Moravian Church in North America
In Essentials, Unity; In Nonessentials, Liberty; In All Things, Love.
In Essentials, Unity; In Nonessentials, Liberty; In All Things, Love.
Over its 500-plus year history, the Moravian Church has developed unique, deeply-held traditions. The Lovefeast, the Moravian Star, beeswax candles, special services, music and lore all help make up the rich heritage of the Moravian Church. Many of these customs arose from expressions of faith and worship of early Moravians; they continue to have significance in how Moravians live into their love of Christ. Here are just a few:
At Moravian churches across the Northern and Southern Provinces, Easter morning is an especially wondrous time. In the sometimes chilly early morning, Moravians greet the rising sun in their God’s Acres, with hymns, horns and a resounding, “The Lord has risen… The Lord has risen indeed!”
According to an article from the Northern Province Moravian Archives’ series “This Month in Moravian History,” the traditions of the Sunrise Service date back 280 years.
In the early morning of Easter Sunday 1732 the young men of Herrnhut, Germany, gathered in the cemetery on the hill overlooking their Moravian community to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It was the first Moravian sunrise service. The next year the service was held for the entire congregation. The Easter morning sunrise service has become one of the characteristic liturgical traditions in the Moravian Church.
The holding of lovefeasts, after the practice of the Apostolic Church, has come to be one of the outstanding customs of the Moravian Church and has proved to be a real means of grace. Members of other denominations are attracted to Moravian lovefeasts in large numbers, and thus the spirit of fellowship is greatly advanced.
From the beginning, the small, lighted candles distributed to Moravians in America were made from beeswax. Beeswax, considered the purest of all animal or vegetable waxes, suggested the purity of Christ. The candle, giving its life as it burned, suggested the sacrifice of the sinless Christ for sinful humanity.
Originating in the Moravian boarding schools in Germany in the nineteenth century as an exercise in geometry, the stars were carried throughout the world by missionaries and other church workers. Now, from the Himalayas to the Caribbean, the star proclaims the hope of Advent. While we are most familiar with the white star, the first star had alternating red and white points. Stars colors have also included red and yellow, white and yellow, and a yellow "starburst" with a red center.
The PutzSaturday, May 25 – Psalm 68:28-35
Proverbs 18; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:13
The Lord filled Zion with justice and righteousness; he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Isaiah 33:5-6
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16
Almighty God, we live in a time of great instability. We do not understand why people around the world must struggle with poverty, illness, famine, violence, and hatred. Trusting in your abundant and gracious wisdom, show us what we can do to right the world’s wrongs. Amen.
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May 2013
Zinzendorf's Pennsylvania JourneyCount Zinzendorf speaks once again in this collection of sermons preached during his sojourn in Pennsylvania in the 1740s. These sermons, translated by Craig Atwood and Julie Tomberlin Weber, will touch your heart as they did those who heard them more than 250 years ago.