Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The Moravian Church Eastern District Conference was held July 21 - 24 at the HILL ( Hurd Integrated Living and Learning ) It is a new facility that houses a dormitory & classrooms. It was a very nice facility & brand new. Thurs. was registration , dinner , opening worship led by Rt. Rev. Christian Giesler, with guitar music by Chris Giesler , Zach Bailey , Rev. David Bennett , Tina Giesler & Mike Reiss , followed by a "meet & greet' ice cream social. The Keynote speaker for the week-end was Rev, Susan Nienaber, who is a Sr. Consultant with the Alban Institute. Her leadership includes research & teaching that promotes the strength & vitality of congregations . Friday's workshops I participated in were "Unfolding the Words" , a Bible study led be Carol Dague. & " Telling Our Story " , led by Darrell Johnson . We enjoyed a gourmet dinner at East Hills Church Friday night & music by the Unitas Chorale led by Jill Bruckart. Saturday's workshops were "Celebrating the Sights & Sounds of the Church Year" led by Marie Couts & Dealing with Controversy led by Sharon Brown. After the keynote address that evening we had the pleasure of hearing The Grace Moravian Steel Band which all thoroughly enjoyed! Sunday morning the van load I traveled with worshiped at Central Moravian Church. It is a beautiful facility with a rich history. Their organist is Rebecca Kleintop Owens , daughter of Doug & Rosemary Kleintop , a former parsonage family here. I also had the pleasure of visiting with Sue & Mike Koenig , Bruce Weaknecht , Terry Folk & Doug Kleintop. I also met Emma Williams , the widow of Ned Williams , former Pastor here. If You get a chance to attend one of these conferences , I encourage You to go.

Linda Bennington