Worship Everywhere, NC is a ministry and internship project of Unity Moravian Church (Lewisville, NC), St. Paul United Methodist Church (Winston-Salem, NC) and Luther Seminary (St. Paul, Minnesota).
Every Sunday we will worship at 11 AM with our churches, live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Every Saturday we will worship at 10 AM somewhere in Lewisville, Clemmons or Winston-Salem. Most locations will require some hiking. A few locations will include some hills and stairs. We will worship regardless of the weather (only exception is if there are dangerous driving conditions including severe storm watches or warnings.) Worship will always include scripture, prayer and Holy Communion. On nice days, there may be a short message and some music. You can view our upcoming service dates, times, and locations on our website.
As more people are vaccinated, it becomes possible for us to return to more of our favorite activities and to the company of our brothers and sisters in Christ here at Unity. We do need to remain vigilant in our efforts to protect and care for one another. We are confident that we all will make decisions that are best for ourselves and our families, whether we return to church for indoor worship or continue to participate online.
We are trying to achieve a balance that recognizes the changing environment, enables more people to participate in worship and other church activities, and still cares for all, especially the most vulnerable among us. These revisions to our guidelines for gathering will go into effect this Sunday, May 30:
All limits on attendance and capacity are lifted, while we continue to prioritize distancing.
We’ll simply sign in on arrival on Sundays, so we may do any needed contact tracing. We’ll no longer use the online advance RSVP system.
More pews are available for distanced seating.
We’ll wear masks when we are together in the sanctuary for worship regardless of vaccination status.
We’ll participate in liturgy and song during worship as we feel comfortable. (Yes, that means we can sing with our masks on!)
For now, other church activities (small groups, meetings) should also follow these revised guidelines. Our leaders will continue to adapt and revise our guidelines as needed. We still livestream our services each week on Facebook and YouTube, so you can always experience our worship from wherever you are!
May 21 Update: We are excited to host a few members inside our sanctuary this weekend! If you missed the Thursday deadline to RSVP, you can still show up Sunday morning and we’ll do our best to seat you. Please review theSeven Guidelines for Safe Gathering to which we will adhere when we worship in our sanctuary. We are aware there are changes from the CDC and the Governor to consider, but we will stick with our original plan through May 23rd. The Regathering Team will meet on May 24th to discuss and make any necessary recommendations to the board regarding how any these changes and any new guidance from the Provincial Elders Conference might affect our current plan.
Please enjoy this creative music video featuring Reserved Parking, Unity’s worship band, and some very special members, as they share our original guidelines!
April 7, 2021: The Church Board appointed a Regathering Team to determine how we might regather safely in the church building for worship, small group meetings, and other church activities. The team has come up with a plan that is designed to provide the best worship and ministry experiences that we possibly can have, while also doing all that we can to keep everyone safe.
Prior to regathering in person in the sanctuary for worship, we will be offering a few outdoor worship experiences. Please be looking out for details of these services in the coming weeks. Our target for regathering for worship in the sanctuary is Pentecost Sunday on May 23. Please be aware that this date for worship in the sanctuary is dependent on being able to safely gather. If the numbers of cases in our area increases, we will adjust our plans as necessary. We will continue with our online worship experiences via Facebook Live and our YouTube channel.
See our Guidelines for Safe Gathering below.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Acts 2:1 And we look forward to being all together in one place for worship and other ministry!
Services and Events
Currently, our worship service and special events are being held online, rather than at Unity Moravian Church’s physical location in Lewisville, NC. Our hope is to be able to gather together in our sanctuary for 11:00 AM worship on Pentecost (May 23), but for now, we believe we can continue to learn and grow as a church by worshiping together virtually and with family. You can still invite your friends by sharing this page. Regardless, we intend to offer a vibrant, hybrid (online AND offline) ministry that includes those of us who gather onsite and those who join us online. Mark your calendar for some outdoor experiences too! We’ll hold drive-in worship on Sunday, April 25 and May 9, 2021.
