Page 3 - Moravian Messenger January 2020

The photograph opposite the text for Friday 20th September in the Daily Watchwords, is Christiansfeld. Little did I think I'd see the only Moravian Settlement in Denmark this year.
In 1982 I did my elective during my Medical Training in Sikonge, Tanzania and met Danish Missionaries. I have kept in touch with two each Christmas. Last Christmas one of them invited me to her summerhouse on the west coast of Denmark. As Denmark is flat, I thought I would see some of the country by bike. So, I flew from Manchester and hired a bike. In easy stages I went across the country. A stretch needed to be done by train, as there is only a most impressive motorway bridge and a railway tunnel and bridge linking Copenhagen's large island to the rest of the country. I got off the train and headed for Christiansfeld on a more country road. I stayed in the hotel where kings had stayed in the past and seemed to arrive when there was a wedding reception. I then made for the museum that was in the former sisters' house. This was most interesting and included a display about Jørgen Bøytler whom I have met in Tanzania who is now the Unity Board Administrator. I also saw a collection of artefacts from around the world and the church room in the sisters' house. I walked round the Settlement that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and onto God's Acre. This is having a lot of work done at the moment, but all the stones are the same and just slightly raised at one end to allow the Danish rain to run off. They are much like those at Gracehill in Northern Ireland! The next day I attended the morning service - all in Danish of course with two 16 year old boys taking turns on the organ. Then I had a catch up with Jørgen and his wife Ellen over coffee. The afternoon was spent on a little cycle tour, before going to meet another person I had met in 1982; Kirsten Thomsen who worked at the Bible School for many years and now lives in the widows' house that is a series of apartments for all, not just widows. We reminisced and then continued over
© Sr Claire Summers
supper with two missionaries who had just returned from Sikonge. I really enjoyed my visit and also the honey cakes made in the Bakery in the Settlement!
I then cycled on further west, stopping at a couple of places and having time to look around various churches. I even paddled in the North Sea! I then cycled north behind the large sea wall and near the Rinkøbing Fjord to meet Ellen Delgard Jensen, the nurse I first met in 1982. She made me most welcome and again we reminisced a lot. We took a walk along the sandy beach and stopped at bunkers used to defend the coast in the war. We then visited some sand sculptures, a feature each year, and the theme this year was robots, giving much food for thought. I met her two sisters who have an adjacent holiday cottage and each like Ellen had been married to a minister. The next day we attended church in a nearby town, where the collection, by coincidence, was for the Danish Mission Board that supported the missionaries in Sikonge. After an excellent fish lunch, we looked around a museum about the local fishing industry. I did a little cycle ride that evening to get close to the local light house.
The next day it was back to Copenhagen on the train. I had a full day in the city before returning to Manchester and managed to pack in three bus tours and a boat trip. I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Christiansfeld and why
not see some more of the country, from the slow lane - the Danes make cycle lanes separate from the cars and you get priority at lights and roundabouts and nearly everyone can speak to you in English!!
Sr Claire Summers
Diaspora
usually broken so easily?
Why not just rip up those empty promises and instead challenge yourself to do something out of your comfort zone? Go on that holiday by yourself, start a new hobby, enquire about ministry, the possibilities are endless. Go with faith, be tested, be challenged and know that God goes with you.
Sr Lorraine Shorten Minister at Hall Green United Community Church and Leominster Moravian Church
New Year, New Challenge continued
stepping off the roof, leaning out and putting my trust in the ropes holding me.
When I offered myself for ministry in the church, I was out of my comfort zone. I questioned myself continually 'Who was I to presume I was suitable for a call to ministry?'. The process and subsequent training at Northern College alongside students from other denominations showed us that we all have gifts for ministry, though not all the same. Our mantra was 'God doesn't call the equipped; God equips those He calls'. Throughout my training I experienced so many powerful moments of being in the right place that I knew that I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do. I was stepping out and putting my trust in God.
Many times, our faith is tested but may be not as much as Hagar, Abraham's second wife. At the request of Sarah, Hagar conceived a child with Abraham but ran away after being treated cruelly by Sarah. Hagar's faith kept her strong in the face of starvation and homelessness. An angel of God spoke to Hagar and told her to return to her mistress, despite the consequences. Hagar remained strong and faithful to God and gave birth to a son called Ishmael.
New Year is a time for making resolutions. How many of you make yourself promises on the 1st January only to have broken them by the 2nd? Every year when I was younger, I made a promise to stop biting my nails, I think I lasted an hour! So, what is the point of making promises that are
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A Visit to Christiansfeld