PONDERINGS
(ISSN 1041-0961 USPS 362600) March 2011, Vol. 42, No. 2 Publications Agreement No. 40036408 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Express Messenger International, PO Box 25058, London, Ontario N6C6A8, email: <emi@exmessenger.com> Official Journal, The Moravian Church in North America, Northern and Southern Provinces Published monthly, except bimonthly January-February and July-August issues, by the Interprovincial Board of Communication, 1021 Center St., Bethlehem, PA 18018.
Ah, the joys of winter in Pennsylvania. I know, we’ve got nothing on our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin, Minnesota or Canada. The splendor of Creation is truly evident in the breathtaking sparkle of sun on snow, yet the sleet, ice and everything in between has made these last few weeks a bit trying. As I walked back into the house this morning after cleaning off the car, I noticed the snowy footsteps on my yet-unshoveled walkway. Like many things I notice these days, those footsteps got me thinking about what I see in my work on The Moravian. With a bit of reflection, I realized that our March issue is all about footsteps. We read about the Southern Province Board of Cooperative Ministries taking their first major steps as part of their restructuring and gaining a better sense of where they will travel in the future, while young adults are stepping out as part of a new ministry focused on making a difference in the communities around our churches. We step back in time to the 1740s with the Moravian Archives’ discovery of a yet unknown personal Bible of Count Zinzendorf’s. Young adults who travelled to the Holy Land as part of the 2010/11 Young Adult Convo share their thoughts on walking the paths that Jesus walked and finding new ways to follow in his footsteps. And one of my favorite stories this month is from Shepherd of the Prairie in Fargo, North Dakota, which became a distribution and collection center for donations to assist victims of a major apartment fire. The image of dozens of pairs of donated shoes lining the church’s chancel is both unique and inspiring. I know the footsteps we see in the snow today will, before long, be footsteps in mud, then in dew-covered grass. May the coming weeks and months find you making your own meaningful footsteps forward as we prepare for Lent and Easter.
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Mike Riess, editor
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