ONWARD Page 1 February 2006

ONWARD

MORAVIAN MISSIONS
FEBRUARY 2006 VOL XXVI – NO. 2

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REVEREND JOE GRAY

In 1949, the year the BWM was formed, Rev. Joe Gray and Lahoma Poindexter Gray travelled to Nicaragua to begin their service as Moravian missionaries. It would be the beginning of two “matches made in heaven!” Joe and Lahoma were married for almost 56 years (until her death in 2005), and Joe and Lahoma served as Moravian missionaries for most of their married life.

Joe was pastor of several congregations in Nicaragua, Honduras, Sierra Leone, Miami, Winston-Salem and Mt. Airy. He taught at the Instituto Bíblico Moravo in Bilwaskarma, Nicaragua and later became the Dean. He served as the last “foreign” Superintendent of both the Nicaraguan and Honduran Moravian Provinces, working to transition the leadership of the province into the hands of Rev. Joe Kelly (in Nicaragua) and Rev. Navarro Allen (in Honduras). He later worked with refugee relief efforts during the Sandinista-Contra conflict.

“Parson Gray” is also remembered for his work with the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Miskitu. He was a recipient of the John Hus award from Moravian Theological Seminary, where he was later was awarded an honorary doctorate as well.

Joe Gray passed into the more immediate presence of his loving Saviour on February 1, 2006. He is survived by one brother, Bill Gray; 5 children; 11 grandchildren; and 1 (soon to be 2) great-grandchildren, as well as thousands of adopted family members all around the world!

Home Moravian Church Mission Sunday

On Sunday, January 15^th, Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem celebrated its annual “Mission Band Lovefeast.” Dr. Philip and Mary Martha McKinley, members of Home Church, were the speakers for the occasion. They told about their work with the Honduran HIV/AIDS Education Program, and Dr. McKinley’s studies on Prevention of Mother-To-Child-Transmission in Ahuas, Honduras. The McKinleys used the parable of the Good Samaritan as their Scriptural foundation, and challenged the lovefeast crowd to turn an e-motion into motion!

Later that day, at the Sunday Evening Fellowship gathering, Rev. Sam Gray (BWM) brought a “mission update” to an inter-generational group, and asked the group if their congregation might consider taking on the Honduras HIV/AIDS Education Program as their special “burden” (in the more positive spiritual sense of the word!). There was enormous energy around the idea of reaching out as a congregation to make a difference in the lives of Honduran sisters and brothers faced with the challenge of combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic with limited resources.

By the middle of Monday morning, the BWM office had received several phone calls and e-mails from Home Church members, inquiring about the specifics of the project, and the necessary steps for turning their “lovefeast emotion” into a “mission motion!” God is moving in a powerful way!

CAROLINE & MICHAEL WOO

I can remember worshiping in the Beijing International Fellowship in 1996. There were 700 people there from probably 50 different countries, maybe even more languages, and definitely different styles of worship. One Sunday we sang traditional hymns that you would all know and love. I looked out over the auditorium and I saw a group of people worshiping the Lord which drew me to Him too. The next Sunday we sang a chorus that only had about 2 lines in it and we sang it over and over for about 20 minutes. I looked out again and saw a different group of people worshiping the Lord. I realized then and there that people have different forms of worship but have the same goal, to know and glorify God. As I thought of this I rejoiced and my heart praised the Lord for being so creative. I too worshiped the Lord even if my style of worship was not being used that day and I was (cont. on p.2)