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A REPLY BY BR. HERBERT WEBER TO AN ARTICLE BY BR. HARTMUT BECK IN THE TMDK

 Like you, I think, I have been troubled by what I often feel is unwarranted criticism of missionaries in previous eras. I thought you dealt very effectively with this matter.

 I am sensitive about this because my Weber grandparents and one son were lost in a storm at sea at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River in Alaska and my father, who had been left with grandparents to go to school, was the only surviving member of the family. My grandparents served in Alaska for almost ten years before being granted a furlough. They were there in the early days of the Mission at a time when the isolation is hard for us to imagine today and when the only transportation was by boat in the summer and by dog-team in the long winter. Mail would often require months to reach its destination.

 As my grandparents served in Alaska in the 1890’s I am sure they were people of their time with the attitudes and feelings of people of that era. I am sure they felt they were helping to bring civilization to uncivilized people. I feel sure they knew little of the rich culture the Yupik people had developed over thousands of years. However, it is certainly true that they did not go to Alaska to seek material gain or to exploit the people there. There was but one compelling motive and that was to take the Gospel to those who had not heard it and for that they willingly yielded up their lives. As you stated so well: One cannot condemn missionaries of previous centuries because their actions were not oriented to the standards which one would establish today from the perspective of the 20^th (and 21^st) century. Rather, we should honor and applaud them for what they achieved in the name of Jesus Christ whom they served.

All of us are influenced by other cultures and especially is this true in the United States – a land of immigrants. Our Church Litany for hundreds of years has included the Kyrie-eleison which came to us from Germany and which came to Germany from Greece where it originated in the Greek Orthodox Church. Our Moravian congregations in the United States love the traditional chorales which came to us from Germany. I have enjoyed the hearty singing of Moravian congregations in the Caribbean area as they sang traditional Moravian hymns or Sankey hymns which came from Europe and America but which they have made their own.

I have the strong feeling that the Missions task of the Moravian Unity has not been completed. I believe that Mission is what the Moravian Unity does best. I have the conviction that Mission is the reason Almighty God called the Moravian Church into existence. Our approach, though at times affected by the imperfect knowledge of former eras, on the whole has been wise and blessed with fine results. I rejoice that Moravian missionary efforts have sought to minister to the needs of the whole person. We have not sought just to count converts but at great effort have brought healing to sick bodies and have labored diligently to bring education to those who otherwise would have been deprived of it. It thrills me to know that in the Caribbean area today the Moravian Church is still known as the church of the slaves. It is reported that though our missionary work among the Cherokee Indians in this country ended almost one hundred years ago, still today the Cherokee people express great gratitude for what the Moravians did for them.

Like many others I feel uncomfortable in this highly secularized, money-obsessed society in which we live today. Perhaps the day is not far off when Moravian missionaries will be coming from our former mission areas to evangelize the United States and Europe which are rapidly becoming so secularized and, indeed, pagan.

Rather than criticizing missionaries of other times, let us give thanks for their monumental achievements in the face of great difficulties and let us learn from their unwavering commitment to their Savior in whose name they labored so well and sometimes laid down their lives.

With deep appreciation for your fine article,

Sincerely,

F. Herbert Weber

(The article which prompted this excellent letter is from TMDK (Transatlantic Moravian Dialogue – Correspondence) which is published both in German and English, and is a scholarly but practical attempt to investigate the history and theology of Moravians on the continent and in America. The article was written by Br. Hartmut Beck, a retired pastor in Germany and a former missionary in South Africa. He is the author of a history of Moravian missions in German, which needs to be translated into English. This article whets our appetite. If you would like to purchase the May 2002 edition, or subscribe to the magazine, please contact the Rt. Rev. Arthur Freeman at Moravian Theological Seminary, 1200 Main ST, Bethlehem, PA  18018  USA.                                      JHG)