The Information
A Communication from the Chairman of the Moravian Church, E.W. I. Province.
A NEWSLETTER OF THE PROVINCE -- August 2000-- NEW SERIES VOLUME 10 NUMBER 8

Provincial Music Programme Has a New Beat ...

The emphasis of the Province on its music ministry has taken on a new dimension this summer and the month of July was very special in this regard.

Revd Mikie Roberts who is the only full time Minister of Music so far led the Moramus Singers of Barbados on a tour of Tobago and the reports are all very, very good.

Pastor Patmore Smith did his summer assignment in Antigua and what a great great blessing he was to so many. The enthusiasm and energy with which he led the Choirs for the morning service of Convention and then for the afternoon programme was extremely refreshing. Yet, that was not all as he had two of his colleagues sharing in a workshop with him here and his report speaks to that.

Beloved, please pray for our music ministry. God is using it to do a great thing for Him through our Church.

P.E.C. focuses on team Ministry

Some of the recent staff changes reflect a deliberate plan on the part of the P.E.C. to bring Ministers together in a team for a congregation or pastorate. It is based on the consideration that ministry will be more effective for all those concerned in such a context.

The P.E.C. is assured that many of you have been discussing this policy and this is consistent with the intention of the P.E.C. when this policy document was sent out earlier in the year.

In order to bring this to a wider audience, the P.E.C. shares the basic intent here:

(1) That team ministry usually refers to more than one Minister working in the same pastorate/congregation;

(2) that the team may comprise of ministers in the same category of ministry or in different categories of ministry. For example, Pastor & Pastor or Minister of Christian Education, Music, etc.;

(3) that team ministry is designed to facilitate the best use of the gifts of the Ministers in the context of the particular pastorate/congregation;

(4) that as such, the composition of the team is with a view towards complementing, enhancing and affirming the gifts of each Minister;

(5) that while a team may involve senior & junior Pastors where two or more Pastors are in the same team, this must not be seen as an absolute provision;

(6) that precisely for #3 above, team ministry may even involve two senior Pastors on the same team; (By senior is meant the number of years in ministry)

(7) that for the purpose of leadership and accountability, one Pastor will be called Pastor of the pastorate/congregation while the other(s) will be called Associate Pastor(s);

(8) that it is not intended that a minister other than a Pastor will have the main responsibility for leadership of the pastorate/congregation except in very special cases and in interim situations;

(9) that just as lay Pastors have always been a part of particular pastorates/congregations, it is intended that the various lay Ministers will become team members accordingly;

(10) that there must be regular meetings of the team for the proper management of the ministry.

"Vessels of Grace"

In 1997, the P.E.C. published the first edition of Vessels of Grace". This was a compilation of all the officers of the congregations and the Executive Boards. The list also indicated their schedules for service based on their election to office.

It was decided then that this would be published every three years. It is that time again and the work is very much on the way.

Most of you have been updating your lists annually; others have since submitted their fully revised list. For those who have not yet completed this exercise, please be reminded that we need your support.

Our Sympathy

• We express our sincere sympathy to the Revd Alban St. Hill on the recent death of his brother, John Lincoln St. Hill in Barbados.
• Our sympathy also to the family of Dr. L.H.E. Reid of the Jamaica Province. Brother Reid was well known to most of our Ministers as he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the UTCWI for many years and as organist at Trinity. He was Secretary to UNITAS of Jamaica (the Development Agency of the Jamaica Province). Before his retirement, he was a Professor on the Mona Campus of the UWI.

Please Pray for

You are kindly requested to keep Sis. Deslyn Belle-Watson in your prayer. She and Bro. Troy Watson went to the USA recently for a family reunion and while there, she became ill.

* * *

Brother Alban St. Hill and family on the death of his brother recently.

The newly ordained members of staff:

1. Sister Sadie Monique Harry
2. Sister Anique Elmes
3. Brother Hilton Joseph
4. Brother Rowan Simmons

All those who will be involved in the 2000 Provincial Camp scheduled for St. Kitts, August 6-19.

Our Brothers and Sisters who will be using a part of their summer to teach and lead Vacation Bible Schools and youth camps. Their ministry is vital to the formation of young minds and lives for our Lord and Saviour.

Antiguan Young People off to Wisconsin

Three young members of the Antigua Conference have gone off to Wisconsin, USA, to join their counterparts there for a two (2) week camp. They are the guests of the Lake Mills Moravian Church. A group of young people from Lake Mills visited Antigua for one week in July, 1999. They were engaged in several work projects including the building of some bedside tables at the Bishop John Knight Golden Age Home.

