Moravian Church in North America

First Moravian Church, New York City.

The Moravian Church in North America is part of the worldwide Moravian Church Unity. It dates from the arrival of the first Moravian missionaries to the United States in 1735, from their Herrnhut settlement in present-day Saxony, Germany. They came to minister to the scattered German immigrants, to the Native Americans and to enslaved Africans. They founded communities to serve as home bases for these missions. The missionary "messengers" were financially supported by the work of the "laborers" in these settlements.[1] Currently, there are more than 60,000 members.[2]

History

The first Moravians to come to North America were August Gottlieb Spangenberg and Wenzel Neisser, who accompanied a group of persecuted Schwenkfelders to Pennsylvania in 1735 at Zinzendorf's direction. The first, and unsuccessful, attempt to found a Moravian community in North America was in Savannah Georgia that also began in 1735; it collapsed because of internal discord, and government pressure for Moravians to serve in the militia in defense against Spanish raids from Florida (1740, the so-called "War of Jenkin's Ear").

Moravian missionary baptising Munsee-Delawares (Lenape) in "Old Chapel" in Bethlehem, PA

The beginning of the church's work in North America is usually given as 1740, when Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg sent Christian Henry Rauch to New York City on a mission to preach and convert native peoples. Eager to learn more, the Mahican chiefs Tschoop and Shabash invited Rauch to visit their village (in present-day Dutchess County) to teach them. In September 1740, they led him to Shekomeko, where he established a Moravian mission. The two Indian chiefs converted to the Christian faith. By summer 1742, Shekomeko was established as the first native Christian congregation in the present-day United States. Over the next two years, the Moravians endeavored to reconcile the ancient Indian traditions with the new ways of the western society. They made a center for missions to the native peoples. Within the next two years, several more missionaries along with their wives began to settle in the area. Among these were Gottlob Buettner and his wife, Anna Margaret Bechtel, daughter of a minister. Meanwhile, European settlers who opposed the Moravians' defense of Native Americans spread rumors that they were secret Catholic Jesuits allied with the French, British enemies. Such settlers finally were successful in persuading the colonial governor Clinton to restrict the missionaries' efforts. They were expelled in 1744. Buettner died at Shekomeko early in 1745, and the colony dwindled away soon after.

The Moravians were more successful in Pennsylvania, where the charter of the colony provided religious freedom. The towns of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Lititz, Pennsylvania, were founded as Moravian communities. Graceham, Maryland was founded as a Moravian Community on October 8, 1758, organized by Bishop Matthew Hehl.[3] Later, colonies were also founded in North Carolina, where Moravians led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg purchased 98,985 acres (400.58 km2) from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. This large tract of land was named die Wachau, or Wachovia, after one of Zinzendorf's ancestral estates on the Danube River in Austria. Other early settlements included Bethabara (1753), Bethania (1759) and Salem (now Winston-Salem) (1766).

Bethlehem emerged as the headquarters of the northern church, and Winston-Salem became the headquarters of the southern church. The Moravian denomination continues in America to this day, with congregations in 18 states. The highest concentrations of Moravians exist in Bethlehem and Winston-Salem. The denomination is organized into four provinces in North America: Northern (which includes five Canadian congregations), Southern, Alaska, and Labrador.

Organization

Headquarters

Provinces, Districts, and Congregations

Northern Province

Headquarters: 1021 Center Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018

