Bishop John McOwat
Bishop Joachim Kreusel
Bishop Sarah Groves
A letter to the Members and Friends of the British Province of the Moravian Church
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We write to greet you and to assure you of our prayers for you, your families and your Congregations during the Covid-19 crisis that is affecting us all.
On Maundy Thursday we would normally gather around our Lord’s Table and share in Holy Communion. This year we know we can’t share together and it heightens our awareness that we cannot share meals or physical fellowship with family or friends. We give thanks for all those who keep the shops open, the food chains moving and farmers and growers here and across the world.
On Good Friday we recall the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ for us. We give thanks for all those in medical services and caring services who work sacrificially on the front line for us all. We ask for a blessing on all our key workers.
On Holy Saturday we wait, in between death and life. We pray for all those who wait and worry; children who cannot play; those who are ill in hospital and nursing homes; those in Government and Local Authorities who have to make the decisions that affect us all; and those who are suffering in different ways across the world.
On Easter Morning we believe that even in death there is life. We pray for a better world to emerge after this pandemic is over. A world where all are valued, God’s good creation is respected and cared for and we focus on the truly lasting things in life.
We would like to close with the prayer that was sent to us by Churches in Britain and Ireland.
The Prayer:
Loving God, in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our salvation, cast out the darkness of our anxiety, fear and mourning, enfold us in your love and give us joy and hope this Easter. Amen.