The following is a tentative schedule of events and is subject to change. Last updated March 31, 2023.
Thursday, August 17, 2023
12:00 noon
Opening Reception
Moravian Archives Gallery
1:00 pm
Welcome
Moravian Archives Reading Room
1:30 – 3:00 pm
SESSION 1: Presentations
- Frank Crouch, Moravian Theological Seminary (retired), Black and White Moravian Responses to American Racist Violence 1917-1919: Rev. Dr. Charles Martin and Bishop Edward Rondthaler
- Scott Gordon, Lehigh University, Flight from Bethlehem: A Runaway Slave, 1767
- Josef Köstelbauer, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, Intimate Indifference: Magdalena More, Andrew “the Moor,” and the differences between free and enslaved in eighteenth century Bethlehem.
3:15 – 4:15 pm
SESSION 2: Presentations
- Jenna Gibbs, Florida International University, Charles J. Latrobe’s ‘Reports on Negro Education,’ 1837-1839: Evangelical Missions and Post-Emancipation Education in the British West Indies
- Amy Schutt, SUNY Cortland, Moravian Education in an Era of Enslavement and Warfare: Children’s Relationships in 18th-Century Pennsylvania
SESSION 3: Presentations
- Bruce Earnest, Moravian Music Foundation, Vocal Pedagogy in Moravian Music in the United States: An Exploration
- Christopher Ogburn, Moravian Music Foundation, The Most Musical People: Moravian Music-Making and the German American Experience
4:30 – 5:30 pm
SESSION 4: Presentations
- Farrar Lannon, Moravian Historical Society, Exploring the International Context of the 1st American Edition of John Amos Comenius’s Visible World, 1810
- Vanessa Romero, Arizona State University, Comenius and the French: A Complex Epistolary Relationship
SESSION 5: Presentations
- David Blum, Moravian Music Foundation, Getting a grip on Weiss
- Tim Sharp, Trevecca University, Maria und Johannes by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz: A Musical Treasure from Moravian Archives
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Walter Vivian Moses Lecture in Moravian Studies
Introduction: Craig Atwood
Changes in Bethlehem, Changes in the Unity: Inner and Outer Aspects of Moravian Organisation
Christina Petterson
In Moravian parlance, the terminology of “inner and outer” is broadly used to distinguish between spiritual and organisational matters. In his memoir, the clothmaker Gottlieb Oertel (1714–1767) from Silesia stated that he always wanted to do something more meaningful or “inner” (innerlich), instead of the external business (äußerliche Dinge) to which his skills were being devoted. This terminology is also used in Bethlehem to discuss the problems with the mission in St Thomas in the 1740s, when the missionaries there placed too great an emphasis on profits and economic issues. Cammerhof, who was corresponding with St Thomas, contrasted their concern with outer matters with Bethlehem, where inner and outer were in harmony, and the outer subordinated to the inner. After Zinzendorf’s death, the organisational changes in the Unity meant that these two spheres were separated, not only in Bethlehem, but in Moravian missions in general. The significance of this for the Unity and its missions was far-reaching, in that it meant that economic matters were separated from their spiritual purpose, and took on a life of its own. The lecture will explore this process of separation and its ramifications.
