Ritual is important to all groups - especially Christian groups. For the older Moravians of the 18th century they knew their world-wide traditions served at least two purposes.
First, it provided stability and cohesion in individual Moravian settlements. The rituals brought the people of a Moravian village together to worship, to gossip, talk politics and to support one another. Thus the universally practiced Moravian rituals unified the sprawling communities.
Second, the rituals connected individual Moravians to the larger communities - the congregational community, the Moravian inhabitants of North America and around the world. The individual was reminded that he or she belonged to a movement much larger than themselves.
Examples of distinctly Moravian rituals and traditions would include:
- The lovefeast,
- The playing of trombones signaling a birth or death in the community,
- The choir system,
- The lots used in decision making.
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