A letter from Karen Moritz in the Czech Republic
Late Fall 2014 - In the Footsteps...
Autumn in Prague brought beautiful and sunny days, with the nights crisp and cool. During October and November, however, I visited the U.S. for my annual Interpretation Assignment. Since learning and remembering Czech is such a challenge, I have made arrangements with World Mission to come back to the U.S. for 2 months each year instead of the customary 6 months following each 3-year term. I was able to visit some new congregations and presbyteries as well as current supporting congregations. It was so good to share with everyone about life and ministry here in the Czech Republic over the past year as well as hear about your various and diverse ministries.
-1_medium250.jpeg)
Hus and Luther
-2_medium250.jpeg)
Hus Seminar opening worship
-3_medium250.jpeg)
Seminar participants with Reformation guests
-4_medium250.jpeg)
Corpus Christi Chapel
Here in the Czech Republic, one of the highlights of this year was preparing and leading the travel/study seminar “In the Footsteps of Jan Hus and Martin Luther,” which was held April 28 to May 6. I wrote about it in my Spring newsletter. I know you were all praying for us, because the Seminar was great. Your prayers worked!
Although it would be tempting to tell you all about the seminar in great detail, I’ll just hit a few of the highlights from my perspective. One of the best parts of the Seminar was the hospitality and welcome of the host church, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB). There were numerous opportunities for the participants to meet and interact with people from the Central Church Office, the Synodal Council, the Protestant Theological Faculty, and various congregations. Trips outside Prague to Telč, Tábor, and Velka Lhota enabled the participants to meet and interact with people from several congregations as well as visiting and learning about historic sites in the Czech Republic. However, interaction was not limited to people in the ECCB. People in the Czechoslavak Hussite Church were also very welcoming and helped with various parts of our program. Preparing the Seminar enabled me to meet many new people throughout Prague and the Czech Republic. The Seminar proved to be a real ecumenical affair. We also received a warm welcome from the staff at Colleg Wittenberg during our trip there at the end of the Seminar. Various speakers and tour guides helped us make the connections between Jan Hus and Martin Luther.
Another highlight for me was worship. We began and ended the Seminar with worship in two historic churches. Our opening worship service was at Martin in the Wall Church here in Prague, which is the location of the occasion in 1414 when Communion was served in “Both Kinds,” the bread and the wine, for the first time. It was really a joy to share in worship leadership with the ECCB Moderator, Rev. Joel Ruml, and Rev. Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, who is head of the Ecumenical Department (and my direct supervisor here). Joel and I got to preside at the Table and share the leadership of Communion (something I rarely get to do here, which I really miss). Several Seminar participants joined people from the Central Church Office in worship leadership. At the end of the Seminar we concluded our time together with a closing worship service in the Corpus Christi Chapel in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Various participants led worship and, once again, I got to lead Communion. It was truly awe-inspiring for me to stand at the Communion Table of the Chapel where Martin Luther often led worship.
Another important highlight for me, and I suspect the participants, was the opportunity to learn and grow. Not only did we learn a lot about Jan Hus and Martin Luther, but this also gave me a chance to develop new skills. This was the first event of this magnitude that I had planned and led, and I came away with an incredible sense of accomplishment. I also came away with a renewed sense of the importance of partnership and the need to work together. I discovered ways in which relationships can be nurtured in order to deepen those partnerships. I learned more than just about the Reformation. The work of the laity is the heart of it, just as it was for the Reformers. We really are “Reformed and always reforming.” This was definitely a work “of the people.” I also came away with a deeper sense of the Church Universal that was made manifest in all the participants and the hosts.
In total 16 people came from various parts of the world for the Seminar. We had 8 people come from the U.S.: Rev. Gerry Reedell and Ms. Tina Brown from Absecon Presbyterian Church in New Jersey; Dr. Dale Johnson, a professor at Erskine Seminary in North Carolina; Rev. Tom Forster-Smith, who was then the associate pastor at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minn., and 4 people from that congregation—Judy Anaya-Griffin, Gibson Batch, Joy Lee Davis and Debby Fulton. In addition to the 8 Americans we had 8 people from other countries. We had a clergy couple from Norway, Pastor Sven Oppegaard and his wife, Lektor Susan Hill Oppegaard; a Lutheran pastor from Sweden, Pastor Stefan Ytterbrink; Pastor James Breslin from the United Reformed Church in England; a retired pastor and his wife from Canada, Rev. Dr. Raymond and Pauline Grant; and 2 pastors from Germany, Pastors Wolfram Bogner and Wolfgang Rohloff. The group got along well and they were fun, flexible and very friendly. We had a great time!
I am so grateful to all of you who make God’s mission here possible. Your support financially and your prayers make all of this possible. I invite you to continue your prayers and support for our partners:
The ECCB and our international and ecumenical network
The Protestant Theological Faculty
The ECCB Diakonie
The Czechoslovak Hussite Church
The Czech Mission Network (CzMN) and the American Working Group (AWG)
Colleg Wittenberg, a conference center in Lutherstadt Wittenberg
S přáním Božího požehnání,
With wishes for God’s blessings,
Karen
Rev. Dr. Karen R Moritz
PCUSA Mission Coworker
ECCB Central Church office
Ecumenical Department
Jungmannova 9 P.O. Box 466
CZ 111 21 Praha 1
Moritz@e-cirkev.cz
712-326-5163 US cell phone
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 314
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 330
Read more about Karen Moritz' ministry
Write to Karen Moritz
Individuals: Give online to E200386 for Karen Moritz' sending and support
Congregations: Give to D507533 for Karen Moritz' sending and support
Churches are asked to send donations through your congregation’s normal receiving site (this is usually your presbytery).
Double Your Impact!
A group of committed donors has pledged to match all gifts sent by individuals for mission personnel support now through December 31, 2014, up to $137,480. This means your gift today will be matched by a gift to support mission personnel around the world, wherever the need is greatest. We invite you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to double the impact of your gift. Thank you!
