Page 3 - Moravian Messenger August 2018

New Provincial Board: Br David Howarth, Sr Roberta Hoey, Br Livingstone Thompson, Sr Zoe Taylor and Br Paul Holdsworth
Retiring Board members Br Bob Hopcroft and Sr Gillian Taylor
All Change at Synod Continued
Three members were elected to serve as part-time members to join Sr Zoe Taylor who has another two years to serve. Br David Howarth, minister of Baildon and Horton and Br Livingstone Thompson, minister of University Road Belfast and Kilwarlin Moravian Churches were elected to serve for four years. Br Paul Holdsworth, minister of Bath Coronation Avenue, Swindon and Bath Weston was elected to serve for two years.
The members of the Provincial Board are both the management board of the Moravian Church and the Trustees of the charity so they lead the Church during the two year period between Synods. The new members of the Provincial Board will take up their new offices over the summer and until then Sr Gillian Taylor and Br Robert Hopcroft will stay in post. When they retire they will, between them, have contributed 28 years of service on the Provincial Board. Speeches thanking them for their service were made by Sr Zoe Taylor and Sr Roberta Hoey.
Standing Orders were suspended on Saturday morning as two sessions on human sexuality were scheduled for this period, chaired by Br Peter Vogt, the co-minister at Herrnhut. The first part was taken up with discussions in small groups and there followed an open debate on the floor of Synod with Synodals sharing their opinions in the second session. The resolution that was passed later was that 'We recommend that the British Province of the Moravian Church should “continue to do theology in an attempt to discern the will of God” on the issue of Human Sexuality'.
Much of Synod is rightly taken up with worship and the Synod Opening Service was led by Sr Gillian Taylor and Br Jørgen Bøytler who preached on John 17:15-23 with the themes of truth, unity and history. His very thoughtful address will be reproduced in later issues of the Moravian Messenger. Bible Studies in the mornings were led by Br David Howarth who used the TV series 'Broken', starring Sean Bean as a catholic priest, to help us examine moral issues in a complicated world. Co-incidentally the Bible passages he used were also from John's gospel and looked at truth. The Evening worship was led by Sr Jane
This article cannot deal with all the matters that came up at Synod but of particular interest are the following proposals. The first was that 'Be it proposed that the Provincial Board appoint appropriate persons to assess the strength, sustainability and future direction of the British Province, and report back with recommendations to the next Synod'. The idea behind this is that our Province has reached a point where due to it's size, administration becomes a greater challenge.
Looking to the past was a resolution that called on the British Province and its congregations to celebrate the work and witness of John Cennick, Moravian evangelist born 12 December 1718. This was passed unanimously.
Another resolution was that 'The Provincial Youth and Children's Committee provide suitable materials and training for each congregation to do a comprehensive audit of its current youth and children's work, human and physical resources, and the needs and opportunities for working with children, young people and families in the communities in which they are located ...' It is hoped that this work will enable the church to be more focused in our families, children and youth work. On the same line was a proposal that called for a Moravian Youth Forum to be held before next Synod to mobilise young people.
A resolution that will really challenge all who work in church catering was 'We propose that Congregations reduce the use of single use plastics in all areas of church life. As a first step towards this goal all congregations are asked to reduce the following items (but not limited to) to 0% by 2020: cutlery, plastic or plastic-coated paper plates, plastic carrier bags, cling film, plastic water bottles, Styrofoam cups, Styrofoam plates and plastic straws.' It was felt that the church could not ask other organisations or individuals to cut back on plastic usage if we did not do the same.
Following on from the resolution on Child Poverty at the last Synod, it was resolved to join the End Child Poverty Coalition and the following resolution was carried 'This Synod requests the PEC and
Bishops to: Meet soon with the constituency MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, this being the constituency in which Moravian Church headquarters is located and to initiate an e-petition requesting the British Government to work towards the elimination of child poverty in the UK.'
Finally, it is a joy to report that the resolutions that Sr Jane Dixon and Br James Woolford 'goes forward for consecration as a presbyter,' both passed by enthusiastic acclaim (clapping).
Much more was covered at Synod than can be covered in this article but hopefully more information will be passed on by congregation deputies as they give their Synod reports.
Sr Lorraine Parsons
Dixon who thoughtfully brought each day to a close in prayer and reflection. The Synod Communion was led by Br Robert Hopcroft who preached on Hebrews 13:8 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever' and looked back on the changes that we have lived through in recent years. reminder that people had been praying for Synod before we met together and continued to do so throughout, came with the lovely prayer squares knitted by the Moravian Crafters for each Synodal and visitor.
Prayer squares knitted by the Moravian Crafters
© Sr Sarah Groves
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© Sr Sarah Groves
© Sr Sarah Groves