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A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

To begin, I would like to congratulate Will Sibert on having been elected to the position of Executive Director of the Board of World Mission. The  Mission Society has helped support Will during his recent tour with BEE World and we look forward to working with him in his new role.

At the recent Intersynodal Conference of the Southern Province, we were blessed not only with the fellowship and worship, but by the key speaker, Dr. George Hunter III, founding dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. The theme of the whole conference was missions and he reiterated what many of us believe, that mission is the primary role of the church and therefore essential for its survival.

He has become a student of the Celtic Recovery of the Apostolic Ministry and pointed out how St. Patrick, and others, were so successful in evangelizing Ireland, Scotland, England and all of Europe by using the Scriptural model in Acts and carrying it out with lay people, as they did. His premise was that it is essential to meet people where they are, learn their language and culture, understand them and identify their needs, love them, and minister to them in that context. This is exactly what Zinzendorf and the early missionaries from Herrnhut believed and practiced.

His particular emphasis was on equipping lay people to become the ministers and evangelists, with the ordained clergy in the role of teachers and coaches.  I would add Amen! He was also very emphatic that we need to seek new ways of reaching people, that the old European model of church is losing its effectiveness.  Small groups seem to be the common factor in the growth of large independent churches in our country today.

            One of the statistics he cited on several occasions was that there are roughly 160 mission people in the US who have not been significantly reached with the Gospel message.  We have the largest number of “Lost” in the Western hemisphere, and the third largest in the world. His conclusion, “Our mission is on our doorstep”, the same one reached by the Continental and British Provinces at their conference in Herrnhut in 2001. 

            I have long felt the evangelistic component of the Board of Evangelism and Homeland Mission and that of our Mission Society substantially overlap. We all need to focus on reaching lost people, irrespective of borders and geographical considerations. May God grant us wisdom and His grace to do just that. Start by inviting someone who doesn’t have a church to join you.

God bless!

Jack Geis

THE CHEROKEE-MORAVIAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

            One of the most interesting outcomes of the 200^th anniversary of the beginning of the Cherokee Mission of the Moravian Church in 1801, was the revival of interest in picking up the contacts that had been lost when we turned over the work in the Indian Territories to the Lutheran Church at the close of the 19^th century. So at the beginning of the 21^st century a burst of interest has been ignited. Historians in Springplace, GA and Cherokees in New Springplace, Oklahoma both marked the date. The archeological work done in Georgia and the construction of a new visitors center gives our old forgotten mission new life. A very successful tour of about 50 Moravians last September has given us a very active group of workers. But the real dynamic person has been Sr. Anna Smith, a member of Fries Memorial Church in Winston-Salem. She became a second career student at Salem College and realized the unique role of Salem College in the education of 14 Cherokee young ladies who attended Salem in the 19^th century as the extension of the Mission educational work in Springplace. Her pioneering study of the relationship between these girls and Sr. Anna Rosina Kliest Gambold, one of the greatest American Moravian missionaries, brought new insights to our church and great interest of present day Cherokees.

Now the beginning of the CMHA is taking that interest to a new height. The officers of this new organization are: Pres. Anna Smith – V.P. John H. Giesler – Sec. Betty Hobbs – Treas. Ken Babb; and Board members are Ulrike Weithaus, Graham Rights, Jack Baker, Errol Clauss, Herbert Weber, and Ken Robinson. The Committee Chairs are: Grants and Fundraising – Ken Robinson (WFU); Historic Sites – Mallie Graham; Hospitality – Janice Speas; Mailing and membership – Judy Tayloe; Moravian Archives Liaison – Herbert Weber; Programs – Errol Clauss; Publications – Graham Rights; Publicity – James McCoy; Travel – John and Barbara Giesler.

The first public event will be on Saturday, April 24^th, at 10:30 am at the YWCA on Glade Street. The speaker will be Dr. David Crass, State Archeologist of Georgia. He will give an illustrated lecture about his work on the Moravian Mission God’s Acre at Springplace. He used the latest scientific equipment of ground radar to locate each grave and determine the perimeters of the graveyard. The land was then donated and was beautifully landscaped and rededicated last summer. He is excited about his work there and as a WFU grad is a friend of Moravians. He hopes to help at the archeological work at New Springplace, so we will keep in touch. The lecture is free and open to the public. WFU will use him at several talks on Friday as well. You can become a member of CMHA by sending $20 to Betty Hobbs at POBox 15527, W-S 27113. We are over halfway to our goal for 2004 of 100 members. JHG