There's nothing you can do about it!

Last week I had a great time with Sister and Brother Moravian Clergy! As we heard encouragement from our bishops, speakers, and colleagues to find time to connect to God and one another, we heard from Rev. Peg Chamberlain, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches and a Moravian colleague. Peg spoke to us about her experience with the larger church in ecumenical settings. And what is like to be an ambassador of our gifts as Moravians that we share with other denominations. As she shared with us that she sees our gifts as relational theology, focusing on the importance of connecting in personal relationships with God and one another, community, and our Moravian motto, "In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Love," it was encouraging to think of how our emerging community also shares these gifts in a smaller venue, Indianapolis, IN.

Over the last 550 years Moravians have been active participants in the life of the communities where they lived by educating children, both girls and boys, finding ways to support the local population through farming and spiritual reflection, and simply building relationships of compassion and accountability for Jesus' sake. Throughout the world, communities have been served by missionaries, local believers and followers of Christ who have come from the Moravian tradition. It is because of our vibrant and dynamic heritage that I have found my own call to engage in building relationships in the community, planting a garden, and praying for the ability to follow God where ever God leads me.

As a Moravian it sometimes seems difficult to explain the things that make us distinct. As Peg spoke she shared something that I believe offers a good picture of who we are not only with one another but in our witness to the world. She spoke to us with these words, "I love you, God loves you and there's nothing you can do about it!" Relationships are full, live giving and sometimes really hard but it is the love of God and the model of Christ that motivates us to love unconditionally and with conviction...all the time.

So here we were, a gathering of Moravian clergy, celebrating the aforementioned gifts with one another so that we might live and lead in ways that show others the love of God. There are so many wonderful and amazing things happening as we follow God’s direction, finding meaning in the old and new, finding hope in hearts to live into God’s Mission in the World, and learning what it means and how it will look to be Moravian Christians as we journey together into the future!