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By John Railey
"It's not just a question of deciding on replacements for them," said the Rev. Sam Gray of Miami, who will join the rest of the mission's board of directors here next week to consider the resignations. "It's taking a look at the whole situation. We don't want this to be something that would divide the church." It's uncertain whether the directors will accept the resignation of the Rev. Hampton Morgan Jr., the executive director of the mission, or try to persuade him and the three staff members to stay. Those who know Morgan and the others say that they object to resolutions that the denomination has passed which they see as not being firm enough on the divinity of Christ and as being too accepting of homosexuality. "If the church doesn't believe that Jesus is the way to salvation, a case could easily be made that there's no point in spending a lot of money and going to China and witnessing to people who have other opportunities for religious faith," said Gray, who was born in Winston-Salem. Morgan grew up here and is based in Bethlehem, Pa. The other three mission employees, Gail Walker, the Rev. Sonna Schambach and the Rev. Linda Faber, are based in Winston-Salem. Walker is the director of world mission education, and Schambach and Faber are international missionaries. The mission has only a relative handful of administrators and missionaries, but it's a highly visible agency in a denomination that has for centuries emphasized missions. In a brief interview, Morgan said that his resignation will take effect March 31 and that the mission's board will determine what happens to his staff when it meets here. Tensions between missionaries and their denominations aren't unusual. Recently, some Southern Baptist Convention missionaries refused to sign a revised statement of faith their denomination approved. The Moravian tension is different. Morgan and his three employees are more conservative than many in their church, those who know them say. And their church doesn't ask members to sign its statement of faith. Instead, its members are like those in many denominations, wrestling over what their beliefs mean or should mean in a rapidly changing world. That was readily apparent here last year, when Moravians split over their reactions to the writings of the Rev. Truman Dunn of Messiah Moravian Church, who asserted that Jesus is not the only way to salvation. "If we're sending a confused message, it's really troubling," said the Rev. Kevin Frack of Ardmore Moravian Church here. "I imagine that for them (Morgan and the mission employees), compromising their message would be unthinkable." The Rev. John Giesler of Winston-Salem, a retired Moravian missionary, said that the tensions that Morgan and his staff responded to have long been in the church. "This is a personal problem that has erupted into a big mess because all these things have existed for years and years," said Giesler, who edits a newsletter on Moravian missions. "Hampton is a very charismatic leader and he can get people all excited about good things and some other things. And I think that's happened. He's gotten himself all excited, and all these people just fell in line." In a Jan. 21 letter to congregations, the mission board of directors and the presidents of the Northern and Southern provinces announced the letters of resignation "with deep regret" and praised the work of the four employees. Gray said that Morgan has been effective and that he would like him to stay. Whatever happens, he said, the board of directors will make a statement. "The person chosen, that will end up being a theological statement as well," Gray said.
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