The young people who have gone are Bro. Kevin Comic of Cana, Jessica Joseph of Cedar Hall and Philip Isaacs of Spring Gardens.

They were particularly happy to have Kevin on this trip as he worked very well with them last year.

The Pastor of the Lake Mills Moravian Church is the Revd Elizabeth Miller.

It's The Hurricane season!!!

With our experiences in several parts of the Province recently, we hardly need a reminder that we are now well into the hurricane season. While it is true that most of the recent hurricanes have come after August, please be prepared.

The Provincial Office is now working with the Board of World Mission to restock the container at the Headquarters in case of emergency. Please be assured that even now while most of the food items are gone, there are several items still.

It must be emphasized that while the container is located here in Antigua, efforts will be made to ship things to other islands where they are most needed.

Events Upcoming

• August 6-19 --- Provincial Youth Camp in St. Kitts
• September 14-21 --- Provincial Staff Retreat in Trinidad.
• September 17 --- Day of Prayer for spouses of Ministers.

Happy Anniversary to Mount Tabor

The Mount Tabor Moravian Church in Barbados Conference will be celebrating its 174th birthday this month.

The pastor is the Revd Alban St. Hill and it currently has a membership of 350.

Happy Anniversary to Urlings

The Urlings Moravian Church in the Antigua Conference will be celebrating its 13th birthday this month.

The pastor is the Revd Roslyn Hamblin with Pastor Erflin Browne as Associate and it currently has a membership of 159.

Provincial Bible Correspondence Course Lesson 2

Since many persons have now completed Lesson 1 of the Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 2 has been made available to the Conferences, mainly through the Ministers of Christian Education.

Kindly return this soon in order to get Lesson 3.

So, "keep the Bible at hand and turn the brain on! It is Bible Study time".

Vocal Workshop 2000

A major initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of choral music in the Antigua Conference was convened at Spring Gardens on July 10th, 2000. Vocal Workshop 2000, the brainchild of Music Ministry Student Pastor, Bro. Patmore Smith, was held over the two-week period July 10th - 22nd. Bro. Smith was ably assisted by two of his colleagues who served as co-facilitators, Bro. Michael Munoz and Sis. Emily Chick, vocal music majors at Westminster Choir College, Princeton New Jersey, USA.

The Workshop attracted over eighty (80) participants from various congregations within the Conference, in addition to some members from other denominations. Sessions were held twice daily, with the children/youths attending in the morning and the adults in the evening.

The Workshop sessions exposed participants to a variety of vocal techniques, including:

• Warm up exercises
• Breathing Techniques
• Correct Vocal Posture and
• Introduction to singing in foreign languages.

The sessions were highly, informative and entertaining. Participants in general adapted quite smoothly to the daily rigours of the over 2-hour practices. The culmination of all this was a combined practice on Friday 21 which was with a view to facilitating the Workshop ending presentation at Spring Gardens on the evening of July 22.

The presentation was dedicated to the memory of the late Sis. Isalyn Richards and featured both adult and youth choirs as well as memorable solo performances by Bro. Michael Munoz and Sis. Emily Shick. However, the crowning moment of the evening was the rendition of the "Song of Life Medley" which was composed by Sis. Richards just prior to her death. The original musical score had been augmented by and orchestral arrangement compliments of Daniel Adamczyk, student at Westminster College, and consequently the Choir was accompanied by a variety of musical instruments. They practically "brought the house down" with a resounding performance that was well received by those in attendance. It was indeed a fitting tribute to Sis. Richards, who laboured tirelessly for the cause of the advancement of the Music Ministry in the Antigua Conference.

Vocal Workshop 2000 highlighted the potential for choral music growth within the Antigua Conference. Participants were of the view that such activities should occur on an ongoing basis.

All in all, Vocal Workshop 2000 was a memorable experience for all those involved.

Our sincere thanks to all those who contributed to the success of this very special ministry.

News from Star Mountain

Dear Friends!

When you visit these days the schools in the villages Al-Mazraa al-Gharbiyyeh or Abu Shkhedem you will find lots of children there. Why do those children go to their school in the middle of the Palestinian summer holidays? At a time when it is very hot and in the schools and private houses no drop of water comes out of the tap because the water in this region is distributed in favor of the Israeli population?

