Page 7 - Moravian Messenger Jan 2021

Forward with Faith
Br David Johnston on a section of the new path
agreement) and for associated access and work on trees overhanging any sections of the path.
By now Ballymena Borough Council had become the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEABC) and a new 'Gracehill Village plan 2017-2022' was produced. MEABC were developing a programme of Village Renewal Schemes and as part of the new village plan an ultimately successful application for funding for 'The Gracehill Walking loop' was submitted.
With all planning and legal permissions in place and funding secured, work began in early 2020 to develop the path. Work was interrupted by the Covid-19 Pandemic but subsequently the pathway was completed by September 2020 at a cost of approximately £120,000.
Mindful of the importance of 'Place' and 'narrative' it was suggested to MEABC that rather than call the new amenity 'Gracehill Walking Loop' the names of the existing paths should be highlighted with appropriate signage. MEABC were supportive of this suggestion and also warmly welcomed and accepted the proposal that the new section of pathway be named Bishop's Walk, in celebration of the consecration of the Rt Rev Sarah Groves in November 2018. So, Brothers and Sisters Walks join into Bishop's Walk, Jubilee Woods and Widows Walk.
As we celebrate this wonderful new addition to the village we thank all those who supported and helped over so many years, not least MEABC for their generous funding. Everyone can now benefit from an important amenity that not only promotes wellbeing and regeneration but also enhances the historic environment and helps celebrate another chapter in the
ongoing story of
the special place
that is the
Moravian
Settlement of
Gracehill.
Br David Johnston
Gracehill
In the lead article of the Messenger for January 2020, Sr Lorraine Shorten challenged us to rip up the traditional rule book for new year resolutions that are easily forgotten. Instead we should step out of our comfort zone, to go with faith, be tested and challenged, knowing that God goes with us.
Well, as I begin to write this piece for January 2021, and look back over the last year, I can just about make out our comfort zone on the distant horizon! A year of testing and challenge and plenty of grieving for the things left behind or missed due to the pandemic. It has made it difficult to know what the next year has in store. Normally by now I have a whole calendar of events that are set in stone for at least the first half of the year if not beyond. However, I have a feeling that we will all be as busy as ever if 2020 is anything to go by despite the changes we have faced. What the past year has taught us is that along with the testing and challenges, it was a year of faith and wonder as we pushed boundaries in order to adapt and transform.
This year I believe will be one of anticipation and preparation. I still rest in the hope that we will return to some form of 'normality', to travel again, to meet without restriction. Yet, I also know that we cannot truly go back to the way things were, that in adapting and transforming, we have created space for new energies and ideas to be nurtured.
Next year in June 2022, we will mark 300 years since the first tree was felled for the building of Herrnhut community, and the seeds for a renewed Moravian Church began to bloom.
Christian David was a Lutheran who had converted from Catholicism in 1714. He was a man filled with great zeal and hope and struggled with how rigid the Lutherans had become. As a carpenter, he was a self-taught lay preacher and from 1717-1721 he earned the title of 'Bush Preacher' as he took every opportunity to preach plainly both in Germany where he was free to worship and in his original homeland of Moravia where he risked his life to share the message of joy that he found within scripture.
He came to know of a group of Brethren from Fulnek, Moravia (Czechia) who had suffered tragically for their commitment
to their faith yet maintained deep commitment to fellowship with one another, finding perpetual joy despite their circumstances. He longed to support their plight to get to Germany where they would be able to settle more freely.
In 1722 Christian David led the first group of refugees from Fulnek, to Saxony (Germany) and the lands of Count Zinzendorf. The rest, as they say is history - or is it the future? The emigration would continue over the next decade, with Christian David leading many such journeys avoiding attention from the authorities, bringing Christians together in Herrnhut from different cultures and backgrounds who were all seeking freedom to live out their faith.
Between 2022 and 2032 we hope that we will not only be looking back on these important points in our heritage but instead celebrate with our own decade of mission and evangelism. We look to channel the same energy of Christian David, and our brothers and sisters who moved forward in faith leaving their homes and lands behind.
Christian David's arrival in Herrnhut was not a spontaneous event that started in 1722 nor was it very straightforward. It was one of preparation and anticipation, of an understanding that there was a need to adapt and not stand still. It was not easy and it was not quick - I am sure there was at least one or two frazzled committee meetings ironing out all the details! Yet in pushing forward and knowing that God went with them, a great legacy was being created.
In 2020 we had to rip up the rule book. In 2021 I hope that we will continue to go forward in faith, reflecting on what we have learnt in the last year and find a renewed energy and understanding to sustain us into the years to come.
Sr Roberta Hoey
Provincial Board
7
© Sr Sarah Groves