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A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

   What a celebration it was! On Saturday, Sept. 3rd, a dinner was held at New Philadelphia to honor missionaries who served in Honduras, Nicaragua, and throughout the Caribbean. The meal was prepared and served by 35 Moravians from Miami's Prince of Peace Church, under the capable leadership of Sr. Norma Smith. 

   Notable among the honored guests were: Rev. Joe Gray - accompanied by Rev. Sam Gray, wife Lorena and son Christian, Steve Gray, and the twins Sandy and Carol; Dr. Sam Marx with wife Grace and son Dr. Richard; Rev John Giesler and Barbara with daughters Debby and Cindy and families; Bishop Graham Rights, Sybil, and son Rev. John G.; the Rev. George Chiddie and wife Jean.  Winning the prize for having come the farthest was Dr. John Gilliland and wife Nancy from Indiana, followed by Rev Will and Lorraine Dreger from Pennsylvania, and Rev. Jim Blanton from Morehead City.

   Tri-lingual musical treats were offered by the Gray family, with Br. Kevin Frack joining in. They even made Br. Joe sing for his supper (actually his birthday cake) and their performance was awesome.

   Many of those who had gown up in Jamaica, Honduras, and Nicaragua gave testimony to the contributions to their lives by these dedicated missionaries. Because of this great outpouring of love and caring, they went on to become nurses, teachers, pastors, and successful business people. Never have I heard such expressions of appreciation, gratitude, and agape love for these servants of the Lord. Included in their stories were fond memories of Saints who have already joined the Church Triumphant: Elizabeth Marx, Werner and Martha Marx, Dr. David Thaeler, and many others.

   Anne and I had the pleasure of serving these Miamians a Moravian chicken pie lunch, complete with green beans, German coleslaw, and corn bread after the worship service at New Philadelphia on Sunday morning - just before they began the long drive home.

   I couldn't help but think of the painting “First Fruits" in the Saal in Zeist. For here, first hand, were the fruits from the original seeds planted years ago, beginning in 1732 in St. Thomas, by group of totally committed Christians, anxious to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

   Hope to see all of you at the Mission Lovefeast at Macedonia Moravian on Nov.6th at 3 PM.

God Bless!

Jack Geis

A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

We appreciate your interest in joining with us to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. At this time, we are registering teams of not more than 12 to15 people per team who are interested in volunteering with Samaritan's Purse for Disaster Relief. Please send in only one of these forms per team. Please give us three possible dates that your team might be available and we will do our best to accommodate your schedule.            Note that signing up for service does not necessarily mean that we will be able to use you at this time, as our needs in this situation are changing rapidly. We are not accepting donations of goods or food. We appreciate your flexibility at this difficult time and we are grateful for your willingness to be the hands of God in this disaster.

       To furnish us with information to be used in planning our volunteer schedule, please use the form described below and return it to them electronically following the directions for submission. Then send a copy of your information to Br. Mark Ebert at mebert@mcsp.org.  We will contact you, as our disaster relief plans develop, and attempt to arrange a schedule for you to serve at one of our locations.  Thank you again for your offer to help.  May the Lord bless you!

Please find volunteer forms at

Samaritans Purse Volunteer

A WORD FROM JESUS

You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father. You didn’t choose me, remember, I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil…Remember the root command: Love one another.      

John 15. The Message. Eugene H Peterson.