. See here.
From Christmas 2023 in the Moravian Congregation Bethel/AK
In the wooden church of the Moravian Congregation Bethel on the Kuskokwim River in south-west Alaska, there were three services on Christmas Eve 2023. An English-language service (Morning worship) took place at 11 a.m. An English candle light worship was then organised for 6:30 pm, followed by Yup‘ik candle light worship at 8 pm. In the past, Bethel/AK and the surrounding area was almost exclusively Yup'ik. However, as a result of immigration from the USA and Canada, there are now also members of the congregation who only speak English. On Christmas Day, the Yup'ik met at 11 a.m. for an English-language musical service (Christmas cantata service). At 7 pm, the Yup'ik gathered for a Christmas procession through the festively lit town with a children's performance. The gatherings at the turn of the year, again with a singing service (with a choir performance) and again bilingual, were then held by several volunteers.
Finally good sanitary conditions in Akiachak on the Kuskokwim River
Recently, the people in the small village of Akiachak on the Kuskokwim River in the US state of Alaska finally have a water connection and thus also water toilets. Until now, they were among the 3,000 households in Alaska whose sanitary facilities still looked the same as they did 300 years ago. This was reported in a richly illustrated article in the Associated Press on 8 September 2023. The long article can be read here in English. Headline: "An Alaskan Yup'ik village now has water connections. Residents are thrilled to no longer have to use toilet buckets". Akiachak has also had a Moravian Church for almost 150 years. Carl Ekamrak, the head of the Council of Elders of the Akiachak Moravian Church, is happy that living conditions in his village are now much better. No one has to do their business in their home behind a curtain into a smelly five-gallon bucket anymore.
America
There were two reasons for the beginning of the Moravian Church's work in North America. On the one hand, Zinzendorf was forced by ecclesiastical problems in Saxony to seek new settlement opportunities for the growing Moravian Church. In German-influenced Pennsyvania, he settled sisters and brothers and tried to establish consensus through ecumenical debates among the settlers, who had emigrated to America mainly for reasons of faith. This ecumenical alliance failed, but the Moravian Church settlements grew. On the other hand, direct missionary work to the indigenous people could be done there. The missionaries could not prevent their expulsion and partial extermination.
Today there are two Unity Provinces in the USA: the Unity Province America North with its headquarters in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) and the Unity Province America South with its headquarters in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). Together they finance and operate the Board of World Mission BWM, the sister organization of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe in the USA, which is primarily concerned with relations with the Central American and Caribbean Unity Provinces.
News from this region
Immigration course completed
Members of the Moravian Church from the two Unity Provinces in North America have completed a course on immigration of foreigners. Judy Ganz, the head of the Unity Women's Board, reported on this on Facebook on October 15, 2024. See here. Her post stated: “The immigration dilemma is one of the most complex issues facing society in North America today. It is not limited to the United States; millions of people are forced to leave their homes for a variety A seven-person group from the Moravian Church recently learned about six training modules on migration issues over a period of six months and is now working to define what role, if any, our church can play in addressing migration issues in our context. It is important to recognize that migration has been a central part of human identity since the beginning of time.”
First short report from the Unity Board 2024 meeting
The Unity Board Conference 2024 came to a close on Sunday, 29 September 2024. It had begun on 24 September 2024. This time, the highest body of the worldwide Moravian Church between the Unity Synods met on the island of Antigua on the grounds of St. James’s Clubs. The members of the council celebrated the Sunday service on the island's St. James's Club grounds the day before their return trip to the 15 Moravian churches on the island. It can be seen from a text by Raimund Hertzsch (delegate of the European-Continental Province) that the deliberations took place in a very good atmosphere. Many reports were received. Three new regions in Tanzania have been declared mission areas of the Moravian Church. The task was to carry out the mandates of the 2023 Unity Synod in Cape Town. The agenda also included the history of slavery and climate protection, the finances of the Unity, as well as the current political and church-political situation in Nicaragua. Roberta Hoey (London) was re-elected as President of the Unity Board. Alongside her and Jørgen Bøytler (Christiansfeld, Denmark), the Unity Board Administrator, the other members of the Unity Executive Committee are Algernon Lewis (Caribbean & Latin America region), Neil Routh (North America region) and Erord Simae (Africa region).
Moravian Day of Service in North America
On 15 September 2014, the Moravian Church in North America celebrated its annual Moravian Day of Service. Hundreds of people were involved in church-related charitable or missionary activities. At the Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 40 members of the congregation and friends of the Estamos Unidos immigrant support service came together to package a total of 1,250 pounds of rice and beans. The food is to be distributed to 600 families in need. After the work was completed, several families went to downtown Winston Salem for the Hispanic Fiesta, which was also a wonderful event. Rev. Angelica Regalado-Cieza, the director of Estamos Unidos, said, ‘We can accomplish so much when we work together!’ See here. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 120 people from six Moravian Churches assembled a total of 600 simple water filter systems for use in Honduras and elsewhere. See here.
The Unity Women's Consultation Planning Committee reports
So far, the governing bodies of the various Unity and Mission provinces have nominated 30 delegates for the 5th Unity Women's Consultation from 1 to 8 June 2025 at Laurel Ridge Camp (thematic work) and in Winston-Salem/NC (various congregations visits). About ten nominations are still pending. The preparatory committee is working hard. It has already set the theme of the consultation: ‘’With Hearts and Hands and Voices: Advocating for Girls and Women in and through the Moravian Church‘’. The fight against violence against girls and women will be at the centre of the exchange. A special website for the consultation is continuously updated. See here. Starting in September 2024, a few more volunteers will join the detailed planning of the consultation. Lettice Joemath (South Africa) and Muriël Held (Suriname) have created a prayer guide for the consultation, divided by month: August 2024 - Prayer Guide Africa and Europehere.
New attempt: "Unity Youth Desk Newsletter"
On 2 September 2024, the Facebook pages of the Moravian Church's worldwide youth ministry said: "If you are interested in news about the Moravian Church's worldwide youth ministry, you are welcome to subscribe to our newsletter. This newsletter is especially for all youth leaders and youth coordinators in the worldwide Moravian Church, but also for anyone else who wants to know what is happening in our youth work around the world and who wants to be kept up to date on all online events organised by the Unity Youth Committee. You can subscribe to our free newsletter using the online form here." The Unity Youth Desk urrently consists of Jørgen Bøytler (DK, Unity Board Administrator), Chrislyn Edson (SA, Africa region), Damaris Enkelmann (D, European region), Sylvie Hauser (USA, American region) and Jiřina Čančíková-Kaletová (CZ, Unity Youth Desk Coordinator).
Moravian Church in Sarasota affected by Hurricane Debby

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.