Saal, Moravian Theological Seminary (Bahnson Center), with reception to follow
Friday, August 18, 2023
9:00 – 10:30 am
SESSION 6: Presentations
- Wolfgang Breul, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, “Salt of the Earth”. Moravian Diaspora in comparison
- Jessica Cronshagen, Oldenburg University, Creating networks between Paramaribo, Basel, Königsfeld and Zeist: The activities of Johann Rudolf Passavant in support of the Moravian Mission in the 1st half of the 19th century
- Paul Peucker, Moravian Archives, Filling the World with the Gospel: the Motivation for the Global Scale of Moravian Activity
SESSION 7: Presentations
- Jared Burkholder, Grace College, Helpers and Donors: Type-casting Moravians in 19th Century Biographies of Wesley, Whitefield, and Carey
- Revocatus Meza, Teofilo Kisanji University, Moravian Heritage: The Use of the Church’s Emblem at the Crossroads in Tanzania
- Jill Vogt, Moravian Church, Herrnhut, The Moravian Hourly Intercession and the 24/7 Prayer Movement
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
SESSION 8: Presentations
- Johanna Brown, Old Salem Museums & Gardens, “Such a Scene of Industry…In So Small A Place” The Moravian Aesthetic in North Carolina Decorative Arts
- Stewart Carter, Wake Forest University, Moravian Musical Instruments and Instrument Makers in the Atlantic World
- Peter Vogt, Moravian Church Germany, “Pious Innkeeper and Godly Tavern”: Concepts of Hospitality and the Accommodation of Visitors in 18th Century Moravian Settlements
SESSION 9: Presentations
- Alice Caldwell, University of Bridgeport, Heinrich August Jäschke’s Musicianship Manual of 1847: Insight into Moravian Music Pedagogy
- Christina Ekström, Academy of Music and Drama, Gothenburg University, “Ach wär ein jeder Puls ein Dank und jeder Odem ein Gesang!”: Female Musicking in Christiansfeld, 1774–1800
- Maryam Haiawi, Universität Hamburg, Institut für Historische Musikwissenschaft, Opera music as church music? On the practice of parody in the Moravian Church
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Bag Lunch, with presentation about the UNESCO World Heritage nomination process for Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, USA, Gracehill in Northern Ireland, UK, and Herrnhut in Saxony, Germany
2:00 – 3:30 pm
SESSION 10: Presentations
- Josh Follweiler, Moravian Theological Seminary (Student), God’s Acres and the Easter Sunrise Service: The Making of Southern American Moravian Identity in the Post-WWII Era.
- Lorraine Parsons, Moravian Archives London, Moravian Close, Chelsea (London): the adaptation of a Moravian settlement
- Jared Stephens, Moravian Church, British and Irish Province, The Moravian Settlement: Looking Back to Look Ahead
SESSION 11: Presentations
- Martha and Michael Hartley, Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Wachovia in North Carolina: “There is none like it”
- David Johnston, Gracehill Trust, Gracehill 1798: A City of Refuge
- James Rollo, Open University, Pride in their past: A study of the role of history and heritage in two English Moravian settlements
3:45 – 4:45 pm
SESSION 12: Presentations
- John Balz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, The Band System and Slavery on St. Thomas, 1736-1746
- Ulrike Wiethaus, Wake Forest University, Doing Theology at Cherokee Missions: The Moravian Context in the Early American Republic
SESSION 13: Presentations
- Pieter Boon, University of the Free State, South Africa, Did the first Moravian missionaries to South Africa reveal an unexpected origin of an extinct language?
- Stephanie McCormick-Goodhart, Independent Scholar, Polyglot Lovefeast 1749 Bethlehem: Greenlanders first meet Indigenous American Indians
5:00 – 5:45 pm
Lecture Recital
Jewel Smith, University of Cincinnati, with Martha Schrempel, The Kummer Sisters’ Binder’s Volumes and Manuscript Books:A Testament of Cultural Significance
6:00 – 6:30 pm
Award Presentations
- Center for Moravian Studies presentation of ‘David A. Schattschneider Award of Merit’ to: Sally Ann and David Johnston as well as Jill and Peter Vogt
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Conference Soirée
Saturday, August 19, 2023
9:00 – 10:30 am
SESSION 14: Presentations
- Sally Ann Johnston, Moravian Archive of Ireland, Moravian Education in Ireland 1765 – 1900
- Mary Kategile, Teofilo Kisanji University, African Culture influencing realization of female position in the Mission of the Moravian Church in Tanzania
- Wilson Nkumba, Sikonge Moravian Mission Hospital, The Moravian Schools and the Spreading of the Gospel in Western Tanzania between 1891 up to 1967
SESSION 15: Presentations
- Tom Gordon, Memorial University of Newfoundland, The Inuit Voice in Moravian Music
- James Owen, University of Georgia, Evangelical America and Native American Hymns
- C. Riddick Weber, Moravian University, From Hymnal to Books of Worship: Changes in the American Moravian Liturgical Heritage
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
SESSION 16: Presentations
- Aaron Palmore, Loyola University Maryland, The Colonial Landscape in the Latin Poems of Christian Wedsted (1720-1757)
- Jonas Schwiertz, Freie Universität Berlin,“Why are you grumbling against the Pope in Rome? We already have Popes nearby”. Critical writings of former members Johannes Hansen & Martin Cunow against the acting of the Moravian Church
- Chaz Snider, Calvary Moravian Church & The Global Center for Advanced Studies, Zinzendorf’s Understanding of the Human Subject & Its Relationship to Post-Enlightenment Thought
SESSION 17: Presentations
- Jeff Gemmell, Millersville University of Pennsylvania/Lititz Moravian Congregation, Reviving the Lititz Collegium Musicum: History You Can Hear!
