|
"Discerning God's Mission Through Our Unity"
Every seven years, representatives from the 19+ Moravian Church Provinces around the world gather to discuss and decide upon timely issues affecting the Church. The 2009 Moravian Unity Synod was held from July 27 through August 7 in London, England. Attending as a representative of the Northern Province, MTS professor Otto Dreydoppel was asked to present a report on the Synod’s resolutions and general atmosphere at the first Moravian Lunch of the 2009-10 academic year.
To get a sense of who is the Moravian Church, Otto offered a breakdown of the Moravian World by geographic location. Fifty percent (50%) of the Moravians in the world live on the continent of Africa. Unity Synod President Abe Appel comes from the South African Province. There are four provinces in Tanzania, and mission provinces are emerging in Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. Other provinces are located in North America (Alaska; Labrador, America, Northern [including Alberta and Ontario], and America South), the Caribbean (Eastern West Indies, Jamaica), Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua), South America (Guyana and Suriname, Europe (United Kingdom, Czech Republic, and the Continental Province, including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, and Estonia), and Asia (North India and Nepal). Being a global denomination, provinces generally operate within themselves but bring proposals to the Unity Synod.
The 2009 Unity Synod made 43 resolutions, including initiative in the areas of education about domestic abuse, stewardship of creation, efforts to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic, mission outreach, and the recognition of new provinces in the Moravian Unity. Proposals to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian persons living in committed relationships and to recognize same-sex civil unions were not resolved; particularly because of the detrimental effect these decisions would have in areas where the Moravian Church confronts Islamic neighbors.
The group of representatives was also given the opportunity to sight-see in London, visiting the Tower of London, enjoying a garden party in God’s Acre in Chelsea, and touring Count Zinzendorf’s Lindsey House. A PDF of the resolutions from Unity Synod can be downloaded at www.unitasfratrum.org/Resolutions_of_Unity.pdf.
|