The next ‘Moravian Day of Service’ is approaching
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.
News from the ‘14th Moravian Women's Conference’

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.
News from the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church in North 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 fifth "Unity Women's Consultation" begins in eleven months' time
The Unity Women's Desk, headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC, reminds you in a Facebook post: "Eleven months from now, the 5. Unity Women’s Consultation will take place in North Carolina (1-8 June 2025)! We invite you to follow the members of the Moravian Church around the world and pray for the selection and preparation of the delegates, for the members of the local preparation circles and for all volunteers. They are all working together to make the Consultation a transformative experience for women from all provinces of the worldwide Moravian Church and for the Unity as a whole. Please follow this link to our website - here. Under this link you can download intercession information every month and in this way take part in the important prayer service for the consultation." The motto of the consultation is: With Hearts and Hands and Voices: Advocating for Girls and Women in and through the Moravian Church.
Annual report of the "Board of World Mission" 2023
The latest issue of the Moravian Magazine contains the 24-page annual report 2023 of the Board of World Mission (BWM) of the Moravian Church in North America. See in English here. On the organisation's Facebook pages, the report states: "Relationships built up over months, years and decades enable the BWM to work with trustworthy local partners. In this way, the BWM can help where it could not with its own staff. Although the great need in many parts of the world may discourage us, we realise that with faith, imagination and dedication, we at the BWM are always able to find resources and provide support where it is most urgently needed. Praise be to God, from whom all blessings flow!" Emergency Aid was provided, for example, in Ukraine, on the Star Mountain and in Honduras. Partnership aid went to Nicaragua, Peru and Cuba, for example.
From the "Mission Awareness Dinner" in Winston-Salem
Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC hosted a large Mission Awareness Dinner for the Southern Province Mission Society of the Moravian Church in North America on 2 June 2024, a fundraising event to share a meal and learn about mission issues. Five pictures here. Sylvie Hauser, the Moravian Church's Board of World Mission's Director of Communications and Development, spoke in particular about the provision of clean drinking water to indigenous people in the Honduran Mosquitia, i.e. the very successful Blessings Flow project. Bishop Samuel Gray asked some of the eleven-year-olds present what they thought of this project. They were asked to respond to the question: "Water, what are you doing for Jesus?" In keeping with the theme, a music group from the host congregation played pieces of music that had something to do with water. The dinner participants were served delicious Jamaican Jerk Chicken.
Moravian Church Winston-Salem/NC is now a "Herrnhut Congregation"
Back in 2019, the Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America passed a resolution to honour individual Moravian Churches in North America in a special way. The honour was to be bestowed on congregations that are committed to mission and social work in an exemplary manner, both locally and globally. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided to give the congregations in question the honourable name of "Herrnhut congregation". The award is therefore also called "Herrnhut Congregational Affirmation for Dedicated Mission and Service". In a special service on 28 January 2024, the Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem/NC was presented with a corresponding certificate. Some pictures here. Between the summer of 1731 and the summer of 1732, Herrnhut was ready for missionary work overseas, initially among Danish plantation slaves on the island of St Thomas in the Caribbean and among Inuit on Greenland.
Fund for young people planning a short-term missionary assignment
The Missionary Society of the Moravian Church in the US Southern Province has set up a fund from which young people who are planning a short missionary assignment can receive support. This could be participation in a local mission camp, a mission assignment at national level or an assignment abroad or in the worldwide Moravian Church. Anyone wishing to receive a grant for such an assignment simply needs to complete a Google application form. If an entire team is planning an assignment, each team member must complete a separate form. If a person or team then receives money from the company, a questionnaire must be completed after the mission. Teams are also asked to write an article for a publication or newsletter, make a presentation and attend a fundraising event or mission love feast. Enquiries here.
150 years ago: Charles Dougles Martin, first black pastor of the Moravian Church in the USA born
An important anniversary was barely acknowledged in the Moravian Church in 2023: On 7 November 1873 - a good 150 years ago -Dr. Charles Douglas Martin was born on the small West Indian island of St. Kitts as a descendant of slaves of African descent. He studied theology at the Nisky College, St. Thomas, and in New York Theologie. In 1910, he married Ellen Patterson from Jamaica. He had already founded the Fourth Moravian Church in Harlem, New York, in 1908, whose meeting place he called Beth-Tphillah (Hebrew: House of Prayer). He worked in this congregation until his death in 1942. He was very active in the emancipation of black people in the USA. In July 1917, he organised the historic Negro Silent Protest Parade, the model for similar protests across the country. In 1912, he was the first black man to be ordained as a minister in the Moravian Church in the USA. He had an excellent education and owned a large library, which is still preserved today. It contains books on the heritage of people of African descent in the Caribbean and North America. More here. hier.
New newsletter from the "Unity Youth Desk"
Jiřina Kaletová from Nová Paka (CR), coordinator of the Unity Youth Desk, published another newsletter on 14 December 2023. See here. It states: The Unity Youth Committee UYC has continued its global youth leadership conferences via Zoom. In addition to discussing work issues, we heard a presentation by Sylvie Hauser, Bethlehem/PA, on the importance of communication and social media - a highlight. The UYC was represented at the Unity Synod in Cape Town in September 2023 by David William Daniels (South Africa) and myself. It was a great experience to be at the Synod. One item on the agenda was the election of the new UYC members who will serve the Unity Youth from 2024 to 2031. "We are looking into creating an online database that can be used to establish contacts, exchange information and initiate cooperation. The worldwide Unity is so big".
Congo
The Unity Province of Congo became independent in 2005. It was founded in the east of the country as a missionary work from Tanzania. People from Congo fled to Tanzania and came into contact with the Moravian Church of Tanzania there. They wanted to "take" this church with them on the ground after their return.
News from this region
Uvira: a beautiful home at the orphanage
In the D. R. Congo, where the Moravian Church has more than 21,000 members, there is a Moravian orphanage in Uvira in the province of South Kivu. Of the approximately 1,000 orphans in the region, 50 children between the ages of 5 and 18 live in the home, which was founded in 2015, in five family-like houses. Two of these children are featured in the magazine of the Zeister Missionsgesellschaft (ZZg Nieuws, 1-2024), the sister organisation of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe: Mona (left) attends 3rd grade. She has had a movement disorder when walking since birth. She says: "In Baraka, where I used to live and which is 90 kilometres from Uvira, I heard about 'Knudsen's House'. It has been my home for eight years now. I receive psychosocial, material and physical help here. I dream of training as a seamstress". Steven (right) says: "After my parents died, the head of the Moravian Church Mboko brought me here. They look after me here. And I get an education here. I like doing sports, I'm in 6th grade and would like to become a blacksmith later."