Our community work team has invited the children aged 6-10 in both villages for 10 days to a summer camp. 140 children from each village attend this summer program, 15-20 of them handicapped children. The main aim of the camp is the integration of those handicapped children into a group of not handicapped children of the same age. Brought together through practical activities both groups are guided to cooperate and live together in a friendly way and to accept each other. The handicapped people experience in the camps a bigger circle of people than normally with which they have to cope. The experience of the first days shows that the more severely handicapped children have problems to integrate themselves in the mass of children. Later they were brought for shorter visits of the camps instead of staying the whole time. The others acclimated perfectly and share the program which offers them dance, sports, painting, handicraft work, stories, trips, theater and plays.

- For example Asmaa: She always tries to get into contact with other children and to play with them. However, the others are afraid of her and run away. They don't understand her ways of contacts and communication. But after several days of the camp she plays with all children like others.

- Or Ahjan: in the beginning the volunteers feel quite uncomfortable about their dealing with her. Later they actively look for her.

- Said: A group of not handicapped boys trains for the planned Dabke-(Folkdance-) presentation. Said who is 16 years old and has a mental handicap hears the music and begins to dance with them. One of the volunteers tries to stop him. But he is told to let the boy dance in order to keep going this nice integration process.

- Muhammad, a boy with a muscle weakness is very glad to be with the others at the camp. His story: Our colleagues find him one day sitting on the street at a time when other children are at school. They find out that neither he nor his 12-year-old sister go to school. Today the situation has changed totally: He has finished the ₃rd grade successfully and soon will attend another school. Some transportation problems have to be solved yet because the boy cannot walk a far distance. His sister, the oldest of 11 sisters and brothers, acquires her education by self instruction, encouraged by the Star Mountain team. Her parents cannot do without her help in the household.

On June 2 1/22 the school has presented an art exhibition in the Baladna Cultural Center/Ramallah. We had chosen about 50 paintings, some of them prize-winning works from the last period. Just recently Sabreen Naufal was successful in the competition "Children of Palestine to Children of the World" organized by the Ministry of Culture. The local artists Nabil Annani and Nasri Abdallah supported us and helped to hang up the paintings. The exhibition, the first of its kind with works of people with special needs, found a good echo and a lot of interest with the visitors. In several newspapers, radio and TV news it was mentioned. The public was astonished which talent handicapped children have, and compared one work or the other even with works of Miro or Picasso! During the exhibition the public had the possibility to meet the artists who liked it very much to be in the centre of attention and to see their works in this extraordinary surroundings. To give information about handicaps and handicapped people and to make an appeal for full acceptance and integration to as many people as possible was one of the main aims of the exhibition.

Birthdays This Month!!

    Happy Birthday to:

• Sis. Marleen Browne 1
• Revd Romeo Challenger 12
• Revd Winelle Roberts 20
• Revd Reuben Vessup 22
• Revd Anique Elmes 22
• Revd Conrad Spencer 29
• Sis. Angela Frederick 30

Anniversaries this Month!!

Happy anniversary to:

• Revd & Mrs. Elroy Christopher 7
• Revd & Mrs. Alban St. Hill 8
• Revd & Mrs. Winston Chase 12
• Revd & Mrs. Matthew Crooks 13
• Revd & Mrs. Selvin McMillan 20
• Revd & Mrs. Leon Matthias 28
• Revd Dion & Revd Eulencine Christopher 29

A Smile!

FIRST WIDOW: "They say he married her because her first husband left her a million dollars."

SECOND WIDOW: "Oh, I don't think he's that kind of a fellow. I think he would have married her regardless of who left her the million dollars."

---

Not long ago at a speaking engagement, I noticed a sign near the speaker's platform (for the benefit of people taking flash pictures) that read:

"Do not photograph the speaker while he is addressing the audience. Shoot him as he leaves the platform."

Revd Mikie Roberts Reflects on Tour of Tobago

The Moramus Singers have just completed an outstanding tour of Tobago. The Choir was hosted by the Tobago Conference from July 20-24 and many Brothers and Sisters opened their homes to the members. The contingent numbered fifty-six (56) including a few spouses and was accompanied by Bro. Andrew Allman with Bro. Jason Catlyn on the trumpet.

There were two performances; one on the Friday at Moriah and the other on the Sunday afternoon at Montgomery. Both were well attended and the audiences were more than appreciative.

On an island tour on the Saturday, the Choir sang with the residents of the St. Vincent de Paul Nursing Home.

Thanks to Br Prout, Br Carlton Phillips and to the members of the Committee for their hard work....