The Moravian Church in Honduras
Oficina Provincial
Iglesia Morava, Puerto Lempira
Depto. De Gracias a Dios
Honduras Central America
Office phone: 504.433-6595
FAX: 504.441.0627
Email: henriquez1960@yahoo.com
Origins
A people who sing!
That is how Moravian missionary Werner Marx described the Miskitu people of Honduras. Truly, a Miskitu worship service is a celebration of joyful praise. Miskitu people have always expressed themselves through their songs, and their faith in Jesus Christ gives them a new song to sing.
The Moravian Church began sharing the "Song of Songs," the Good News of Jesus Christ, with the Honduran people in November 1930 in the village of Cauquira on the north coast. The first service was attended by about 80 people, and the first person to give her life to Christ was Hannah Brodick, who later became an elder of the congregation. In 1935 a congregation was established at Brus Laguna. The Rev. Dannery Downs, a Nicaraguan Moravian, was the pastor. Now there are close to 100 Moravian congregations proclaiming and singing the "old, old story of Jesus and his love." Worship is in the Miskitu language, into which missionaries translated many hymns written originally in German or English. Increasingly, however, one will hear lively Spanish choruses being sung in Moravian Churches.
Current Scope Of Ministry
The Moravian Church in Honduras is predominantly in the area known as La Mosquitia in the Department of Gracias a Dios. This is a beautiful land of tropical rainforests and savannas between the central mountains and the Caribbean coastline. Neglected by the national government and isolated by its remoteness, La Mosquitia had no health or educational infrastructure when the Moravians arrived. Thus, schools and medical work have been important ministries from the beginning. In 1946 a clinic was established on the Patuca River at Ahuas. Over the years the Medical Program of the Moravian Church in Honduras has grown to include satellite clinics at Cauquira and Ocotales. Church-run schools in Brus Laguna and Ahuas have enabled Miskitu children to go beyond the elementary schooling offered by the government and to achieve higher educational opportunities in the cities of the interior.
Theological training and Christian Education ministries have been important in the life of the Moravian Church in Honduras. The Moravian Bible Institute in Bilwaskarma, Nicaragua was forced to flee to Brus Laguna in 1979 as a result of conflict along the Rio Coco. After the Contra-Sandinista conflict ended, theological education remained a ministry of the Moravian Church in Honduras, operating from facilities in Ahuas but now located in Puerto Lempira.
The Moravian Church in Honduras conducts specific ministries for children, youth, and women. It is also deeply involved in ministry to persons affected by drugs and the drug trade. In addition, the church has been ministering among the Garifuna people during recent years.
Leadership
In 1977 the Rev. Navarro Allen became the first native-born superintendent of the Moravian Church in Honduras. He was later elected a bishop. The Rt. Rev. Stanley Goff was elected to the office of bishop in 1997. In 1995 the Moravian Church in Honduras became an autonomous province within the worldwide Moravian Unity.
The Rev. Isai Granwell is Superintendent of the Moravian Church in Honduras. He is joined in leadership by a provincial board elected by the Provincial Synod, held every four years.
Sadly, the Moravian Church in Honduras has experienced conflict and disunity in recent years. A small faction has established its own provincial structure, and now has been designated an Unity Undertaking. They are led by Rev. Solomon Ordonez. Both sides affirm that the Moravian Church should be united, and recently they have begun to bridge their differences.
Role of the Board of World Mission
Involved from the beginning in 1930, the Board of World Mission has continued in partnership with the Moravian Church in Honduras, sending long- and short-term missionaries, coordinating volunteers, and providing financial support for a wide range of ministries, including health care.
The Board of World Mission is currently working with the Church of Honduras and Drs. Norvelle Goff and Gerard Rudy at the Ahuas Clinic to develop projects to prevent the growth of HIV/AIDS along the north and east coasts of Honduras.