March Newsletter

Serving and Sharing
A Newsletter from the Provincial Women’s Board
March 2012

A Note from the President
I received this prayer from a friend and it made such an impact on me that I felt it should be shared.
ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT
This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced, and from the looks of the polls, the Christians aren’t voting Christian values. We all need to be on our knees.
Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders unfold. The scripture gives us, as Christians, ownership of this land and the ability to call upon God to heal it. I challenge you to do that. We have never been more desperate than now for God to heal our land. In 2nd Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
The people of the United States of America and all over the world need prayers more than ever. If you would like to participate each evening at 9:00 PM stop whatever you are doing, and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the upcoming election and that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land, and that Christianity will grow in the United States.
Our Prayers are the most powerful asset we have.
I hope you will share this with everyone you think will participate in lifting up our nation to God.
Blessings,
Betty King
Provincial Women’s Board Southern Province, President




THE HIDDEN SEEDS
The Provincial Women's Board invites you to the Spiritual Life Retreat at Laurel Ridge on April 13-15, 2012. Our theme for the week-end is "The Hidden Seeds". You are encouraged to come to the mountain this spring and sow seeds of faith, love and hope. These virtues in our Moravian heritage have sustained us in the past and are our response to the future. The Reverend Judy Knopf, minister at Good Shepherd in Kernersville is our retreat leader. Join your Moravian sisters from across the Southern Province and share a week-end of faith, fun and fellowship together. A registration form is included in this newsletter. For more information and registration forms contact the PWB office at (336) 722-4911 or pwbmcsp@gmail.com or Tamra Thomas at (336) 748-1339 or tamrathomas@triad.rr.com


PRISON CAKE SCHEDULE
NOTE: All cakes must be store bought, NOT homemade. We need cakes to feed 70 to 80 people each week.
Due to the large number of inmates attending these weekly meetings, please provide at least FOUR store bought cakes each week. Please notify Claudette Wood at the Chaplain’s office at 759-0063 to make certain that someone will be available to open the door at the Chapel when the cakes are delivered.

March 1 Mizpah
March 8 New Philadelphia
March 15 New Philadelphia
March 22 Oak Grove
March 29 Oak Grove
April 5 SKIP Maundy Thursday
April 12 Union Cross
April 19 Union Cross
April 26 Pine Chapel
May 3 Pine Chapel

May 10 Rural Hall
May 17 Rural Hall
May 24 St. Philips
May 31 Advent

June 7 Friedberg
June 14 Friedberg
June 21 Unity
June 28 Unity

July 5 Advent
July 12 Ardmore
July 19 Ardmore
July 26 Bethabara

___________________________________________
Remaining Days of Prayer:
Wednesday CALVARY MORAVIAN CHURCH
March 14 The Rt. Rev. Dr. Wayne Burkette, Speaker
9:45 am Coffee Hour; 10:45 am Meditation/Music
11:00 am Worship
Nursery Provided

Wednesday FAIRVIEW MORAVIAN CHURCH
March 21 The Rev. James C. Newsome, Speaker
10:45 am Music
11:00 am Worship with Communion
12:00 Noon Complimentary Luncheon
Nursery Provided

Wednesday KONNOAK HILLS MORAVIAN CHURCH
March 28 The Rev. Dr. Steve Craver, Speaker
11:00 am Lovefeast
Nursery Provided

"Calvary Moravian Women's Fellowship will be holding a Chicken Pie Luncheon on March 25 from Noon until 2:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at Calvary. At this luncheon there will be a raffle drawing for a quilt made by one of the Calvary Moravian women. Each raffle ticket will cost $1.00 and the drawing will take place at the luncheon. The cost for the luncheon is $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for children. Everyone is welcome!!"

News from Hopewell: Cakes for the prison were delivered January 19, 2012.
February is Newborns in Need month. We will collect: clothes for newborns and size 1, Diapers and all things needed for a new baby. We will also take gently used children’s clothes up to the age of 2. Of course we take money, (their staff are good bargain hunters). This has been a very successful venture in the past. Bags, made by different groups, loaded with new clothes are given to Mothers as they leave the hospital, with the new baby.
We have supported the "Clean Water Project" and decided to provide money for a new well in another village, about $2600.00.
Tanzania's Moravian Mamas, project for children of aids patients, will be supported again this year. $1000 will be sent for continuing this project.
For the past three years we have given $1000 to the "Adopt a Village" program, we voted to give $1000 again this year.
The African mission, "Ray of Hope", by Michael Tesh, is being sent a donation to continue his ministry. Michael, Caroline, Sam, Ian, and Zach Woo are still in Shan Dai of Southwest Asia. They are being sent $1000 to support their ministry.
Our minister, Rev. Walter Bishop, is going to Jamaica in March on a mission trip to schools & churches. We are paying for his plane ticket. We plan to send school supplies and some candy for him to give to the children.
A Ladies Night Out is planned for May 4th. A committee is working out the details.
A Car Show, Chicken Stew and Bazaar are planned for October 20, 2012. Gardeners are asked to plant and can extra produce this summer. Fresh produce, in season, will be available. Looking forward to a fun day.
Support for all our projects comes from the sale of chicken pies and catered meals.
Our ladies will be getting the crosses with flowers and potted flowers ready for the graves at Easter. Our graveyard is old (1808) and many graves are without flowers. This was started as one of our projects quite a few years ago.

