Day is done

Rare moments of socialization at an 18th century tavern. This is an interior short from the 1784 tavern in Old Salem, NC - a living history museum. 

Heart Religion and the Missionary Effort

To understand the Moravians of old one must have some acquaintance with Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760) - the greatest patron of Moravians in the 18th century. 

The Count propagated “heart religion”, where religion was a matter of feeling rather than of reasoning. In this regard Jesus was at the center of everything. “The Savior is our God,” he was fond of saying. 

Zinzendorf sought to carry the Gospel message of Christ’s salvation to the ends of the earth. He wished to reach not just the “heathen” but also the Christian. 

Colonial nighttime essentials

Nighttime essentials at a tavern: soap, his and her toothbrushes and a bit of light. This hands-on display is at the 1784 tavern in Old Salem, NC., a Moravian living history museum. 

Slavery and the Moravian Church

Moravian involvement with slavery in North Carolina began in 1769.

It began when a given African man asked the Moravian Church in North Carolina to buy him. They did. Not only so but they offered him responsibility, education, and membership in the Moravian Church. He even was permitted to purchase his freedom.

There are buildings in Old Salem standing today which were places where slaves resided or worked such as the Single Brothers House, Miksh House, Volger House, and Salem Tavern. 

Salem is also remarkable for schools and other institutions that featured integrated settings. God’s Acre, the cemetery, in the 1770’s buried enslaved Moravians with Moravians of European descent and Salem Academy and College admitted its first African American female in 1785. This is extraordinary for the South. 

As the decades wore on into the 19th century the relationship between slaves and the church became more and more similar to their non-Moravian neighbors. Alas.

To the credit of the Moravian Church an apology has been offered for the Church’s role in slavery in 2006. Daniel Crews the Moravian archivist said: “The acceptance of slavery and the adoption of more ‘American’ ideas about African Americans is the low point in the story of the Moravians in the South.” 

Moravian Church Children's Choir, Kyela, Tanzania

"And Jesus called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me" 

Matthew 18:2-5

Moravians have a strong presence in Tanzania with 500,000 members, 494 pastors, and 404 congregations.

The Moravian Watchword for Today - April 10th

The Daily Watchword from the Moravian Church is an enormous encouragement. Consider:

"Since my mother bore me you have been my God." Psalm 22:10

A watercolor streetscape in Old Salem, NC

Moravian Sister walks past the T. Bagge store

Recognized as Salem's first stone building, the T. Bagge store was built in 1775.  The structure is built of rough stone and covered with stucco and scored to resemble stone blocks. 

Check out the old photo below. The sister above is walking past the left door on the photo below. 

The T. Bagge store in antiquity.

How Salem was organized in 1772

The Salem Congregation was divided into groups or Choirs according to age, sex, and marital status: The Choir of Married People; Choir of Single Brethren; Choir of Single Sisters; and the Children's Choir, etc. Each Choir was headed by a Pfleger, a leader, and a Volsteher, or business manager.

The affairs in Salem were controlled by two groups:

The Aeltester Conferenz, or Board of Elders, was responsible for the supervision of the spiritual affairs of the congregation.

The Aufseher Collegium, or Supervising Board was charged with the care of the material and the financial interests of the congregation. It functioned much like a present day Board of Aldermen. 

Salem Gunsmith

Moravian Sisters at the 1819 Vogler House in Old Salem

Population in Salem

On December 27, 1769, selected single brethren and boys were moved into the Single Brother's House, becoming the first permanent residents of Salem. At the close of this year, the congregation of Salem had a population of 23.