BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Central Moravian Church held a cross-border service Sunday celebrating the Moravian settlements’ new status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Eighteenth-century Moravian settlements in Bethlehem and in Christiansfeld, Denmark; Herrnhut, Germany; and Gracehill, United Kingdom, were combined into a single World Heritage Site last week.
A transnational accomplishment of this scale called for a transnational celebration, church leaders said, uniting the Moravian congregations that still exist at each settlement.
“Our Moravian Church heritage sites are being recognized as living expressions."Rev. Janel Rice, Central Moravian Church Senior Pastor
During the special worship service, a video stream projected at the front of the Central Moravian Church sanctuary beamed in leaders and congregants from the other three sites as they celebrated their communities’ recognition.
The UNESCO listing celebrates more than the historic buildings, Central Moravian Church Senior Pastor the Rev. Janel Rice said. It acknowledges the welcoming values that guided the Moravian church to plan their communities as they did, and which guide the congregation still.
“Our Moravian Church heritage sites are being recognized as living expressions,” Rice said, “of God’s love being shared then and now, actively, through the structures that we have.”
The recognition comes with a “huge responsibility,” said the Rt. Rev. Sarah Groves, pastor of Gracehill Moravian Church in Northern Ireland.
“We will be judged as the living Christian communities that we are — as Christians and as Moravian Christians,” Groves said.
Members of the historic Bethlehem congregation welcomed the spotlight on their community.
“It makes my heart feel good knowing other people know that the Moravians are good people and we care about everyone,” Central Moravian member Valerie Antonelli said. “It just makes me feel even prouder to be a Moravian that they recognized us.”
Sunday’s cross-border service was like catching up with seldom-seen family members, she said.
“They’re part of our family, they are just not in Bethlehem."Valerie Antonelli, Central Moravian member
“They’re part of our family, they are just not in Bethlehem,” Antonelli said.
Central Moravian Church will see a few changes in response to their listing, like expanding tours of their buildings to Friday and Saturday beginning in the Fall to accommodate a potential jump in visitors.
The church is planning another service celebrating their World Heritage Site status on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ahead of a press conference with the City of Bethlehem.