The Women’s Fellowship of New Hope Moravian Church – North Carolina met in January and elected the following officers: President – Cheryl Hendrix, Vice-President – Leslie Srail, Secretary – Pat deBlois and Treasurer – Nancy Miller.
Also, at this meeting funds received from our Candle Tea and Bazaar were distributed to local charities. $3,000 was donated to the following agencies, Eastern Catawba County Cooperative Christian Ministry, Family Care Center, Family Guidance Center, Women’s Resource Center and Hospice of the Catawba Valley.
Members from our fellowship joined other Moravian Women on Saturday, February11th at New Beginnings Moravian Church in Huntersville for a Women’s retreat. We enjoyed learning about “Stepping Out of the Boat”.
On March 31st, we will have our 3rd Annual Women’s retreat. We will be discussing the book – “The Faith Club”. This will be a special time of food, fellowship and learning about women of different faiths. Submitted by: Nancy Miller

Friedberg Moravian Church is having our Annual Chicken Pie and Country Ham Spring Supper on March 24, 2012. Adult price is still only $10 for adults and $6 for children 10 & under. We will have chicken pie with gravy and country ham. Also included will be veggies, bread and dessert. We will have tea and coffee for the Dine-in customers. We will have dine-in as well as take out from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
We will also have a great Bazaar Table with Baked Goods, Slaw, and Crafts as well as Large (9”) $10 and Small (6”) $6 Frozen Chicken Pies. Proceeds to be used for Women’s Fellowship Projects. Call the church at 764-1830 with any questions.
The Hopewell Moravian Women are attending the Beth Moore Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee August 10-11th. We would love to have other Moravian women to travel with us.
Please contact Teresa White at twhite113@triad.rr.com or 788-1097 if interested. It will be a fun time of fellowship and learning about God's Word.


From Fairview: We will sponsor a Soup & Salad Bar Luncheon on Tuesday, April 24th from 11:00 a. m. until 1:30 p. m. in our fellowship hall. The price for adults is $8.00 and $2.00, for children, age 12 and under. Tickets are available from the church office (768-5629) or from a member of the Women’s Fellowship.
In February we sent the items requested by Lorena Gray for the Children’s Sunday School in Honduras and in March we collected school supplies for Speas School.

Fairview has reprinted their popular yellow cook book entitled “Moravian Blessings” and it is available for $16.00 a copy. You may call the church office (768-5620) to purchase one. Submitted by Connie Davis




The women of Konnoak Hills Moravian are off to a good start for 2012. Our three circles meet monthly and participate in the Bible Study for the year. We do a monthly mission project giving a monetary contribution and needed items to local as well as distant projects. Two examples are Sunnyside and Christmas boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
One of the ways we share our love and concern for one another is to provide a meal or reception for the families who have lost a loved one.
Plans are being finalized for our annual Day of Prayer, on Wednesday, March 28, which will be a Lovefeast with Reverend Dr. Steve Craver as our speaker. Everyone is invited.
Our semi-annual chicken pie making project is underway. Orders for large ($11.00) and small pies ($7.00) are being taken until March 18. They may be picked up on Friday, March 23 at the church. Call the church at 788-9321 if you wish to place an order. This project brings our women and men together in a wonderful time of Fellowship.
We are preparing for Easter by offering the purchase of lilies in honor or memory of loved ones. These are placed at the altar for Easter Sunday. As is our tradition, we will decorate sections of old graves in God’s Acre on Easter Saturday.
Prayer is a very important to the life of our church. We have day and night cycles as well as an email cycle for prayer concerns. Norma Nifong, Women’s Fellowship Pres.

From Ardmore:
English Garden Tea Party:
Women's Fellowship is sponsoring an English Garden Tea Party on Saturday, March 31, beginning at 11:30 AM. Garden items will be available for sale or auction. Luncheon will be served. Donations will be accepted. Please call the Church (336.723.3444) for additional information and reservations.
Day of Prayer:
Rev. Tim Sapp spoke at our Day of Prayer worship service on Wednesday, March 7. Coffee hour began at 9:45 AM, music/meditation at 10:45 AM, and worship service at 11:00 AM. His message was "Remembering Our Lord's Journey."
Share the Love Concert:
A Valentine benefit concert was held Sunday, February 12, in memory of Joshua Conrad, age 7, whose parents are members of Ardmore. Joshua attended the Children's Center, which serves children with orthopedic and/or long-term chronic health impairments; Donations totaling $1,700 were received and given to the Children's Center. Women's Fellowship sponsored a reception after the concert.
Sunnyside Ministry Clinic:
A dinner consisting of fried chicken, baked beans, salad, and cookies was provided by Women's Fellowship on February 2.
Candle Tea:
We shared the good news about Jesus with 717 children and 272 adults for a total of 989. This was 196 more than last year. The Candle Tea is definitely a Church Family project where family members (over 70 individuals) of all ages participated. And we had the opportunity to show and explain how our traditions are not for the past but continue to have special meaning for us today. The 2012 Candle Tea will be December 5th, 6th, and 7th for school groups and open to the public Thursday evening December 6th.
Submitted by Peggy Crouse




Brother Mohamed Braima, who along with his wife Safiatu, has served as a missionary in Sierra Leone, W. Africa for the past six years, was ordained as a mission pastor in the Moravian Church at the request of the Board of World Mission on February 12, 2012 at Little Church on the Lane in Charlotte, NC. The Rt. Rev. Sam Gray officiated. Brother Braima was born in Sierra Leone and came to the US in the 1970s to further his education. He is a long-time member of Little Church on the Lane and lived in Charlotte for 30 years. Rev. Cheryl Cottingham presented a portable communion set to Brother Braima on behalf of the Provincial Women’s Board.