God’s Acre (German Gottesacker, lit. Field of God) is the traditional name given to the graveyards of Congregations of the Moravian Church.
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| God's Acre Salem, North Carolina Image Credit: Anonymous |
The name, God’s Acre, comes from the biblical, understanding that the bodies of followers of Jesus are "sown as seed" - as in a field, so that they can rise again upon the Second Coming of Messiah Jesus. For that reason Moravian dead are buried facing east. They rest in hope.
Over the years I have watched
as hundreds of bodies were lowered into their respective graves. The bodies of
those that were believers will rise from their graves. (see: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) I will never cease to be
amazed by that truth. Though they were sown a perishable body, they will be
raised imperishable; they were sown in dishonor, they will be raised in glory;
they were sown in weakness, they will be raised in power; they were sown a
natural body, they will be raised a spiritual body (read: 1 Corinthians
15:42–44). Moravians historically take these Scriptural truths quite seriously. A renewed emphasis upon the bodily resurrection of the believing dead is always in season and is an impetus for missionary work.
Notice that the gravestones in God’s Acre are recumbent. They denote the Moravian belief in the democracy of death and make it impossible to distinguish between the graves of the well-to-do and the poor. All stones are uniform except for those marking the graves of children which are smaller than those for adults.
Notice that the gravestones in God’s Acre are recumbent. They denote the Moravian belief in the democracy of death and make it impossible to distinguish between the graves of the well-to-do and the poor. All stones are uniform except for those marking the graves of children which are smaller than those for adults.
God's Acre is not
literally one acre. Some are considerably larger and some even smaller.
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| God's Acre looking south Salem, North Carolina Photo Credit: Anonymous |
Moravians bury their dead
according to “choirs” or groups, rather than by families. “The “choirs” are:
Married Men and Widowers, Married Women and Widows, Single Men, Single Women,
Older Boys, Older Girls, Little Boys and Little Girls.” Burial in God’s Acre is
limited to members of the Moravian Church.
The words of committal in
the Moravian Book of Worship sum up well the things about which this post
speaks.
“We now commit this body to the ground, in sure and
certain hope of the resurrection of all believers to eternal life through our
Lord Jesus Christ. He shall change our weak, mortal bodies and make them like
his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things
under his rule.”