Isaac Ononga from Uvira is now attending university
The Brødremenighedens Dansk Mission BDM in Denmark tells a special success story: the story of Isaac Ononga from the D.R. Congo. Isaac came to the Knudsen Center, the orphanage of the Moravian Church in Unvira in the D.R. Congo (50 places), at the age of 15. Here he, who has a physical disability, began physical and psychological rehabilitation. As a child, he had lost his father in the civil war; he left behind a mother with seven children. The mother did not have the means to care for all seven children and pay for their schooling. This is where the Knudsen Center came into play. The orphanage provided Isaac with the material support and encouragement he desperately needed. Isaac recently received his diploma. He is now the first pupil from the orphanage to be admitted to university in Uvira. He would like to become a doctor one day and help other children and young people with disabilities. The whole sunshine story in Danish here.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is one of the smallest Unity provinces. The 4 congregations were formed as a result of political unrest in Nicaragua, which led many Nicaraguan members to flee to Costa Rica and form new congregations there. Many of those who fled in the 1940s and 1980s are now citizens of Costa Rica. In 1980, the Unity Province became independent.
News from this region
A visit to the four Moravian Churches in Costa Rica
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.
“Ahuas Spotlight” in the fall of 2024
The new Spotlight from the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahuas, Honduras, is very varied. See here. First, Will Cuthbert, the youth pastor of the Moravian Church in Costa Rica, talks about his visit in August 2024. Then there is talk of the clinic's financial need for help and the volunteer work of a six-person dental team from Florida in the clinic's dental department. The team worked in the remote La Mosquitia region on the Atlantic Ocean under the motto Being God's Hands & Feet. The work of the clinic's management is also the subject of a separate section. The clinic is indispensable for indigenous people with a wide range of illnesses, for pregnant women and women in labor, as well as for children and the elderly in need of care. They often travel several dozen kilometers to reach the clinic. The clinic also offers a child nutrition program and preventive health care.
Cuba is one of the youngest mission provinces of the worldwide Moravian Church. In the 1990s, Cubans contacted the America South Province, asking if they could become members of the Moravian Church. Visits followed, first acquaintances and training on what Moravian Church actually was. Thus, Cuba became mission area, served first by Jamaica, then by America South. Since 2016, Cuba has been a mission province. In 2013, the church was recognized by the state. The first Cuban bishop, Armando Rogelio Rusindo, was consecrated in 2018, and Obed Martinez was elected as the second bishop in January 2023. The missionary province is led by Tania Sanchez Fonseca.
News from this region
Moravian Church summer camp in Cuba: ‘The treasure of God's love’

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.
Greeting by Bishop Armando Rusindo from Cuba

On 25 May 2024, the 27th anniversary of the founding of the Moravian Church in Cuba in 1997, Armando Rusindo, the first bishop of the worldwide Moravian Church to come from Cuba, addressed a greeting to the members of the Moravian Church in Cuba. See in English here. In the greeting, he recalls the small size of the Moravian Congregations in Cuba in the early years and the challenges that had to be overcome in building up the church. He then writes: ‘We were able to achieve important successes and set our goals ever higher. Now there is a real Moravian Church on Cuban soil. The Lord has helped us up to this point. But the passion and dedication of many brothers and sisters who have put their talents, their strength and also their sacrifices at the service of this work have also been important." He then greeted everyone who felt connected to his church. Here is a video and some pictures of the recent dispatch of relief supplies by large container from the USA to Cuba and of the distribution of relief supplies in the Cuban congregations (‘We are not only addressing physical hunger but also spreading the love of Jesus’).
Emergency Aid for Cuba arrives
After heavy rainfall and hailstorms caused considerable destruction in parts of Cuba on 22 March 2024, resulting in crop losses, several fundraising campaigns were launched, particularly in the USA. The Cuba Foundation of the Moravian Church in North America (Armando Rusindo Mission Foundation) has now posted the following information on Facebook: "We are sincerely grateful for the continued financial support and prayers you have given us in connection with the Container of Hope Programme. The first container, destined for the Cuban Council of Churches, has already arrived in Havana. The food and other relief supplies inside have already been distributed." Contents of the container: 20,000 pounds of rice, beans and oatmeal; clothing; medical supplies; wheelchairs; agricultural supplies; three water treatment systems. The next container with relief supplies (value: 25,000 to 40,000 US dollars) is due to follow soon. Further donations are welcome and needed. More on Facebook here.
Pray for the Moravian Church in Cuba
18 April 2024 was the annual day of prayer in the two North American Moravian Church provinces for the Moravian Church in Cuba, a missionary province of the Moravian Church. Among other things, they wanted Intercession for the congregation in Havana ("that we find a place where we can carry out all the activities of our congregation; that we have means of transport for our church; that there are new projects to finance our work"), for the congregation in Matanzas ("that we get drinking water filters for our households; that we are able to provide pastoral care in hospitals and prisons; that our students can complete their studies despite inflation"), for the Villa Clara congregation ("that God gives us leaders with integrity and a pastoral vocation; that we can fulfil our diaconal tasks") and for the Camagüey congregation ("that our community farm flourishes; that we live in ecumenical harmony"). Information on the Moravian Church in Cuba and many other prayer requests in english here.
Cuba hit by a severe hailstorm
The Cuba Foundation of the Moravian Church in North America (Armando Rusindo Mission Foundation - ARMF) announced on Facebook on 24 March 2024: "Dear members! Dear friends! On Friday/Sunday, 22/23 March 2024, Havana and large parts of the country were hit by a long, severe, completely unexpected hailstorm with subsequent flooding, leaving a trail of devastation and causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of people. The damage is immense and our hearts ache for all those who suffered material damage. The images transmitted from Cuba speak volumes about the scale of this disaster. Twelve pictures here. We are gathering more information for you on the current situation and we are waiting for concrete indications on how ARMF can offer its support. In the meantime, let us pray for the people in the city of Havana and in rural areas." A three-minute video here. More detailed metereological data here.
Report: "Moravian Church grows in Cuba"
A few days ago, the church newspaper Glaube und Heimat published an article by journalist Andreas Herrmann. In it, he reports on his trip to Cuba last year, during which he also visited the small, still young Moravian Church in the country. The report in the Blickwechsel section is entitled "Moravian Church grows in Cuba". Many members of the Moravian Church in Cuba live from agriculture. On a Moravian farm in Guantanamo - very close to the US Navy base in Cuba - guayabas, yuca, sweet potatoes and okra pods are grown. The report states: "The educational ideal of the Moravians in particular attracts many, says Armando Rusindo, one of two bishops. However, his colleague Obed Martinez, who teaches at the Moravian Theological Seminary in Matanzas, also points out a difficulty he has to contend with: the shortage economy." To the complete report here.