Groups and Meetings
We are now holding group meetings at Unity’s physical address, and we also encourage groups to continue supporting, praying for, and caring for each other remotely. Groups are asked to reserve space in advance through the church office and to follow our Seven Guidelines for Safe Gathering. Small group leaders will want to review the specific guidelines for them (see above). Small groups certainly may choose to use virtual tools (such as Facebook groups, Google Hangouts Meet, Zoom, WhatsApp, and Skype) to continue meeting. All members and friends of Unity are invited to attend our Wednesday evening Virtual Time of Fellowship using Zoom video conferencing technology. There is also a small group Bible study offered online on Tuesday evenings. If you’d like the login information for either event, please email us.
Giving Our financial needs remain constant and you still have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others by supporting the ministries of Unity. Give online through the Moravian Ministries Foundation Giving Portal or mail a check to 8300 Concord Church Road, Lewisville, NC 27023. More information is available on our giving page.
Prayer
Prayer is an integral part of our lives as followers of Jesus. The Unity Prayer Partners lift up to God the needs of the Unity Church family as well as others in the larger Moravian Church and the world. Consider joining our Prayer Team: email us. Submit your prayer request: fill out the Prayer Request Form
Please join us on Wednesday evenings from 5:30pm to 7:00pm beginning on February 26, 2020 for a very special Lenten experience. Living Compass Wellness Circles are a committed small group of adults who meet for six sessions. By the time the group sessions end, participants will have had a chance to:
discuss how faith informs our wellness and daily decisions;
assess our current state of balance and wellness;
learn important lessons about change;
and setgoals for changes we feel called to make.
Many compasses compete to guide our lives. The Wellness Circle experience makes faith the compass that guides decisions in all areas of our lives – heart, soul, strength, and mind. When we use faith as our compass, we are better able to experience wellness and wholeness.
What: Living Compass Wellness Circles (small groups of 6-8 people) (Download more details about the group experience.)
When: Lent 2020 (6 Wednesdays: February 26, March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1) from 5:30pm to 7:00pm (No meal is provided but you are welcome to bring your own “bag supper” if you like.)
Where: Unity Moravian Church Fellowship Hall | 8300 Concord Church Road, Lewisville, NC
Who: Anyone who wants to explore the question: “How is the Spirit calling me togreater wellness and wholeness right now?” Members and non-members are invited to participate. Interested in a parent circle? Let us know when you sign up! Childcare provided.
How to Sign Up:
Visit this Google Form (http://bit.ly/UnityWellnessCircles)or use the sign-up sheet in the Narthex (on the round table). You may also call the church office at (336) 945-3801. A $5 donation is requested to offset the cost of each participant workbook, but no one should consider cost a barrier to their participation.
Our neighbors and their families are invited to celebrate Christmas with us at Unity Moravian Church. Although Advent and Christmas look very different for our community in 2020, we remain steadfastly hopeful as we welcome our Lord in a unique way.
Thursday, Dec. 24 *Rain or Shine!*
Lovefeast To Go (Drive-Thru Kit Pickup is 2:00 PM* – 6:00 PM in Unity’s parking lot.)
*Dec 23 UPDATE: Lovefeast-To-Go kit pickup on Christmas Eve *NOW* from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM in our parking lot. Due to expected heavy rain and winds, we’re extending the hours for pickup. Pre-ordering kits is no longer possible, but there will be a few extra available on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you pre-ordered lovefeast kits for your friends and loved ones, you will be able to pick up Lovefeast buns, candles, trim, coffee mix and a special Lovefeast ode to celebrate in a new way this year through our Covid-safe parking lot drive-thru pickup. These special items will help you prepare your heart for our virtual service which will be livestreamed from the church sanctuary. Did you forget to pre-order? No worries – we will have some additional Lovefeast-To-Go kits available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visit this page for directions on trimming your lovefeast candle.
Christmas Eve Offering
During our traditional in-person Christmas Eve services, we collect an offering and split it among a few community organizations. With the challenges of the pandemic, these donations are needed more than ever. You will have a chance to offer a donation upon pickup of your kit, but you may also choose to make your donation online. For 2020, the Unity church board voted to divide the Christmas Eve Lovefeast Offering three ways: for the benefit of Sunnyside Ministries, Friends of Moravian Prison Ministry, and Laurel Ridge Moravian Camp, Conference, and Retreat Center.
