By Lydian Bernhardt From his youngest childhood, Rev. Matthew Allen knew he had a calling. When other kids would come home from church on Sunday to go outside or watch television, Allen would come home from Friedland Moravian Church in Winston-Salem to play preacher. “I would stand on the hearth and pretend to give a…
Your gifts to the Moravian Field of Interest Funds are making a difference in the lives of people in the communities where Moravian congregations have a presence! Your Moravian Ministries Foundation in America, custodian of the Moravian Giving Portal and the Moravian Field of Interest Funds, is proud to announce $3,400 in grants to three…
Summer has arrived. Typically our communities of faith make changes to their schedules this time of year: some committees don’t meet in July, certain programming is suspended until the fall, and many alter their Sunday morning routines by combining services or having fewer Sunday School offerings. But this has certainly not been a typical year,…
By Lydian Bernhardt Extraordinary faith As a young child in Bluefields, Nicaragua, Mélida Hodgson learned to love the simple tenets and spiritual freedom of the Moravian church. When she moved to New York City at age 10 with her family, her fellowship with the church continued at John Hus Moravian Church in Brooklyn, where her…
Isaiah 43:19 begins with “See, I am doing a new thing!” It is safe to say we are all doing new things this year, whether it’s having groceries delivered, worshiping online, or teaching our children from home. How has your stewardship changed during this pandemic? What new things are you doing to give of your…
The Moravian Ministries Foundation in America (MMFA) is pleased to share the following list of stewardship strategies and tips for pastors and stewardship leaders. Over the past weeks we have spent time reading articles from our ecumenical partners and attending webinars, online meetings and conferences, as well as looking at what we know to be…
As our world continues to be impacted by a pandemic, our communities of faith continue to look for ways to be generous stewards through giving their time, talent, treasure, and testimony to be a part of God’s work. A few weeks ago we invited people to share their “washing one another’s feet” story with us…
I recently attended the Lake Institute’s “Congregations Learning and Practicing Abundance” class at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Over the course of two days, we examined how congregations learn, scarcity as an invisible norm, and how to move to a mindset and practice of abundance. Using Tim Shapiro’s book, “How Your Congregation Learns” (which I highly…
Last month we began a new “Spotlight on Stewardship” series as part of our regular communications. The series offers best practices for a holistic and sustainable stewardship ministry, as well as shares “stewardship success stories” from Moravian churches, emerging ministries, agencies, and more in North America. What story does your budget tell? Once upon a…
By Lydian Bernhardt It seems unlikely for a minister to be anything less than outgoing, but Adam Goodrich, pastor of Friedland Moravian Church, was a shy kid. “I was pretty quiet until high school,” he says. “I kept to myself and didn’t really talk a lot.” But he liked to participate in the youth group…