Consecration of Bishop Obed Erelio Martinéz
On 27 January 2024, Obed Erelio Martinéz from Jagüey Grande will be consecrated as a Bishop of the Moravian Church in the Mission Province of Cuba. He will be the second bishop of the Moravian Church to come from Cuba. The ordinand was first ordained as a presbyter by Bishop Armando Rogélio Rusindo in Havana on 24 April 2022. Obed Erelio Martinéz studied theology at the Seminario Evangelico de Teologia in Matanzas, Cuba.He has been married to the pastor Alay González Rosado since 2004. The couple also hold important honorary positions in their home country: Alay Martinéz serves as secretary in the management of the CCI (Consejo Cubano de Iglesias) and Obed Martinéz as national coordinator of ASEL Cuba (Acción Social Ecuménica Latinoamericana). The statistics of the Moravian Church in Cuba for 2020 state: 132 members authorised to receive Holy Communion; 12 members not authorised to receive Holy Communion; 355 worshippers; 530 friends.
Eastern West Indies
The Eastern West Indies Province has a long Moravian tradition. Here on St. Thomas, the first missionaries began missionary work among enslaved people in 1732. The work expanded to nearby islands. In 1962, the Unity Province became independent. It includes congregations on Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, Tobago, Trinidad and the Vergin Islands.
News from this region
From the life of the Calvary Moravian Church in Bridgetown, Barbados
- There have been two special events at Calvary Moravian Church in Bridgetown, Barbados in recent weeks. On Saturday, September 21, 2024, new backpacks were given to those students in the Congregation Primary School who are now moving on to secondary school. Some boys and girls were also awarded a scholarship: the Estelle Burke Educational Scholarship Award. Congratulations! Pictures from the event here.
- On Sunday, August 25, 2024, a two-and-a-half-hour, richly designed service with the Moramus Singers of Barbados took place at the same location under the motto Come Let Us Worship he complete service can be experienced here. Singing and instrumental performances by individual groups alternated with powerful congregational singing, as well as with blocks of preaching and prayer.
Two news items from Antigua
The Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda, which consists of 48 larger and smaller islands, had proclaimed Thursday, September 12, 2024, as a national day of prayer: a National Convention with God fort he Success of our Land. See here. At 1:30 p.m., there was a march against violence and crime in the city of St. John's, from the Multipurpose Cultural and Exhibition Center zum Antigua Recreation Ground. See here. From 4 to 6 p.m., an intercessory and worship service took place. At the same time, Spring Gardens Moravian Church in St. John's called for children to be registered to attend the congregation's own kindergarten and preschool for the 2024/2025 school year. The institution was founded 30 years ago. The institution is committed to providing a good education and upbringing based on the motto: “We are shaping our children to build the kingdom of God.”
"Brownie Month Service" with flag presentation in Barbados
On the island of Barbados and elsewhere in the Caribbean, female scouts have been called brownies for decades - not without controversy. These groups compete with each other for special achievements. The best Brownies are honoured every month. On Saturday, 15 June 2024, the Brownie Month Service was held at the Calvary Moravian Church in Bridgetown, Barbados, with the presentation of the flags of the Girl Scout groups. Pictures here and here. Rosemary Lynch, Chair of the Board of Elders at Calvary Moravian Church, received the flags carried into the church by the Brownies and placed them next to the liturgy table during the honouring ceremony. + A few days earlier, Cheryl Clarke had been honoured in the church by many people and groups as she retired from her ministry at Grace Hill Moravian Pre-School. Lots of pictures here.
News from the Unity Province West Indies East
- On Mother's Day, 12 May 2024, all congregations in the Unity Province of the West Indies East commemorated the mothers present and the mothers in the world. They received thanks and veneration and were commended to intercession. The Women's Circle of the Nisky Moravian Church on the island of St Thomas also hosted a Pre Mother's Day Praise Breakfast at 8am the day before Mother's Day, featuring live music and a talk by Charlotte Amalie lawyer Everaud Potter. See here.
- The mission work of the Moravian Church in the Caribbean was made famous by the Moravian missionary Christian Georg Andreas Oldendorp (1721-1787), who wrote a book that was read tens of thousands of times and translated several times: "History of the Mission of the Moravian Church on the Caribbean Islands of St Thomas, St Croix and St Jan". The Riksarchiv in Copenhagen has now introduced the missionary and his famous work on its website. See here.
From the Moravian Church in Barbados and Tortola
- The Calvary Moravian Women's Fellowship istaged Jesus' parable of the great supper (Luke 14:15-24) in their church in an impressive way. The depicted feast of the infirm, who accepted the host's invitation instead of those originally invited, culminated in a communal meal in the church. Many pictures here.
- The Sharon Moravian Church had invited to a public testimony march through parts of Bridgetown on 3 March 2024, the commemoration day of the founding of Unity in the spring of 1457 in what is now the Czech Republic. See hier.
- On 14 April 2024, a worship service for young and old took place at Mount Tabor Moravian Church. A photo here.
The Calvary Young People's Society (young congregation) of Calvary Moravian Church invites you to a steel band concert as part of a local music festival for 27 April 2024 at 2pm. See here. - The Moravian Church on Tortola is holding its eighth Sisters' Conference in Baugher's Bay from 3 to 5 May 2024. Invitation here.
From the Moravian Church in Barbados
The Calvary Moravian Church in Bridgetown on Barbados (Unity Province of the West Indies East) welcomed the leadership team from the Insurance Institute of Barbados during the service on 18 February 2024. Some pictures here. On 10 March 2024, Dr Adrian Smith, Senior Pastor of the Calvary Moravian Church in Bridgetown, blessed the members of the new Board of Elders and the new Board of Stewards for their future service in a church service. Delroy Burley, the assistant pastor, addressed a word of greeting to the elected and consecrated members. Some pictures here. The focus of the service at Mount Tabor Moravian Church in St. John on Barbados on 17 March 2024 was on the children, who otherwise gather separately for Sunday school. They presented themselves and their knowledge as well as their singing and recitation skills. Many pictures here and here and here.
History of the Moravian Church on Tortola
The Moravian Church has been working on many Caribbean islands for 200 years or more. Here - on St Thomas (now the US Virgin Islands) - the Moravian mission began in December 1732. On Tortola (now the British Virgin Islands), on the other hand, the work of the Moravian Church only began a good 30 years ago. Eideen A. Smith, the sister who 33 years ago gave the first impulse to found first the Tortola Moravian Fellowship and then the Trinity Moravian Church on Tortola, looks back on the varied first 30 years of her congregation in a newsletter article of the Unity Province West Indies East (November 2023). The congregation has since built its own church. German translation of the three-page article here. The work of the Moravian Church on Tortola became particularly well known in 2017, when the Unity Offering collected worldwide on 1 March was earmarked for the Trinity Moravian Church.
