Addresses Luther Hostel participants at Lutheran Seminary

PHILADELPHIA (June 2000) -- Dr. Arthur Freeman, Bishop of The Moravian Church, spoke on the topic of Our Moravian Neighbors as part of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia's (LTSP) LutherHostel event recently. He described the walk between a Christian and Christ as a partnership rather than a race. "It is interesting with the idea of Christ as a companion that we do not have to learn everything at once. Christ will be there tomorrow. It doesn't matter what you know because you have the companionship of Christ who knows everything."

Freeman, who taught New Testament at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, for 35 years and has served as a Bishop of the Moravian Church since 1990, discussed the importance of churches working out their differences in order to let Christ dwell in companionship with them. "When two churches try to get together to work our their differences, they only have to work them out far enough so that Christ can dwell in the Church. They do not have to work them out all the way. The differences in the churches are a blessing. Grace is always the center." He pointed out one of the biggest services the Church can provide is "to help us discover where Christ is in our pain and then to give us an idea of what he is doing."

Freeman described prayer as the foundation of a relationship with God. "I enter into prayer because I need that relationship," he said. "I need that companionship."

The Bishop discussed the history of the Moravian Church and described himself as a scholar and admirer of Nicholaus Ludwig Graf Von Zinzendorf, an 18th century Lutheran turned Moravian ecumenist and theologian who wrote catechisms and sermons. Zinzendorf was instrumental in sheltering Moravians in Saxony after they had experienced persecution at the hands of the Hapsburgs. He also played a role in the founding of Moravian communities in Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s.

Freeman described how he combines his personal life experiences with his understanding of Zinzendorf's wisdom. "I think it is important that we own our (historical) tradition, that we re-adopt it as part of the stream of life out of which we grow and live." The Moravian Church has close to 610,000 members world-wide and 60,000 members in the U.S. The headquarters for the Moravian Church in America is in Bethlehem, PA, where the denomination operates its Seminary that enjoys a partnership with LTSP.

LutherHostel is a weeklong event presented by The Association of Lutheran Older Adults (ALOA) and hosted by LTSP. The theme for this year's LutherHostel was Our Neighbor's Faith and Culture. During the week of learning, participants visited the Amish and toured historical churches located in Philadelphia. Registrants came from as far away as California and Florida.