Moravian Moment # 126— What is Unity Synod?
July 26, 2009
Unity Synod is the assembly of the World wide Moravian Church which meets every seven years to review the past, examine the present and plan for the future of the Church as we minister in these challenging times. In this ever changing world the Church of God is rigorously challenged to remain faithful to the biblical calling of the Church and to the Head of the Church, our Chief Elder, Jesus Christ.
This year, 2009, the Unity will convene its 26th Synod of the RenewedMoravianChurchnd Our Unity is as strong as our world wide Provinces and the fellowship that we share across all boundaries of language, gender, culture, economics, ethnicity and contexts. We all testify that Jesus Christ is Lord! We all struggle with our unique challenges as we endeavour to be faithful to God and to our call as being Church. (1722) and the 42 Unity Synod dating from the Ancient Unity (1457).
Unity Synod meets in London from July 27-August 7, 2009. The theme for the Synod is: “Discerning God’s Mission through our Unity”. At present the Unity comprises 16 Provinces, 3 Affiliate Provinces and 6 mission areas. The Unity Provinces are:
- The Czech Province founded in 1457
- The European Continental Province founded in 1722
- The Eastern West Indies Province founded in 1732
- The Suriname Province founded in 1735
- The Southern Africa Province (South Africa) founded in 1737
- The Northern Province of the Moravian Church in America founded in 1741
- The British Province founded in 1742
- The Southern Province of the Moravian Church in America founded in 1753
- The Jamaican Province founded in 1754
- The Nicaraguan Province founded in 1849
- The Alaska Province founded in 1885
- The Southern Tanzania Province founded in 1891
- The Western Tanzania Province founded in 1897
- The Honduran Province founded in 1930
- The South Western Tanzania Province founded in 1978 and
- The Rukwa Tanzania Province founded in 1986
These 16 Provinces have had their challenges under difficult and trying circumstances, but God has preserved our Unity as a Church formed out of various cultures, languages and histories. As a world wide Church, the Moravians must continue to proclaim the victory of the Lamb of God that was slain as the hope of the world, wherever the Lord opens a door. Even as it meets for this very important Synod, the Moravian Church cannot afford to pin its hope for the future on the past. It must look forward and be a dynamic Church or else it will be a Church where persons will say, “we use to be or we use to do”. The Moravian Church must be like the yeast that expands and transforms the doe. Special attention has to be given to the statistics of our Unity as we observe growth, decline and stagnation of membership in our Provinces.
To be continued…