Moravian Christmas celebrations draw not only on the scriptural stories of Jesus’ birth, but on the scriptural stories of the beginnings of the church. The Moravian worship tradition of lovefeast is based on the Christian agape meals described in Acts 2:46: “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.” Just as the first believers broke bread together, so do the Moravians, partaking of a simple meal (at Home Church, a bun and sweet coffee) as a symbol of union and equality.
Moravians celebrate lovefeast on special occasions throughout the year, but at Home Church as in many congregations, Christmas lovefeasts include the special element of candlelight. The tradition of the candle lovefeast began in 1747 in Marienborn, Germany, when a Moravian bishop gave each child attending the service a lighted candle to signify Christ’s kindling a flame of love in their hearts. The gift of a lighted candle soon became a tradition enjoyed by all ages.
We invite you to join us for lovefeast on Christmas Eve. (Service times and information are listed below.) We pray that you will feel Christ’s love kindled in your heart, and know that “the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5).
