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A SAD MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF WORLD MISSION AND  JOINT  PEC  LEADERS

 Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord.

We write with deep regret to announce that Rev. Hampton Morgan Jr., Rev. Linda Faber, Rev. Sonna Schambach and Sister Gail Walker have submitted letters of resignation to the Board of World Mission. Each has found him- or herself to be conscientiously opposed to actions taken by Synods in 2002 or the failure of Synods to act on matters they deemed essential.

Brother Morgan and Sisters Walker, Faber and Schambach have served faithfully and led the Board of World Mission into evangelistic and church-planting initiatives among unreached people, as well as the faithful continuation of ministries with Moravian partners in other provinces.

Their letters of resignation will be the primary agenda for a special Board of World Mission meeting to be held February 7-8, 2003 in Winston-Salem.  The sponsoring bodies of the Board of World Mission (Alaska Province, Northern Province, Southern Province, and Unity of the Brethren) request your prayers in preparation for this important meeting of the Board of World Mission.

Christmas has come and gone, today we are starting the Season of Epiphany. A quiet New Year's Eve and two lively children's birthday parties have inaugurated the New Year. There's still snow outside and we are grateful for the occasional fire in the fireplace. As we look back on this year, I can tell you that the Vogt family has learned a lot!! We've learned lots of new things about living in Eastern

AN EPIPHANY MESSAGE OF HOPE

 Germany like being part of a small but lively church community with lots of families who are friends and who also have small children is a lot of fun. If you smile at strangers in Niesky, you will catch them completely off guard. Peter can preach and teach and counsel and most of all, that he can teach church leaders the advantages of advertising and networking. We've learned about having new jobs. Perhaps the most challenging part of our move has been the change in roles in the Vogt family.

Of course Peter has also learned about a new line of work. I don't think the change from student/scholar to pastor has always been easy, but it has been an adventure. We find church life in Germany and in Eastern Germany in particular challenging. The largest part of the population is un-churched and it seems that those outside have little interest in religious matters and those inside have little interest (or skill) in welcoming newcomers in .

At the same time, we have learned what a wonderful thing it is when people in your new environment reach out to you and make you feel welcome, invite you to their homes and look after you in times of need. We are blessed that especially Anna and Christian have been accepted into a circle of friends and never felt alone.

Mostly what we've learned is that adventures can bring families closer together and that challenges help us grow. One big challenge that lies ahead is making a decision about our future. Right now we are keeping all options open and are trying to discern where God is leading us. In the midst of transition, (continued on P 2)