Eastern District
District of Columbia
Washington:
Faith Moravian Church of the Nation’s Capital
Maryland
Thurmont:
Graceham Moravian Church
New Carrollton:
Trinity Moravian Church
Upper Marlboro:
St. Paul’s Moravian Church
New Jersey
Cinnaminson:
Palmyra Moravian Church
Egg Harbor City:
Egg Harbor City Moravian Church
Riverside:
First Moravian Church
Union:
Battle Hill Moravian Church
Hope:
Moravian Church
New York
Jan Hus Moravian, Brooklyn
Bronx:
Tremont Terrace Moravian Church
Brooklyn:
Fellowship Moravian Church (meeting at Church of the Evangel [U.C.C.])
John Hus Moravian Church
New York City:
First Moravian Church
United Moravian Church
Queens:
Grace Moravian Church
Staten Island:
Castleton Hill Moravian Church
Great Kills Moravian Church
New Dorp Moravian Church
Vanderbilt Ave. Moravian Church
Utica:
Good Shepherd Moravian Church
Ohio
Dover:
First Moravian Church
Dublin:
Church of the Redeemer Moravian Church
Lewis Center:
The Promise Moravian Church
Gnadenhutten:
John Heckewelder Memorial Moravian Church
New Philadelphia:
Fry’s Valley Moravian Church
Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church
Tuscarawas:
Sharon Moravian Church
Uhrichsville:
Uhrichsville Moravian Church
Ontario (Canada)
Toronto:
New Dawn Moravian Church
Pennsylvania
Allentown:
Calvary Moravian Church
Midway Manor Moravian Church
Old Moravian Church in Bethlehem, PA
Bethlehem:
Advent Moravian Church
Central Moravian Church
College Hill Moravian Church
East Hills Moravian Church
Edgeboro Moravian Church
West Side Moravian Church
Canadensis:
Canadensis Moravian Church
Coopersburg:
MorningStar Moravian Church
Easton:
First Moravian Church
Palmer Township Moravian Church
Emmaus:
Emmaus Moravian Church
Hellertown:
Mountainview Moravian Church
Lancaster:
Lancaster Moravian Church
Lebanon:
Lebanon Moravian Church
Lititz:
Lititz Moravian Church
Nazareth:
Nazareth Moravian Church
Schoeneck Moravian Church
Newfoundland:
Newfoundland Moravian Church
Philadelphia:
Redeemer Moravian Church
Reading:
Reading Moravian Church
York:
Covenant Moravian Church
First Moravian Church
Western District
California
Banning: Morongo Moravian Church
Downey:
Downey Moravian Church
Illinois
West Salem:
West Salem Moravian Church
Indiana
Hope:
Hope Moravian Church
Michigan
Daggett:
Daggett Moravian Church
Unionville:
Unionville Moravian Church
Westland:
Grace Moravian Church
Minnesota
Altura:
Our Savior's Moravian Church
Chaska:
Chaska Moravian Church
Maple Grove:
Christ's Community Church
Northfield:
Main Street Moravian Church
St. Charles:
Berea Moravian Church
Victoria:
Lake Auburn Moravian Church
Waconia:
Waconia Moravian Church
North Dakota
Davenport:
Canaan Moravian Church
Durbin:
Goshen Moravian Church
Fargo:
Shepherd of the Prairie
Leonard:
Bethel Moravian Church
Wisconsin
East Side Moravian Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Appleton:
Freedom Moravian Church
Cambridge:
London Moravian Church
DeForest:
Christian Faith Moravian Church
Ephraim:
Ephraim Moravian Church
Green Bay:
East Side Moravian Church
West Side Moravian Church
Lake Mills:
Lake Mills Moravian Church
Madison:
Glenwood Moravian Church :::Lakeview Moravian Church
Pittsville:
Veedum Moravian Church
Rudolph:
Rudolph Moravian Church
Sister Bay:
Sister Bay Moravian Church
Sturgeon Bay:
Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church
Watertown:
Ebenezer Moravian Church
Mamre Moravian Church
Watertown Moravian Church
Wisconsin Rapids:
Kellner Moravian Church
Saratoga Moravian Church
Wisconsin Rapids Moravian Church
Canadian District
Alberta
Bruderheim:
Bruderheim Moravian Church
Calgary:
Christ Moravian Church
Good Shepherd Community Church
Edmonton:
Edmonton Moravian Church
Millwoods Moravian Church
Rio Terrace Moravian Church
Sherwood Park:
Good News Moravian Church
South Edmonton:
Heimtal Moravian Church

Southern Province

Headquarters:
529 S. Church Street,
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Florida
Longwood: Rolling Hills
Miami: King of Kings • New Hope • Prince of Peace • Suriname Moravian Fellowship
West Palm Beach: New Covenant Moravian Fellowship • Palm Beach
Sarasota: Sarasota Fellowship
Tampa: Tampa Fellowship
Georgia
Stone Mountain: First Moravian (GA)
North Carolina
Advance: Macedonia
Asheville: Morning Star
Bethania: Bethania
Charlotte: Little Church on the Lane • Peace
Clemmons: Clemmons
Durham: Christ the King
Eden: Leaksville
Greensboro: First Moravian (NC)
Holly Springs: Holly Springs Community
Huntersville: New Beginnings
Kernersville: Good Shepherd • Kernersville
King: King
Lexington: Enterprise
Lewisville: Unity
Mayodan: Mayodan
Mt. Airy: Grace
Newton: New Hope
Oak Ridge: Moravia
Raleigh: Raleigh
Rural Hall: Mizpah • Rural Hall
Walnut Cove: Fulp
Welcome: Community Fellowship
Wilmington: Covenant
Winston-Salem: Advent • Ardmore • Bethabara • Bethesda • Calvary • Christ • Fairview • Friedberg • Friedland • Fries Memorial • Konnoak Hills • Home • Hope • Hopewell • Immanual-New Eden • Messiah • New Philadelphia • Oak Grove • Olivet • Pine Chapel • Providence • St. Philips • Trinity • Union Cross
South Carolina
Spartanburg: The Palmetto Moravian Fellowship
Virginia
Ararat: Willow Hill
Cana: Mt. Bethel and Crooked Oak