Virtual Christmas Eve Lovefeast & Candle Service (7:00 PM) Join us online on Facebook and YouTube at 7:00 PM Eastern Time on December 24th for our Christmas Eve Lovefeast and Candle Service. Enjoy celebrating this special service in a unique way as we welcome the birth of our Lord. Share photos and video of your family celebrating Lovefeast to our Facebook page while you enjoy Lovefeast To Go in the comfort of your home. A pre-recorded brass band prelude begins about 6:50 PM.
All in-person events take place at Unity Moravian Church at 8300 Concord Church Road in Lewisville, NC.
Lumberton was devastated in 2016 with flooding from Hurricane Matthew and now Florence has only compounded their miseries. Moravians have been partnering with North Carolina United Methodist Disaster Response since Hurricane Matthew and we are happy to be continuing our partnership. The Yadkin View Conference of Churches will be working together to rebuild a home in Lumberton this spring.
Project Update: May 20, 2019
Status:
City of Lumberton has demolished house and removed the debris.
Two trees that were on property and could have had a long term impact on house have been taken down.
Trunk/limbs will have to be cut up and removed from property at some point.
Either by work teams or locals for the wood.
Over the next 3 weeks, local team will:
Dig and pour footings
Pour 6 feet high concrete foundation wall.
Due to new local building regulations concerning flooding, the house will need to have a 6 feet high foundation wall.
Yadkin View RCC Work Teams:
After footings and foundation wall are poured, work teams will begin working on framing with the goal of having the house under roof by the 2nd week of July.
Two work Saturdays are planned. These will be one day trips.
Dates: June 8th and 15
Leave at 5:00 am. Work on house during day. Return late afternoon. (About a 3 hour one way trip)
Work To Be Done:
Framing/General Carpentry
Also need general helpers to wok with more experienced carpenters.
Need to get number of workers who are interested to Kenneth Lankford so he can plan work with local team.
While some tools are on site, work teams are encouraged to bring their own tools to perform the work scheduled for workdays.
Plans are for the work teams to take food with them on these days. If you are interested in helping the RCC with preparing food for the teams, please fill out a form or email as well.
If interested in going or helping with food, please fill out form in bulletin and turn into church office or send you name/email address to Kenneth Lankford (mklankford@roadrunner.com) and Smitty Welborn (swelbornjr@gmail.com). Note: I would like your contact information so I can keep everyone informed if I get work related information sent to me.
Schedule (More Details Will Be Provided As They Are Finalized):
5/18 – 5/19:
Footings dug.
5-19 – 6/7:
Pour footings
Pour/build foundation walls
6/8 – 2nd Week of July:
Framing
Roofing
Beginning 2nd Week of July:
Exterior doors and windows
Ruff in electrical
Ruff in plumbing
These three tasks can be done at the same time.
Sheetrock
Local Team on Site:
Local project manager will provide materials needed.
Local project manager will have people working at site during the week.
For those who prefer to work during the week, the local project manager can be contacted to coordinate work team support on these days.
Summary will be updated with local project manager’s contact information.
Financial Support:
Financial contributions are needed to support the rebuild of this home:
Contributions can be made directly:
Checks should be made out to NCCUMC and with a memo to “Moravian House Adoption”
Mailed to: NCCUMC | PO Box 3601 | Lumberton, N.C. 28358
The Yadkin View Regional Conference of Churches: Clemmons Moravian Church, Macedonia Moravian Church, New Hope Moravian Church, New Philadelphia Moravian Church, and Unity Moravian Church.
We’ll miss being together on Sunday, January 13, but with the anticipated icy conditions, we want to be safe. We will observe our mission emphasis and enjoy some of the special music scheduled for January 13 on January 27.
January 13 is the second Sunday of Epiphany. You’ll find the scripture readings for the day here. The focus is on the baptism of Jesus. Think back to your own baptism. Do you remember it? Many of us were infants when we were received as members of our childhood faith communities. What does it really mean to be baptized? As Moravians, baptism is a little different from other denominations in that, like Jesus’s baptism, it is a communal event. You can remind yourself about the sacrament of Baptism on the Moravian Church in North America website.