- Barbara Strauss, Moravian Music Foundation, GemeinKat: The World Can Now Search Music of the Gemeinde
- Mark Turner, Memorial University / Nunatsiavut Government / OKâlaKatiget Society, Uncommon Bonds: Labrador Inuit and Moravian Missionaries—A framework for the digital mobilization of records in northern Labrador
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Bag Lunch with Presentation
Mobilizing the Walk and Talk of Cultural Heritage: Using Digital Technology to Promote Wellness and Place-based Knowledge
- Presenters:
– Katie Faull, Professor of German and Humanities, Faculty Director of Civic Engagement, Special Advisor to the Provost;
– Shaunna Barnhart, Director of Place Studies Program, Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment;
– Stu Thompson, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; - With students involved in the Project:
– Anna Ottman, Sophomore, Electrical Engineer;
– Vy Tran, Junior, Computer Science;
– Jean Marie Ngabonziza, Sophomore, Computer Engineer
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SESSION 18: Presentations
- Inga Strungytė-Liugienė, Institute of Lithuanian Language, “… But the good that has been done will be more fully known in Eternity alone”: Moravian Wilhelm Andreas Rhenius and his social activities in Klaipėda, East Prussia
- Brent Thorn, Tyler Junior College, The Moravian Missionary in Texas: The Moravian Missionary J.A. Friebele’s Journey from Pennsylvania, Jamaica, Florida, North Carolina to The Mission Field He Found in Texas
SESSION 19: Presentations
- Clement Fumbo, Evangelical Fellowship Church Tanzania, A Contribution of the Moravian theological teachings in Tanzania and its contribution to the rest of the Moravian World
- Peter Songoro, Sikonge Moravian Mission Hospital, The Historical Importance of Moravian Sikonge Mission Hospital Since Its Establishment in 1923
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Moravian Historical Society Keynote Lecture
“A free wildlife:” Morale, Morality and Moravianism in Trinidad 1885-1935
Winelle Kirton-Roberts
When Benjamin Romig, the President of the Moravian Provincial Board, visited Trinidad in 1886, he described it as a place where the “careless” formerly enslaved Tobagonians went to live “a free wildlife.” In the visitation report, Romig expressed concerns about the unacceptable immoral tendencies of the formerly enslaved Africans and proposed a prompt response to expand the Moravian work on the island.
In this paper, I will examine the first fifty years, 1885-1935, of the Moravian work in Trinidad. With Antiguans, Kittitians, Crucians, and Barbadians seeking gainful employment in Trinidad from the 1840s, there had already been decades of Moravian presence on sugar estates near San Fernando and Port of Spain. An invitation by these migrants to establish a permanent Moravian presence, was an attempt by the migrants to connect with their Moravian roots and to boost their morale. However, when there was the influx of Moravians from Tobago after 1890, in the north of the island, the Moravian work eventually evolved into a moralizing mission.
In the context of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and a multi-religious community, the Moravians etched an often under looked space through its Christian education. This revolved around the construction and operation of Moravian schools. Yet, in the liberal and progressive island of Trinidad, the Moravians were unbent in shaping Moravian identity through Christian morality.
I will argue that the Moravians squandered the unique opportunity to meaningfully connect with the liberated Africans who migrated to Trinidad for better opportunities. Instead of offering a faith of affirmation and empowerment, the message of the Moravians demonized integral aspects of Africanism and Caribeanism.
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Conference Concert
Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum in Concert
Foy Concert Hall, with reception to follow
Presenters and attendees are encouraged to remain after the conference and visit the Moravian Historical Society in nearby Nazareth, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, August 20 between 1:00 and 4:00 pm. Ride sharing opportunities will be discussed during the conference.