Two Moravians from Antigua cross the Pacific in a rowing boat
In its September 2023 newsletter, the Unity Province of the West Indies East saluted two of its members who successfully completed the two toughest rowing races in the world by boat: the crossing of the Atlantic from La Gomera/Canary Islands to English Harbour/Antigua (Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge) and, the following year, the crossing of half the Pacific from Monterey/California to Hanalei, Kaua'i/Honolulu (World's Toughest Row). Both routes were approximately 3,000 miles long. Kevinia Francis and Christal Clashing belong to the Cashew Hill Moravian Church on the island of Antigua. Christal's mother is the congregation's organist. The two members of the Moravian Church undertook the Atlantic crossing in a four-person boat together with Elvira Bell and Samara Emmanuel; the Pacific crossing in a three-person boat with Samara Emmanuel. Samara is the first woman in Antigua with a captain's licence; Christal is a swimming instructor and has also competed in the Olympics. A detailed report on the two ocean crossings in English here (Side 3f).
From the "Church & Technology Summit" with guests from the West Indies East
In the newsletter for October 2023 (see here) of the West Indies East Province informs about a 3 1/2-day Church & Technology Summit, which focussed on the connection between faith and state-of-the-art technology. Participants were offered five topics for different target groups: 1. senior and executive pastors: insight into leadership and what technology can do for evangelism and outreach. 2. church administration: exploring tools and strategies to optimise church operations in terms of finances and more. 3. new technologies: A look at the latest developments in AI and how AI can be integrated into the church. 4. creative and communication: utilising AI-driven tools for image creation, design and presentation, copywriting and the use of social media. 5. production technology: using AI to improve audio and video editing and production quality.
Great Britain
As early as the 1740s, Zinzendorf had a branch in London. From there, he was able to cultivate the growing international missionary contacts better than in Germany. From this grew various congregations in England and Northern Ireland, which acquired a certain independence early on (in the 19th century). An important branch of the work was the school ministry with some boarding schools.
Today the Province of Great Britain and Ireland is one of the smaller provinces with about 1200 members. It cooperates internationally in the British Mission Board BMB.
News from this region
The new multicultural pastor of the Moravian Church in Northern Ireland (Kopie 1)
The leadership of the British Province has appointed the young theologian Kiran Young Wimberly as the new part-time pastor for the Irish district of the Moravian Church. The Moravian Congregation at Gracehill, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2024 together with Herrnhut and Bethehem/PA, also belongs to this district. The Moravian Messenger of August 2024 (see here) introduces the multicultural theologian. Kiran Young Wimberly is American by birth, but has been living in Northern Ireland for 14 years. The daughter of a Presbyterian missionary and teacher couple, she initially grew up in Japan (Tokyo) and India and became acquainted with various Christian denominations. She later lived in Princeton, New Jersey, where she also studied. She completed part of her theological studies in Jerusalem. She is married to her American Presbyterian husband Alex, with whom she has three children: Eva, Amos and Phoebe.
Exciting articles in the "Moravian Messenger"
In the Moravian Messenger (July 2024), the magazine of the Moravian Church in Great Britain, three interesting and current reports are published: The two-page cover story by Jane Carter (London), Head of the British Mission Board, is entitled Spring visit to Nepal and Ladakh. Joachim Kreusel, Bishop of the Moravian Church (Ockbrook), also reports on two pages about his recent trip to Tanzania under the headline "Robert Pangani's Consecration as Bishop of the Moravian Unity on Sunday 2nd June 2024". And Pastor Lorraine Shorten (Bath) talks about how she experienced the recent synod in Herrnhut as a guest: "European Continental Province Synod June 2024: Connected". Finally, reference is also made to an upcoming conference: "Called to a process of reconciliation - Reconciliation in our lives, church and the world: 5th - 8th November 2024 in the Komenský Guest House, Herrnhut". Download all articles here.
From the Synod of the British Unity Province in Swanwick
During the Provincial Synod of the British Unity Province from 18 to 21 July 2024 at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, all delegates and all synodical guests posed for a group photo. See here. On the morning of 21 July 2024, the new Provincial Elders Conference (PEC) was elected. The result of the elections was as follows: Roberta Hoey, Jane Carter and Michael Newman were each elected to the church leadership for a further four years. David Howarth, Edwin Quildan and Livingstone Thompson will remain in their leadership positions until Provincial Synod 2026. A photo with the members of the church leadership here. A video with animated images from the Synod days here and here. An important topic of the synod was Project 32 on the strategic direction of the province for the years 2022 to 2032. The daily devotions, Bible studies and church services as well as the communal meals and various information and sales stands on the fringes of the synod were also important.
Interview with Hyacinth Christian in the "Moravian Messenger"
The Moravian Church in the UK, which had 971 members in 2021, is largely made up of black people and people of colour who or whose parents immigrated to Europe from former British colonies. One of these members who immigrated from Antigua in 1956 is Hyacinth Christian, who was recently interviewed by the Moravian Messenger. See in English here (Page 7). When asked about her greatest joys, she said: singing in the church choir and in an ecumenical Caribbean choir, visiting the elderly, leading church services and working on the British World Day of Prayer Committee. She cited the following as particular challenges she had to overcome: "I didn't know the history of the Moravian Church. I took part in a lay course despite my limited Moravian knowledge. At the suggestion of Rev Smith and Sister Olive Linyard, I was chosen to be a representative of the Moravian Church on the national World Day of Prayer committee."
Invitation to a Unity day of prayer on January 6, 2024
In view of the current crisis-ridden world situation and with reference to the Unity prayer watch that began in old Moravian Church on August 27, 1727, the Moravian Church in Great Britain has called for January 6, 2024 to be an additional Unity Day of Prayer. Call in English and all kinds of practical suggestions here. Liturgical elements from the Epiphany and mission liturgy here. The appeal states: "We want to consciously place ourselves under God's rule. We want to refresh, strengthen and revitalize the current church with our prayers so that we can be a sustainable church in the 21st century ... Let the day be a day of communal encounter with God and getting to know his view of our reality and problems. It is about - in this order - listening to God and being heard by God. It's about allowing God to change our perspective and the size of our heart (our heart's capacity)."
Special service in Leichester/GB
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".
Jamaica
In 1754, the Moravian Church began its work in Jamaica. Unlike many other mission areas, the Moravian missionaries were, in a sense, requested by plantation owners. They were to take care of the enslaved Africans. The missionaries were thus more dependent on the European colonizers than in other regions of the world. Through migration, the church experienced a changing time. In 1967 it became a formal Unity Province and thus independent. With about 8000 members, Jamaica is one of the smaller Unity provinces.