Jesus’s baptism is a significant event. Ronald J. Allen talks about this in his commentary on the Working Preacher website:
“When Jesus came to be baptized, he came to be publicly identified as the pivotal figure in the movement towards the realm. Moreover, his baptism signaled that God was now taking steps through the ministry of Jesus to signal that the turning of the ages expected by John has now begun to take place. As preachers are want to say, it is both present and future: its signs in the present point to the future consummation at Jesus’ return.
Jesus’ baptism takes place in community. It is not a private occurrence. This communal dimension reminds listeners that they when they are baptized, they become part of a new social world. My sense is that a good many people today are moving away from the radical individualism of modernity and are longing for community.
The voice from heaven (God’s voice) identifies Jesus as God’s son, in whom God is well pleased. In first century context, these words have less to do with the nature of Jesus and more with his purpose. God’s words recall two texts. The Jewish people used Psalm 2 at the coronation of a new monarch. In 2:7, God adopts the monarch as God’s son. Thus, God adopts Jesus as divine representative in the final transition from old age to new age.”
We hope you find your time at home refreshing and relaxing. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday!
We hope you’ll stay safe and warm at home tomorrow, Sunday, December 9th, and enjoy the snow. We’ll resume our Advent festivities next week with Sunday School (9:45am) and Worship (11:00am). Please join us for Moravian Christmas in Lewisville next Sunday, December 16, beginning at 2:30pm, followed by our Children’s Lovefeast at 4:00pm. The cantata, The Winter Rose, will now be performed on Sunday, December 23rd at 7:30pm. Our sanctuary is now decorated for the season! View a few photos below.
If you’d like to enjoy a bit of Advent worship on your own, here are a few ecumenical worship and prayer options for you!
Moravian Church Without Walls Daily Text Podcast: Listen online or with your favorite podcast service to the Daily Text, read each day by Moravians from all over North America. (Look at December 3rd – you’ll know that reader!)
Here’s a daily reading from the Lutherans’ Advent devotions about the 2nd Sunday in Advent.
Lectio Divina (purposeful, meditative Bible reading) for the Second Sunday in Advent.
All events for Sunday, January 8, 2017 are cancelled at Unity Moravian Church due to an impressive winter storm bringing lots of snow and very cold temperatures. Stay home and enjoy God’s creation. We will have our new Board member installation and Watchword distribution next Sunday, January 15. Consider holding your own worship using the Daily Textas inspiration:
First Sunday after the Epiphany
Watchword for the Week
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. Isaiah 42:3
You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. Exodus 20:23
Doctrinal Text
The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Matthew 4:8
Prayer
Dear loving and eternal God, thank you for your forbearance toward us when we stray from your Word. Give us the ability to love you truly and to always remain faithful to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Unity’s Snow (Inclement Weather) Policy: Cancellation of Sunday School and Worship will be listed with WXII and WFMY Television. If possible, we will try to contact members by way of our Telephone tree and/or website/social media, but should last minute decisions have to be made, this form of communication will not be possible. We will strive to hold Sunday school and worship as long as sidewalks and parking lot can be adequately cleared.
Regarding evening or weekday activities, Unity Moravian will follow the cancellation or early dismissal schedule of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (no school equals no activities). We urge members to make their own judgment regarding attendance during severe weather conditions. Should a committee or organization wish to have its activity when school is cancelled, that committee and/or organization will need to inform its members.
Since 1957 the Unity (World-wide Moravian Church) Prayer Watch has assured that prayer for the work and witness of our world-wide Moravian Church is being offered somewhere in the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Prayer Watch is a renewal of the “hourly intercession”, begun in Herrnhut, Germany in 1727 which continued uninterrupted for 100 years.
The time assigned to members of our Moravian Church, Southern Province is January 1 to 17, 2017. Here is a link to the 2017 Unity Prayer Watch Topics.
Unity Moravian Church’s participation in the Unity Prayer Watch is January 7 from 6:00 a.m. until Noon. There is a sign-up sheet and lists of prayer concerns on the narthex table. You are invited to sign up for your preference of prayer time.
Learn more about the history of the Unity Prayer Watch.
Christmas Eve Lovefeast and Candle Service. Enjoy celebrating this special service in a unique way as we welcome the birth of our Lord. Share photos and video of your family celebrating Lovefeast to our 
