The Provincial Women’s Board presents:
Serving and Sharing
Newsletter
May 2023
It has been an interesting spring with
the weather being so unpredictable, and I was afraid that the cold weather
would damage the new growth. Praise
God! It has been a beautiful time and
the flowers have been glorious.
We had the Days of Prayer during the
Lenten season. They were beautiful
services. Many thanks to the Women’s
Fellowships at Home, Christ, Ardmore, Fairview, Konnoak Hills, Calvary, and
Trinity Moravian for all the work they do to bring us these services. I have heard that some of you have already
started planning for next year.
The Spiritual Life Retreat was held in
April and it was fabulous. Pastor Eulencine Christopher was the leader and
presenter. Pastor Evette Campbell served
as worship leader on Sunday morning. We
had approximately 60 participants. I am
always happy when I get to spend time at Laurel Ridge, but this weekend was
special. Many sisters attended from
Moravian churches outside of Winston-Salem.
Many friendships were formed as we worshiped together. The program theme was “Praise Will Confuse
the Enemy.” Experiencing this program really brought the truth of this
statement to me.
The Board is currently making plans
for our fall events: Fall Celebration and Pastors’ Luncheon. You will get more details for these events in
the August newsletter.
Congratulations to Friedberg Moravian
Church on their 250th anniversary that was celebrated on Sunday, May
7. The afternoon Love Feast was an
incredible experience.
For all of the Women’s Fellowships out
there who are planning events for the fall, please take the time to write
descriptions of events coming up or descriptions of events you have had and
submit them to the Provincial Women’s Board for publication in the August
newsletter (newsletterProvincialWomen@gmail.com).
Blessings to all,
Pam Prevatte
President, Provincial Women’s Board
The
First Installment of “Meet the Provincial Women’s Board Members”
Starting with this newsletter, we plan
to respond to questions that some of you have asked about the members of the Provincial
Women’s Board (PWB), what they do on the Board and how they ended up here:
First of all, any member of the
Moravian Church in the Southern Province is eligible to serve on the Provincial
Women’s Board. Generally speaking, they
serve a four-year term and may be re-elected for another four-year term. As to “what they do on the Board,” what
better place to start than with our current President, Pam Hemrick Prevatte,
and Vice President, Paula White, in their own words:
Pam Prevatte:
I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, and I grew up attending Pine
Chapel Moravian Church. After graduating
from Parkland High School in 1971, I attended Davidson County Community
College. I met John Prevatte there, and
we soon married. He had been in the
Marine Corps before we met, and after the birth of our son, Jonathan, he went
back into the Marine Corps. I continued
my education at Coastal Carolina Community College and UNC-Wilmington. After graduating, I began teaching English at
Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, NC.
We lived on base at Camp Lejeune for a few years, and then moved into
town. While I was teaching, I attended
night classes at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC where I obtained a
Master’s degree in English Education. I
continued to work at Jacksonville High School for 27 years. For 17 of those years, I taught night classes
for Campbell University on Camp Lejeune.
By this time,
our son was married and settled in Hickory, NC.
My husband retired, and I got a job teaching English at Hickory High
School because grandchildren were arriving.
I retired after being there for three years. We were blessed to have a
Moravian Church nearby. New Hope
Moravian in Newton, NC was an answer to our prayers. I had really missed the Moravian traditions.
I am now
retired and enjoying those grandchildren.
I have volunteered with several other organizations, but I was drawn to
the Provincial Women’s Board because of the opportunity for fellowship, not
only within the Board but also the connection to Moravian women throughout the
Province. I joined the Provincial
Women’s Board in 2016 and became President in 2020, and I will go off the Board
in 2024 after serving two four-year terms.
It has proven to be a joyful and rewarding experience. Not only do I get to be involved in many
Moravian activities, but I have made many good friends.
Paula White:
It only seems like yesterday that I left home
for Appalachian State University. I grew
up in the small town of Rockingham, NC, and luckily for me, App State in Boone,
NC was a small college town. It was
there that I met my future husband, Maurice White.
After graduation, I moved to Winston-Salem to
start my career as a teacher. My first
job was at Davie High School in Mocksville, NC, as a home economics
teacher. From there, I secured a job at
Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem.
During this time, I received my master’s degree from Western Carolina
University. Retirement came after 32
years!
My husband and I were blessed to have two
sons, who have since blessed us with four grandchildren. I have spent my entire adult life working
with kids, but being a “Nana” has brought me the greatest joy.
I am a member of Hopewell Moravian Church, and
my church family has become my extended family.
I am currently serving a second term on the church board. I really enjoy being a part of the Women’s
Fellowship, hand bell choir and other activities. I accepted the call to become a Provincial
Women’s Board member just as COVID ramped up.