Society and theology in America

Rohrer (2001) demonstrates the social history of the community of Wachovia, founded in the North Carolina Piedmont in 1753, illustrates the importance of the beliefs and practices of the Moravians in achieving the integration and acculturation of settlers of different ethnic backgrounds. The Moravian emphasis on openness and tolerance, combined with the conversion experience of new birth, undermined ethnic homogeneity and provided a source of communal cohesion. The primary intermingling and intermarriage was between Germans and English, but 12 nations and territories were represented in the population of Wachovia by the early 19th century.

Fogleman (2003) examines the theological, demographic, and sociological roots of factional clashes between Moravians and their more traditional German Lutheran and Reformed coreligionists, focusing on mid-18th-century communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where these confrontations were frequent and sometimes violent. Moravians' beliefs centered on a feminized Holy Spirit, the right of women to preach, sacralizing the sex act, and metaphorically re-gendering Jesus Christ. These teachings were perceived as threats to more mainstream Christian articles of faith, which stressed the masculinity of the Trinity as the theological cornerstone of the nuclear patriarchal family, the core structure in upholding moral and social order. As Moravian preachers far outnumbered the very few Lutheran or Reformed clergy in the mid-Atlantic colonies during the 1730s-40's and because the Moravians welcomed anyone into their church services, most German Pietists viewed Moravians as more than harmless heretics. Moreover, in the temporal context of a period of intense European immigration to the colonies, the Moravians were seen as challenging the long-term social stability of the colonial community as a whole. Although the Moravians never became a dominant sect in the region, the perception of them as a serious religious and social threat highlights the significant role gendered power issues have played in religious controversy in North America.

Engel (2003) says Moravians in Bethlehem 1753-75 were concerned about the economic prosperity of their settlements, but they were also concerned about the effects that prosperity might have on their religious community. Prosperity was important, as it funded both mission work and more settlements. Moravians valued work highly, but economic ventures had to be carried out in a way morally consistent with their beliefs. To this end, Bethlehem Moravians cooperated in the opening of the Strangers' Store in 1753. The store was the main instrument both in purchasing outside goods for the community and in selling Bethlehem goods to outsiders. Wise management meant the Strangers' Store remained profitable for the rest of the colonial period, funding the growth of Moravian enterprises both in Pennsylvania and back in Germany.

Architecture

The copper steeple on the church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

A Moravian architecture style has emerged in the United States, predominately in Winston-Salem (Old Salem). Some Moravian churches in the area feature copper steeple tops which have oxidized and reached a green patina. The Moravian "Bonnet" or "eyebrow" arch is also an example of the style and is mainly used over building entrances, it is an unsupported half cylinder. Combined Moravian arches were used to form the dome of the Wachovia Center (now called 100 North Main Street).

Ecumenical relations

The Moravian Church in America is:

Historically the Moravian Church had a significant impact on John Wesley and the practices of the Methodist Church.

Education

Schools

Tertiary institutions

Social Issues

There are diverse views regarding social issues in the denomination. The Moravian Church Northern Province has voted in favor of opening up ordination to gay and lesbian ministers.[4] The Northern Province also permits religious ceremonies for same-sex couples, but that decision does not apply, however, to the Southern Province or Alaska Province.[5] On reproductive issues, the Northern Province has encouraged conversation, and the Moravian Church in America supports the right to abortion for certain situations.[6][7] Regarding women's rights, the church has ordained women as ministers and bishops.[8]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Gollin 1967,
  2. ↑ "A Brief History of the Moravian Church « The Moravian Church « Moravian Church of North America". www.moravian.org. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  3. ↑ Oerter, Rev. A.L., A.M.," The History of Graceham". Times Publishing Company, Bethlehem, PA, 1913, pg. 3
  4. ↑ "Moravian Church Northern Province Synod approves ordination of gay and lesbian pastors « Northern Province Synod 2014 « Moravian Church of North America". www.moravian.org. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  5. ↑ Shimron/RNS, Yonat. "Following the Presbyterians, Moravians Vote to Ordain Gay Clergy". Charisma News. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  6. ↑ "Protestant Christians and Abortion | The Life Resources Charitable Trust". www.life.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  7. ↑ "Resolutions of the Moravian Church - Northern Province on Social Issues" (PDF). 2000. Retrieved May 14, 2016 – via moravian.org.
  8. ↑ "Moravians? Who Are They?". The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2016-05-15.

Bibliography

Primary sources

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