News from this region
Jamaica streams synod opening and "Annual Emancipation Lecture"
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.
Severe devastation caused by hurricane "Beryl" in Jamaica

The Board of World Mission in the USA is currently coordinating an emergency relief effort for the victims of Hurricane Beryl, which caused severe devastation in Jamaica in early July. Rev Barrington Daley, President of the Moravian Provincial Board in Jamaica, has reported that while the damage from the storm can be seen throughout the country, the greatest damage is in the congregations of Manchester and St Elizabeth. Church buildings and the homes of Moravian Church members have sustained significant roof damage, and there is still no electricity or access to telephones in much of Jamaica. Together with the Board of World Mission, Herrnhuter Missionshilfe has also made funds available from its emergency relief fund. Donations can be made directly to the USA via this link. Alternatively, donations can also be transferred to Herrnhuter Missionshilfe using the reference Hurricane Beryl (DE25 5206 0410 0000 4151 03).
The "Beaufort Moravian Church" in Westmoreland was built 190 years ago
The Jamaican daily newspaper The Gleaner published a lengthy article on 21 April 2024 to report on the 190th anniversary of the founding of the Beaufort Moravian Church in Westmoreland in the west of the island. Reporter Paul H. Williams explains that the Moravian missionary Johann Heinrich Gottlob was the initiator of the church's construction and his colleague Johann Adam Freibele was the congregation's first pastor. The church was built in 1834 in order to have an outpost away from existing mission stations to look after the former slaves working in Westmoreland. The British Crown's Emancipation Act of 1833 had stipulated that slavery was to end on 1 August 1834. The work of the Moravian Church in Jamaica dates back to December 1754, when the missionaries Zacharias Caries, Thomas Shallcross and Gottlieb Haberecht came ashore on the Black River near St Elizabeth.
Latina Bromfield-Robinson on the best list for the third time
In March 2024, Latina Bromfield-Robinson was on the Principal's Honour Roll of apprentices at Bethlehem Moravian College (BMC) in Malvern/St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, for the third year in a row. The student received an award for this unprecedented achievement from Claudene Blythe-Miles, Deputy Principal, at the Annual Awards Ceremony on 15 April 2024. Congratulations to you! One photo each of the 2024 award here, 2023 here and 2022 here. Latina Bromfield-Robinson is preparing to become a teacher. Back in 2014, the BMC concluded a trilateral agreement with the Teacher’s Colleges of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies, which authorises the BMC to independently award a Bachelor of Education degree. In November 2015, the first cohort of students achieved this degree.
From the "Provincial Youth Ralley 2024" in Jamaica
The Moravian Church in Jamaica had invited to another Provincial Youth Ralley 2024 at the Convenant Moravian Church in Kingston on Wednesday, 14 February 2024, starting at 9.30 am. A video summary of the seven-hour event here. The motto of the event was Join the Resistance!. Of course, there was music and singing of a very diverse nature (predominantly modern-charismatic, but also traditional-African) and from several singers and bands. But there were also sermons and testimonies from young people; there were gospels and songs of praise, games and competitions and prominent guests were welcomed by the church leadership. Several children and young people or youth groups from individual districts were honoured at the end of the event for their special ideas or achievements.
200 years ago: Primary education in Jamaica began with the Moravian Church
The Ministry of Education in Jamaica recently marked a milestone anniversary at the Lititz Moravian Congregation in St. Elizabeth: the Bicentennial Celebrations of Primary Education in Jamaica 1823-2023. Nevadeene Gallimore Miller, a director in the Ministry of Education, thanked the Moravian Church for its contribution to the development of national primary education. This began 200 years ago with the opening of the first elementary school for slave children in what is now St. Elizabeth. The pioneering work of the former Moravian missionaries is indelibly anchored in the minds of the country's educators. To this day, the Moravian Church is an important partner of the Jamaican state in the transformation of the education system. Today, there are 33 elementary school in Jamaica that are affiliated with the Moravian Church. To a longer newspaper article in The Gleaner here.
"Maidstone Museum" in Jamaica tells the story of slave emancipation

Every fall, the Maidstone Museum in the northwest of Manchester (Jamaica) offers special tours for schoolchildren. During these tours, the children learn about the history of the liberation of slaves of African descent in Jamaica. The museum - opened in 2015 - houses hundreds of artifacts used by slaves and slave owners in the 19th century. The former coffee plantation Maidstone, also known as Nazareth, developed under the influence of the Moravian Church into one of the oldest free villages in Jamaica. The museum displays, among other things, a list of the names of the Jamaican pioneer slaves, the first slaves to become landowners after their liberation. The Nazareth Moravian Church (1834, new building 1890, National Heritage Site), the churchyard of the Moravian Church, the ruins of an old slave hospital and Trial Hill, the place of trial and execution for slaves, are also located in the vicinity of the museum. Watch the video of museum curator Ava Frith hier. Article from The Gleaner newspaper hier.
Sporty days at "Bethlehem Moravian College" in Jamaica
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.
Awarding of scholarships and work of the IT Club at Bethlehem Moravian College
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.
Labrador
Labrador is already an old mission area. After an attempt was broken off again in 1752, the possibility arose in 1771 to establish a mission station permanently on the coast. The Moravians had experience with Arctic conditions since 1733, when they founded Neuherrnhut on Greenland.
As in the other Arctic regions, the church grew slowly and established mission stations along the coast. The change from the widely scattered hunting society of the Yupik, in which the "catcher" played a central role in family and society, to a westernized society with larger settlements for schools and hospitals brought a variety of problems that are only slowly being worked through. The church has accompanied the change.
After Labrador became an independent Unity province in the 1960s, its own forces were too weak to manage leadership, organization, theological education and some other things on its own. Therefore, in 2002, Labrador applied to be classified as a mission province and has since received support from the America North Province.
The church headquarters are located in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Pictures Labrador
News from this region
Benefit Singstunde for the Moravian Church in Labrador
Chris Giesler, a bishop of the Moravian Church from the North American North Province, has reached retirement age. To mark the occasion, a benefit Singstunde will be held at Emmaus Moravian Church in Emmaus, PA, starting at 6 p.m. on October 5, 2024. At this gathering, the bishop and members of his family and friends will perform a musical program. The invitation reads: “Come sing, listen to God's word, pray, and contribute to a project that supports the Moravian Church in Labrador. The money raised will be used to buy books and daily watchwords for our brothers and sisters there.” See here. The watchwords for Labrador, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (all in Canada) are available in the indigenous language Inuktitut. This language is currently spoken by about 34,000 people. Since 2012, there has been a language institute in Iqaluit/Baffin Island.
