A Future For Us

For the occasion of her 30th birthday, Anna Nitschmann received from the Single Sisters of her Moravian community a painting which depicted 18 scenes of significance in her life in miniature. I was made aware of this painting by Dr. Katie Faull, and the importance of her work on Anna cannot possibly be overstated. In her lecture 'Anna Nitschmann in the World: Leader, Preacher, Sister' shared on her blog at katiefaull.com. She describes each scene, and outlines the influence and importance of Anna as a leader in the 18th Century Moravian Church. I cannot commend it to you enough, you should stop reading here and go read her piece first!

I confess that it is, perhaps, intellectual laziness on my part, to rely on Dr. Faull's work to convince you of what I also want you to see. If Anna Nitschmann is who she seems to be, then it may be that we have some course correcting that is needed within our churches and communities. After all, if one of the leaders of our church in the 18th century, one of those people who was filled with the Spirit and who contributed through work, service and leadership to the explosion of the Moravian movement worldwide, was a young woman, have we faithfully carried her legacy into the 21st century?

We have a problem in the Moravian Church today, and I rarely go a single day without having some measure of conversation about it. Our congregations, and clergy, are aging, and younger people seem to have abandoned the church in droves**. Fewer youth are participating in our programs, camps, and ministries - fewer still are hearing and responding to a personal call to ministry in the Moravian Church. We are not alone in facing these struggles, as mainline churches across the country wrestle with changing attendance and demographics in a myriad of ways. All the while, it appears to many of us that the evangelical churches are booming, filled with vibrancy and young people, and sometimes it can be difficult to wonder if we can ever 'compete' at all.

And still I wonder, what if the possibility of revival lies not in some technical fix, but in our own history? Here enters Anna Nitschmann. A child in the exiled community known today as the Hidden Seed, at the age of 13 she joined the Single Sisters Choir, and at the age of 18, served for a year as the Chief Elder of the Unity. (*Faull) She traveled to the English colonies in America and there, worked widely as she encouraged collaboration between religious communities, engaged in diplomacy with Indigenous peoples, preached, ministered, and developed a Single Sisters house in the Bethlehem settlement. All of this, and more, before her 30th birthday.

Is the answer to our contemporary challenges around youth hidden here, in her life and story? Anna died in her 40's, a beloved Mother of the Church, preacher, and leader of the Moravian movement, and much of her influence has been obscured, both by time, and the intentional actions of those who inherited her work and sought to make our Moravian tradition more palatable. If we have in Anna Nitschmann the example of a devout, faithful, creative and young leader, how can we speak to the young people of our day, holding her up in history, and creating space in our church for contemporary expressions of "youth" in leadership? If only those whose life experience is reflected in many years of service are given the opportunities to serve our community as leaders, rather than those whose experience may come in different forms, we run the risk of turning away from our own heritage.

I was tremendously encouraged to meet Sister Roberta Hoey, Chair of our Worldwide Moravian Unity Board, on her recent visit to Bethlehem. Sister Roberta was honored by Moravian University with an Doctorate in Law in recognition of her tremendous leadership of our worldwide community. A young woman herself, not unlike Anna Nitschmann, Sister Roberta serves with deep love and hope for our church. Her commitment, leadership, and presence strengthen my own hope for the future of our unique, and quite needed, Moravian expression of faith.

Manna is only one expression of our Moravian heritage, but I work with the hope that many, old and young and in between, will come to find a home for themselves where they can encounter the love of God for them, and for all people. May we all work together to build a Church which welcomes and creates space for the young leaders among us.

**have they abandoned us, or have we abandoned them?

*Faull Here's a Link to 'Anna Nitschmann in the World' - and here is a link to 'Recovering Anna Nitschmann' Definitely read both if you are interested!

Human Made: My work, including writing, formatting, and research, is done without the use of AI.