These past few years have been a challenge and a joy to serve with this
wonderful group of women. I look forward
to being a part of this group’s spiritual journey.
Day of Prayer — a very
Moravian thing
We were
blessed again this year by Day of Prayer services during the season of
Lent. It’s become a beloved tradition,
but how did it start?
A quick computer search of The Wachovia Moravian, the late, great
monthly newspaper of the Southern Province, tells all. (It’s available on the
Internet at: www.MoravianArchives.org/history.)
The first Day of Prayer was held at
Home Moravian Church on March 22, 1927. That was a Tuesday, and nowhere near
Ash Wednesday (March 1 that year), the traditional date for Day of Prayer at
Home Church. But it was sponsored by Home Church’s Women’s Auxiliary (the
Women’s Fellowship of the time), and that is precisely the way it still is
today.
“This is the first prayer day ever
held at the Home Church,” The Wachovia
Moravian reported, “and it proved a real blessing to the entire
congregation.” Not only that, but an average of 57 attended the half-hour
periods of prayer, meditation, and song that truly stretched day long from
10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
With popularity like that, Day of
Prayer was bound to become a tradition, but that didn’t come instantly.
Evidently a Day of Prayer was not held at Home Church the next year, but an
“all day sew” was held instead on Shrove Tuesday, February 21, 1928, to make
clothing to ship to Alaska. By 1929, though, Day of Prayer was back, but this time
it was held on Monday, January 28. In 1930, The
Wachovia Moravian was calling Home Church’s January Day of Prayer an
“annual” event.
But 1930 also brought a Day of Prayer
in another church. Christ Church held its first Day of Prayer, but in the
harvest time of year, on October 29, “under the direction of Miss F. Tally.” Other
churches followed. Fairview held its first Day of Prayer on Tuesday, January 27,
1931. Sadly, it was the final service Bishop Edward Rondthaler attended. He delivered
an address on “The Home and Family,” then that evening took ill. The great upbuilder
of the Southern Province died that Saturday, January 31.
Fries Memorial held its first Day of
Prayer on Ash Wednesday 1933, which happened to be the first time Home Church
held its Day of Prayer on that day, March 1. While Fries Memorial and Home
Church shared Ash Wednesday for their separate Days of Prayer, Calvary held its
first Day of Prayer on the fourth Wednesday of Lent, March 18, 1936, and
Trinity its first Day of Prayer on February 23, 1937, a Tuesday (the following
year, it shifted to the second Wednesday of Lent, March 9, 1938). And Ardmore
held its first Day of Prayer on March 18, 1942, the fifth Wednesday of Lent, with
an average attendance of 75 for the day long series of events. Meanwhile,
Christ Church continued holding its Day of Pray in the fall of the year “at
anniversary time.”
Churches beyond Salem Congregation
began holding Day of Prayer as well. New Philadelphia’s Women’s Auxiliary held
its first on Wednesday, January 7, 1942, and Hope held its first later that
year on Wednesday, March 25. Kernersville held its first Lenten Day of Prayer
on Wednesday, March 24, 1943.
Meanwhile, Christ Church added to its
traditional autumn Day of Prayer by holding its first Days of Prayer early in
the year in 1942 and ’43. They were the first in the Province sponsored by Men
of the Church. The year 1943 also saw the first announced “Annual Provincial-wide
Day of Prayer on Ash Wednesday at the Home Church.” Fries Memorial had quietly
held its last Day of Prayer on Ash Wednesday 1941.
The first joint announcement of Day of
Prayer was 1953, with Home Church on Ash Wednesday, February 18, Trinity on
February 25, Ardmore on March 4, Calvary on March 11, Christ Church on Sunday,
March 15, Fairview on March 18, and Konnoak Hills on March 25, its second Day
of Prayer (its first was the year before March 12, 1952, barely a year after
Konnoak was organized).
Lenten season Day of Prayer continues
in many other churches today, still sponsored by the churches’ Women’s
Fellowships, as the first one was in 1927.
— Richard W. Starbuck
Archives, Moravian Church in America, Southern Province
3/4/2011
Reflections on “Praise will confuse the Enemy”
Last month, over 60 sisters in Christ gathered at Higgins Lodge,
Laurel Ridge for our Spiritual Life Retreat. A weekend of singing, talking, embracing,
listening, laughing, tears shared and praising God ...and so much more. From
Florida to Delaware, we became one. There were several ladies attending for the
first time, and we all were so blessed to have several of them give testimony
of what brought them to the retreat ...so evident that it is God who brought
them there. Pastor Eulencine Christopher led three sessions of praising,
singing, testifying and praying. Praise
God for Sister Eulencine’s leadership during this retreat.