From the Labrador Synod
Synod 2024 was recently held in the Labrador Mission Province of the worldwide Moravian Church. The synod members gathered in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Despite a late start to the Synod due to bad weather on the coast and cancelled flight connections, Synod delegates were able to complete their work on 25 May 2024 as planned. Sarah Jensen was re-elected as chair of the church leadership. The Board of World Mission was represented at the synod by Chris Giesler, Director of Practical Missions. He led workshops on the history of the Moravian Church and the Moravian Guide for Biblical Interpretation. The Labrador Mission Province currently only includes (from north to south) the four small, mostly very remote congregations of Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Two pictures from the synod here.
Gold, copper and nickel finds near Hopedale in Labrador
Geological explorations that have been ongoing since 2020 have revealed that there are mineable gold, copper and nickel deposits in the ground in the hinterland of the former Moravian mission station Hopedale (Labrador). This has now been announced by Labrador Gold Corp. At the end of 2023, the company exercised the option to acquire 100 per cent of the four mining licences granted, which cover a total of almost 700 claims. The large Hopedale mining area extends over 43 kilometres along the Florence Lake Greenstone Belt. Roger Moss, President of Labrador Gold Corp, sees considerable potential for further major discoveries in the now contractually secured mining area. He thanked the Department of Natural Resources of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador for their financial support in the exploration of the concession area under the 2023 Junior Exploration Assistance Programme. More here. It remains to be seen what the start of mining will mean for the highly sensitive Arctic environment and for the people in the Moravian Church of Hopedale.
Prayer for the Synod in Labrador
On 22 and 23 May 2024, the Moravian Church in Labrador, which operates as a mission province of the worldwide Moravian Church, will hold its next synod. A training programme in 2022 resulted in six new lay pastors now working in the remaining four congregations of Happy Valley, Makkovik, Hopedale and Nain. The province, whose beginnings date back to 1772, is led by Sarah Jensen in the southernmost congregation of Happy Valley. Intercession - see here – is prayed in particular a) for the youth aged 13 to 30, where suicides are common; b) for the lay preachers and congregational elders to become strong leaders; c) for the couple McKinley and Darlene Winters to successfully complete their theological master's degree and then be ordained; d) for spiritual life in the congregations and for congregational growth; e) for the unity of the province and the worldwide Moravian Church; f) for the delegates to the upcoming Synod in May 2024.
Find in Nain, Labrador: 1,500 sheets of handwritten music
In Nain, Labrador, a former mission station of the Moravian Church, founded in 1771, more than 1,500 sheets of handwritten music were discovered, some of which date back to 1810. This was reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian musicologist Tom Gordon described the sheet music found as jewels: "Great choral pieces - parts for the choir and parts for the orchestra - all in Inuktitut," he marvelled. Because the music he found differs from older music found in Nain in terms of compositional style and arrangement, Tom Gordon assumes that it was written in the mission station Okak, which is located further north and no longer exists, especially as some of the works are signed by the Inuit organist Jeremias Sillit, who worked mainly in Okak. "If it turns out that the majority of the music comes from Okak, then this will add considerable value to the find," emphasised Tom Gordon.
Prime Minister's request for forgiveness from Inuit in Hopedale and Makkovik
"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.
London: New gravestone for Sara Ubraha Uvloriak from Labrador
There is an Inuit grave in the Moravian Church churchyard in London-Chelsea which until recently had a small stone on it with the inscription: "En Eskimo Child, departed 1900". It was later discovered that this was the grave of Sara Ubraha Uvloriak, who had arrived in London shortly before her death as one of more than 30 Inuit who had been "exhibited" in Paris on the occasion of the "Games of the Second Olympiad 1900". Although the Moravian Church had not initiated this exhibition, many of the Inuit "on display" belonged to the Moravian Church or were connected to the Moravian Church mission. Therefore, the Inuit child who apparently died on the "return transport" was buried in the churchyard of the "Fatter Lane Moravian Congregation" in London-Chelsea. On Friday 29 September 2023, members of the Moravian Church in London gathered to lay a new gravestone on the old grave, on which the name and exact dates of the life of the child who had gone home are engraved. More here.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits former mission station Nain
Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Pierre Trudeau and his son Hadrian visited the former Moravian mission station of Nain (founded in 1771) for the first time, as reported by the Aboriginal People's Television Network on National News. See here. "Since 2015, I have invited the prime minister to my homeland," said Natan Obed, chief representative of 60,000 Inuit in Canada, in his welcoming speech, calling the presidential visit very significant. They talked about weapons, fishing and hunting, about the health of the Inuit, but also about reconciliation between white Canadians, whose ancestors trampled on the rights of the indigenous people for centuries, and today's Inuit. A video of the presidential visit, which was also attended by Johannes Lampe, President of the Autonomous Iniut Region of Nunatsiavut. The implementation of the "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples" was also on the 14-point list of issues.
Auxiliary organist from Nain publishes book on Inuit Moravian Music

Dr. Tom Gordon, Prof. emeritus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland School of Music, Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and adjunct organist at Nain Moravian Church, has written and published a book Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador with McGill-Queen's University Press. See here. In it, he pays tribute to the music that resounds in the Moravian Church in Nain, then as now: "A remote church covered with wooden shingles in a barren, arctic landscape, more than just a place of worship: churches are symbols that may evoke negative reactions to the history of Christian colonisation. In this church, however, the voices of a well-matched choir resound, accompanied by experienced strings or even spirited wind instruments. The Inuit who play here are stewards of a tradition of complex sacred music introduced to Labrador by Moravian missionaries in the late 18th century - a tradition to which the musicians have given their own cultural expression over the decades."
Mission areas
Mission areas are currently Angola, Belize, Congo/Eastern Sud Kivu, French Guiana, Garifuna, Haiti, Kenya, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Asia, Tanzania/Ruvuma, Tanzania/Central South, Uganda, Zanzibar.
News from this region
Prayer requests from the Moravian Church in Peru

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’.
Prayer day for the Moravian Church in Brazil
The Board of World Mission (BWM) of the Moravian Church in North America recently proclaimed the third Thursday in March as aday of prayer for the Moravian Church in Brazil The Iglesia Morava has penetrated northern Brazil through the activities of brothers and sisters in Suriname. In 2020, Br Mauricio Melo approached the BWM with the question of what needed to be done so that an independent Moravian Church could be established in Brazil. He and his wife Jucineide then took part in the Spanish-speaking Moravian Resources Conference 2022 in Panama. Since then, the couple have joined other Moravians in Central and South America in a weekly Bible course that takes place online and is led by Will Cuthbert from the Moravian Church in Costa Rica. In 2023, the Unity Synod in Cape Town authorised the establishment of the Moravian Church in Brazil as a Prospective Mission Area. There are currently around 50 members of the Moravian Church in Brazil. Under the link above you can also find specific prayer requests in English.
