ONWARD Page 2 August 2006

Northern Province Synod

Reclaims the Great Commission

On June 15^th, the 102 congregations and other ministries and agencies of the Northern Province were called in to their 2006 Synod. More importantly, on June 19^th they were sent out – out into their communities and out into the world to make disciples and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Synod began with a keynote address by Bishop Claude Payne, author of “Reclaiming the Great Commission.” He spoke of the need to get out of the “maintenance mode” and get into a more “missional mode.” (This address can be viewed on video by visiting the Northern Province website – www.mcnp.org – and clicking on “multimedia presentations” in the Synod 2006 section.) Then, in his State of the Church address, Rev. Dave Wickmann (re-elected by the Synod as Provincial President) challenged the church to “tell the story of the love of God in Christ Jesus” and bring people to an experience of the “love of God in Christ Jesus.”

The mission emphasis could be seen even before the Synod began. The theme (“Reclaiming the Great Commission”), the focus and even the replacing of the term “committees” with the more missional term “mission teams” made it clear that this Synod would be all about mission. As was the case with the Mission Challenge 550 at the Southern Province Synod, the delegates rose to the task.

Many of the resolutions and reports that emerged from the “mission teams” gave substance and shape to this renewed commitment to making disciples and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here are just a few:

Reclaiming the Great Commission

The ninth and final report of Mission Team #4 (Mission Within The Congregations) resolved “that the 2006 Synod of the Moravian Church Northern Province shall encourage every congregation to consider ways of living out the Great Commission through its Worship, Christian Formation and Nurture, Hospitality, Fellowship, Evangelism, Stewardship, Mission and Outreach.”

Moravian Youth Mission Involvement

The second partial report of Mission Team #13 (Mission With Young People) resolved that “the 2006 Northern Province Synod shall affirm the Board of World Mission’s creation of Schools of Worship and Music in different parts of the world as one initiative… through which our youth can develop their capacities as both cross cultural servants and future leaders of Moravian congregations…”

Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Outreach

The sixth partial report of Mission Team #3 (Mission To The World) resolved that “the 2006 Synod of the Moravian Church Northern Province encourages the Board of World Mission to expand the work in Tanzania and also to begin an outreach ministry to serve HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa, providing medical supplies, medical teams, and pastoral ministry teams of MCA and ELCA members to assist in ministering to said patients…” It also called for a grant of $5,000 to fund this ministry.

Partnership for Rebuilding in the Gulf Coast

The fourth partial report of that same team (Mission to the World) affirmed a partnership between Moravian Disaster Response and Habitat for Humanity (or appropriate alternative) to build up to 7 homes in the Gulf Coast area over the next intersynodal period, and resolved that “congregations, agencies, groups and individuals” be encouraged to support this special mission financially as well as with volunteer teams.

Director of New Church Planting

The first partial report from Mission Team #7 (Mission Via The Great Commission) recognized that taking a commitment to the Great Commission to the “next level” can mean taking bold steps in regards to administrative initiative and infrastructure, and so resolved “to employ a full-time Director of Church Planting who has the qualities of visionary leadership, experience and training in the area of church planting, and the ability to communicate with church planters in various settings and situations.”

A statement from Mission Team #11 (Mission Through Future Resources) summed up the focus of the Synod. It was entitled “We Believe,” and it outlined the way in which our faith, our tradition, our institutions and our human and financial resources must be employed in the service of our Savior. “We believe that the call of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ summons and demands a response. We believe

“Our Lamb has conquered, we must follow Him.”