When we all arrived on Friday, the weather forecast was for rain,
but God parted the clouds on Saturday, and His Presence was there for the
remainder of the weekend. There were renewed friendships, meeting new folks –
such a joy!! The choir's special music
on Sunday morning, “Through It All,” captured the entire weekend. A very
meaningful Cup of Covenant service closed our time together. God was truly in
this space with us all this weekend. His Presence was there.
May all that we took in that weekend sustain us until we are
together again at the next Spiritual Life Retreat, April 19-21, 2024.
Blessings to All My Sisters,
Linda Worley
Spiritual Life Committee -PWB
P.S. A special thank-you to all who made this a very memorable
retreat.
Little Church on the Lane Women’s Fellowship:
Dear Sisters, I do not need to remind you of the importance
of August 13th, but I have one more reason for you to mark your calendars for
that weekend. There is going to be a
Women’s Retreat at The Little Church on the Lane in Charlotte on that Friday
and Saturday. Stay tuned for further
information!
Questions can be directed to helengulledge1090@gmail.com if you just
can’t wait.
Submitted by Helen
Gulledge
Ardmore Women’s Fellowship:
Women’s Fellowship at Ardmore Moravian
Church has continued to emphasize Bible study, fellowship and the following
projects by individual circles:
Member
Outreach: Cards and
phone calls to church members including homebound members, and college
students. Visits and gifts to church
members.
Financial
Support: To
missionaries, Sunnyside Ministry, Unity Women’s Desk, Crisis Control, and
Second Harvest Food Bank.
Gift
Donations: To a farmer in Ukraine, Doctors Without
Borders for earthquake relief in Turkey, and Teachers’ Warehouse.
The three Women’s Fellowship Circles
combined their efforts for the following Lent and Easter programs:
Ardmore’s
Day of Prayer: March 8, coffee hour and worship service
attended by 92 persons.
Decorating Graves in God’s Acre on Saturday, April 8. Church members placed flowers on the two assigned squares in the men’s section and then also placed flowers on approximately 200 graves (four squares) in the women’s section which had not been assigned. This year, enthusiasm for decorating the women’s section spread and volunteers from other churches assisted members from Ardmore.
Submitted
by Peggy Crouse
Mizpah Women’s Fellowship
Our focus at
Mizpah’s Women’s Fellowship falls into several broad areas of support: church, church family, community and
missions. And each of those areas
receive an outpouring of loving care that touches those within our circle but
is not limited only to those.
Our April
meeting was spent planning activities for the year, and our calendar is
full! And it all stems from heeding
God’s call to love one another. A
portion from our April devotions:
Dear
God: Thank you for the people who
care. Thank you for the ones who see a
need and rise. Thank you for the tender
hearts, the ones who sweeten the oft-bitter tea of life… Help me to be one. Help me to love.
From Bunmi Laditan’s Dear God
Submitted
by Judy Albert
Happenings at Hope Moravian
June 3: “Howdy, Pardner!” Hot Dog Supper at 5:30 p.m., with a square
dance at 6:30
Dance
caller: Phil Baugess. Come and join us for a fun evening!!
Hope is partnering with Fraternity
Church of the Brethren for Vacation Bible School 2023, for ages 3 thru 8th
grade. The theme this year is “Keepers
of the Kingdom” each night from June 26 to 30, from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. at
Fraternity Church. Hope Women’s Fellowship will provide supper at 5:30 each
night. To register, email: hopemoraviannc@gmail.com
Hope Moravian Community Lunch on the 2nd
Wednesday of each month. We would love
to have you join us at the table.
Friedland Women’s Fellowship
The Women's Fellowship has had a busy and fulfilling spring. We have continued with our fundraising to refurbish the Fellowship Hall with new lights and flooring and have met our goal.
For our mission outreach, we have had
two significant events:
First, the three Circles assembled
and donated 101 homeless kits for the Sunnyside Blessing Box that Hilda
Cieza-Regalado made for her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
Then, on Saturday, April 29, we had a
Saturday morning Women's Retreat at church from 9 a.m. until noon. It included
breakfast prepared by several of our women, with service and cleanup by seven
of our men. Tickets were $10. There were 60 in attendance. The speaker for the
event was Julie Tomberlin, Director of the Women's Unity Desk and author of our
current mission study book. We presented Julie with a donation for The
Unity Women's Desk. To conclude the morning, the attendees were invited to
participate in making cards and pockets (for using as gift containers)
for the SECU house residents to use.
Submitted by Sarah
Brent
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