HISTORY - continued
Moravians - continued
Later Count Zinzendorf himself came to Pennsylvania and gave name to the community of Bethlehem. It was his home base for extended work among Native Americans along with an attempt to unite Protestant churches on the American frontier. He argued that since the New World had no history there was no need for denominations. Unfortunately his idealistic efforts failed.
It has been said of the Moravians that “a unified system of doctrine was never developed.” While that is an overstatement, it is true there are no doctrines peculiar to Moravians. They accept the basic creeds of the reformation era. Music, perhaps more than theology, helps define Moravians. Because the people were encouraged to sing the hymns in their own language, the first Protestant hymnbook is traced to the Moravians. It is a collection of eighty-nine hymns published in 1501.
It is only right that the Moravians are a defining and original denomination of The United Church of Los Alamos. Ecumenical cooperation has always been a strong practice in the denomination. The Moravian’s most famed motto (though it has also been attributed to other denominations) well defines their understanding of theology and church. It is also the defining motto of The United Church of Los Alamos:
