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By John Railey
"That is why there's going to be a lot of soul-searching … as to where we go next. Because we really need to straighten out the theology part before we find somebody else to put in that (director's) chair," Campbell said. "What is our mission? What are we going to state to the world?" The Moravians, like many other mainstream Protestant denominations, are wrestling over what it means to be Christian in a rapidly changing world. "The fact that this is happening to the Moravians, a community that has prided themselves in their ability to celebrate and affirm diversity, says how large these questions are for a new generation of Christians confronting a new pluralism," said Bill Leonard, the dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School. In Forsyth, a county that Moravians helped build, the questions have shaken people in the pews, from liberals to conservatives. "I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it is," said Sandra Shugart, a member of Home Moravian. "Moravians have historically sought those things that unified us, rather than dwelling on those things that draw boundaries and separate us from one another and from God." The mission board has only a relative handful of missionaries and administrators, but its work has long been at the heart of the Moravian Church. The resignations were the latest blow in a hard year for the Moravians, who have also argued over the public assertions of the Rev. Truman Dunn of Winston-Salem that Christ is not the only way to salvation. Those who know the mission-board employees who resigned said that they object to resolutions passed by the denomination which they see as not stating firmly enough that Jesus is the only way and of being too accepting of homosexuality. The Rev. Hampton Morgan Jr., the board's executive director, submitted his resignation in January, as did Gail Walker, the Rev. Sonna Schambach and the Rev. Linda Faber. Morgan grew up here and lives in Bethlehem, Pa. Walker has been the director of world-mission education and is based here, and Schambach and Faber have been international missionaries based here. "Many" others resigned as well, according to a release from the mission's board of directors. Asked to clarify the number, Morgan said that seven more overseas missionaries had also submitted letters of resignation. Most of the letters of resignation are dated effective March 31, and some Moravians had hoped that the mission's directors could persuade them to stay during its closed meeting here. The discussion with Morgan and his workers was an emotional one at times marked by tears, said board member Kevin Staggs of Peoria, Ariz. He said that the board asked the employees what it would take to get them to stay. Staggs, a layperson designated to be the sole spokesman for the board, said that a discussion ensued, but declined to give its specifics. "The resignations were accepted with great regret and appreciation for the personal conviction and integrity that led to their decision," the board of directors said in a prepared statement released yesterday. Morgan praised the board of directors. "I'm very appreciative of the prayer and the thought that the board put into the consideration of the issues that were raised in my resignation, and I appreciate the way that they handled it," he said. Schambach and Faber declined to comment, and Walker could not be reached. In the statement, the board also "absolutely affirmed the uniqueness and finality of the person and work of Jesus Christ." The statement quoted from the denomination's statement of faith, the Ground of the Unity: "there is no salvation apart from Him." Morgan said: "I'm very happy that they affirmed the finality of Christ. They clearly did not come to consensus on the other issue." In the prepared statement, the directors noted that their denomination, like many others, doesn't have consensus "on some matters of church policy regarding homosexuality. However, board members agreed that the lack of consensus in the broader church was not an insurmountable barrier to a vital world mission effort." Staggs said that the board discussed the possibility of working in missions in partnership with Morgan and the other employees, but no decision was reached. Morgan declined to comment on his plans. The board of directors now begins the search for an interim director, but has not set a date on when to begin searching for a permanent replacement, he said. Campbell said that he and the other conservative ministers had expected that the resignations would be accepted. "I think they made their definite statement when they all resigned," he said of the mission-board employees. "To accept them back would almost be like accepting Truman Dunn back." For now, Dunn remains at his church, Messiah Moravian. Denomination officials had tried to end his pastorate, but instead agreed to put the matter on hold while Dunn held periodic meetings with a bishop to discuss his beliefs. The denomination is expected to decide in the spring whether Dunn stays or goes. "In my own church, people I have known and loved all my life have left," said Charles Cornelius, a Messiah member. "Yet, there are many I have known and loved who have remained." And Cornelius, like so many other Moravians, struggles with his own faith and feelings. He counts Dunn as a friend and at first argued that Dunn should remain as the Messiah pastor. But now he feels that a pastor should affirm the Moravian statement of faith, which says Jesus is the only way. Yet, he hopes his denomination can one day have a more inclusive statement on salvation. "I think we should be bringing people to God, as opposed to handing them a rulebook." More conservative Moravians say that the statement is fine as it is. But conservatives, like liberals and moderates, are anxious about the direction of their church. "We're just kind of up in the air right now until this thing flushes out," Campbell said.
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