From the "Ray of Hope School" in Kenya
In their last newsletter in 2023, Michael and Cecilia Tesh greeted us with their daughter Bessing, who have been working for the Moravian Church in Kenya for a decade. Together with the Kenyan John, they are responsible for the Ray of Hope School near the country's capital Mombasa, among other things. They write: "The Lord has been faithful to us as a family. We were able to harvest seven 90kg bags of maize from our garden. We will use it to help other needy people. It will also save us a lot of money, as maize is one of the staple foods in Kenya. The price of maize has risen sharply. We are grateful for all the rain ... Things are going well at the Ray of Hope School. It now has four classes. We are praying that more and more children will attend the school and that we will be able to add a fifth class in 2024. A congregation in Turkana organised a Christian camp in Mombasa. The Ray of Hope children were able to attend the camp."
Michael and Cecilia Tesh report from Kenya

Dr Cynthia Campbell, the US Southern Province Mission Society representative on the Board of World Mission BWM, visited the Moravian Church in Kenya in July 2023, specifically the Ray of Hope project, an orphanage and school near Mombasa. There she held Bible studies together with the local pastor Benjamin Elim and his wife Florence, there she preached in a small church and there she put into operation two new toilet houses financed by the Moravian Church in the USA (Mizpa women fellowship) right next to the school. The leaders write in the mission magazine Onward, issue for September/October 2023: "The toilets are an important contribution to a healthy school environment free of contagious diseases. We now have 120 pupils who received new pillowcase dresses. Due to the drought, which continues year after year, there is no agriculture here in many places. Help is needed in several places".
Moravian School in Kathmandu: Children's festival and excursion

Grade 3, 4 and 5 students from the International Kindergarten & Shristi Academy of the Moravian Church in Kathmandu, Nepal, visited an art exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery on 11 August 2023. The exhibition features works by 46 artists in very different crafts and art techniques. The children were to see the variety of artistic works with their own eyes. Some pictures from the exhibition visit here. Already on 27 July 2023, the children had celebrated a summer and children's party in their school, where cooling down was repeatedly needed due to the great heat. Some pictures here. The school, which receives support from the Moravian Church in the USA, is an international, interfaith school, but is run by committed local Christians with occasional external volunteers.
Ecumenical Sisters Meeting in Brazil

One of the youngest branches in the tribe of the worldwide Unity has been the Moravian Church in Brazil since 2020. It is supported primarily by the Moravian Church in Peru and in North America. A recent communication from the Board of World Mission states: "Our brothers and sisters in Brazil share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a variety of ways in their growing community. In July 2023, they hosted an ecumenical women's meeting, inviting women from many denominations: for prayer, discussion and personal sharing." Three pictures from the meeting here.
Mission History
The Moravian Church has been a missionary church from the very beginning. This is the only reason why the worldwide Moravian Church exists today. In the course of its almost 300-year history, many hundreds of Europeans have gone to different regions of the world to spread the good news. They did not carry the Gospel alone, but usually also their European culture, ethics and history. The European influence often did a lot of good, for example, schools and hospitals were built. However, missionaries also kept slaves themselves or sent bones and skulls to Europe for "scientific" purposes.
The Moravian Church also wants to face these dark sides of mission history.
News to Mission History
John Heckewelder, a Moravian missionary as proto-ethnologist
In the anthology Transculturality. Gender- und bildungshistorische Perspektiven, ed. by Wolfgang Gippert et al. (transkript Verlag Bielefeld), the Pietism and Moravian Church researcher Pia Schmid, professor at the University of Halle/Saale, publishes an 18-page essay on Moravian Church mission in North America in the 18th/19th century. The essay is entitled: John Heckewelder's 'History of Indian Nations' (1819). A missionary as proto-ethnologist. The essay can be read online here (page 105ff). Pia Schmidt shows how the Moravian missionary John Heckewelder, a student of David Zeisberger, endeavoured to awaken understanding among his white readers for the differences in the customs and traditions of the indigenous peoples of North America. John Heckewelder does this, for example, in his comments on scalping, a custom that seems particularly cruel and senseless to Europeans, but which makes perfect sense in the culture and warfare of the Native Americans.
Reappraisal of missionary history
- Issue 12-2024 of the widely read magazine Publik-Forum contains an article by Johann Hinrich Claussen, Berlin, the EKD's cultural representative, on the Moravian Church's first picture. The article combines an appreciative look at this picture with critical comments on the circumstances that contributed significantly to its creation. Listen to the article here.
- Several webinars organised by Mission 21 in Basel, an organisation to which the Herrnhut Mission in Switzerland also belongs, are dedicated to the actions of Christian missionary societies in the context of slavery and colonialism. It examines historical points of contact between Christian missions and racism and discrimination. With the eleven webinars, Mission 21 makes it clear that the transparent and scientific reappraisal of missionary history is one of the organisation's most important concerns. To the eleven webinars here.
Zinzendorf as slave owner
Back in 2021, a lengthy essay by Dr Josef Köstlbauer from the Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies at the University of Bonn was published in English in an anthology, which deals with the actions of Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf and his wife Erdmuth Dorothea as slave buyers and slave owners. As the essay has received little attention in Germany to date, it has now been reviewed by Andreas Tasche and its two most important sections (two case studies) have been translated into German. The essay is entitled: 'I Have No Shortage of Moors! Mission, Representation, and the Elusive Semantics of Slavery in Eighteenth-Century Moravian Sources. It is striking how ruthlessly the count and countess behaved towards their personal slaves and how they asserted their property rights with all vigour when they "escaped" - right up to the King of Denmark! - asserted. It makes us wonder why the presence of enslaved people was apparently taken for granted in the Moravian Congregations Herrnhaag, Herrndeijk, Zeist and Barby. To the review here.
Herrnhut missionary brought skulls from South Africa to Germany
On 15 February 2024, the Sächsische Zeitung reported in a full-page article by Thomas Ruhland that, with the help of Herrnhut missionaries, at least one human skull came from the South African mission station Shilo via the Genadendal station to Herrnhut for research purposes and was later sold - together with 27 other skulls - to the skull collector Hermann Welcker in Halle/S. See here. A total of 831 human skulls are still stored in the Meckelschen Sammlungen in Halle: the skull of Caffern Mqhayis from Shilo in a display case. The skull bears the inscription Coll. Becker; this refers to Carl Joseph Becker, a doctor in Herrnhut, whose son Woldemar later completed a doctorate on the skulls of indigenous people. In Herrnhut, the journalist was given the desired access to the Unity Archiv and also to private ethnological collections. The Moravian Church is pleased about the ongoing research into the darker chapters of its mission and supports it.