Page 4 - Moravian College 275th Anniversary

Celebrating 275 years of being a LITTLE REVOLUTIONARY.

Rooted in unity and forward thinking

By Craig Atwood,
director of the Center of Moravian Studies

To truly know a person, you must look beneath
the surface, delving deep to discover the values
that shape the individual. So, too, an institu-
tion is de?ned by the values on which it is built.
Here, we journey back to the origins of Moravian
College and the men and women whose beliefs
molded its character. Those foundational values
infuse our purpose, our ethics, our community
and the quality of a Moravian College education
today as much as they did 275 years ago.

L et me take you SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 each person had mean- The Bell House (the building in the background) was the ?rst home for the girls’ school in Bethlehem.
back to 1742 and ingful work with a living
the Moravians who SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF THE MORNING CALL wage. They embraced most of the people who here in America. Some that became Moravian and atheists in Christian
founded the schools new and useful technol- built the town and school, of them were arrested, College were part of this lands. Moravian College
that became Moravian ogy, studied the fauna including Benigna von imprisoned, tortured, mission. We are here be- was founded on a principle
College. Those intrepid and flora of this land and Zinzendorf, were Ger- and even killed because cause of the Moravians’ of religious toleration,
pioneers were more than learned wisdom from the man. Since the Unitas of their faith. In 1628, radical hope that love can which continues to this day.
“a little” revolutionary. past as well as the pres- Fratrum had roots in thousands of Moravi- transcend the divisions Carrying on the Vision
They created one of the ent. Moravians learned Moravia, however, people ans were forced to leave of race, culture, language,
most sustainable econom- to speak Lenape and often referred to the their homeland, and the nationality, gender and The Moravian ideals
ic communes in Ameri- Mahican so they could residents of Bethlehem Moravian Church as an class. They hoped to ush- that built this school are
can history. They were establish friendships with as Moravian Brethren institution was destroyed. er in a new era of human what we stand on today.
witnesses to the value of the original inhabitants of or simply Moravians. So history where the values In our classrooms and
peacefulness in the midst the Lehigh Valley. When here at the college, when Just 20 years before of service and friendship throughout our commu-
of armed conflicts and their Lenape and Mahican we talk about the Mora- Moravian College was replace greed, competi- nity, Moravian College
political turmoil. They brothers and sisters were vians and the Moravian founded, 500 people fled tion and abuse. encourages you to think
proclaimed the worth of threatened by violence, the vision of education, we from religious persecution critically, seek truth and
women in an age when Moravians tried to protect are talking about people in Moravia and settled The Moravian Church fight for justice; to live
women had few, if any, them. James Fennimore who were members of the on the estate of Count was the very first church courageously and take
political rights. They Cooper’s book Last of the Moravian Church, not Zinzendorf in Germany. to reject the idea of a risks to make this planet
called each other brother Mohicans was inspired by people who were ethni- He protected these “il- state church or an es- healthier and safer for
and sister and greeted one this Moravian history. cally Moravian. legal” immigrants from tablished religion. They all; to turn away from
another with a kiss. And deportation and helped believed people must be greed, pointless competi-
they boldly transcended The meaning of Moravian One of the most them build a village called free to accept or reject tion and unsustainable
the barriers of race and Moravia is a region of important things to know Herrnhut. Under his religious teachings based consumption toward
class when they shared about the Moravian leadership, the church on their own conscience. compassion and com-
in lovefeast with Native the modern Czech Repub- Church’s story is that, for was resurrected, and In the 17th century, John munity; and, most of all,
Americans and enslaved lic in the heart of Europe, more than two centu- the Moravian Brethren Amos Comenius, bishop to live a life of meaning
Africans. so you might assume that ries, nations worldwide launched a heroic mis- of the Unity of the Breth- and purpose so you will
the people who founded considered it an illegal sion that extended from ren, the parent institution look into the unexplored
Those Moravians Moravian College were church. The Moravian Greenland to South Af- to the Moravian Church, country of the future
wrote some of the most Czech, but that’s not Brethren faced hostility in rica, from Russia to Penn- argued for religious tol- with eager anticipation
sophisticated music in true. They were mem- their homeland and even sylvania. The schools eration for Jews, Muslims and boundless curiosity.
Colonial America and bers of an international
created one of the first church called the Mora-
painting studios. They vian Church, or Unitas
provided health care for Fratrum (Unity of the
everyone in the commu- Brethren). A few Czechs,
such as the Nitschmanns,
4 nity and made sure that settled in Bethlehem, but