Moravians Contributions To North Carolina
Women in Church Leadership
Image: http://zinzendorf.com/pages/index.php?id=moravian-women
Women have been an essential part of the Moravian church from its early beginnings. In the eighteenth century, Count Zinzendorf paved the way for leadership roles for women in the Moravian Church. He believed that women just like men had roles in the church that they needed to perform. “Since eighteenth century European women did not generally hold positions of religious leadership, women leaders come as a surprise, but they were just one part of a well developed system of female leadership among Moravians (Smaby, 2011).” Zinzendorf did not want women to be in leadership for gender equality, but rather to continue the separation of the sexes in Moravian culture. Zinzendorf felt that men and women had different spiritual needs and as a result women became a vital part of the Moravian Church. (Smaby, 2011)
“Women were members of councils at every level of Moravian society around the world,
and in these governing bodies they participated actively in discussions and
decisions. Women were also active spiritual leaders: they served as acolytes;
they were ordained as deaconesses, eldresses, and for a brief moment, even as
presbyters (ministers); as deaconesses and eldresses, they led worship and
preached in services for their own choirs; a few Moravian woman ordained
deaconesses and female presbyters, a function usually reserved for bishops,
although women never officially assumed that office (Smaby, 2011).”
Today, women still play a vital role in the Moravian Church. In the Moravian Church Southern Province, Moravian women have formed the Provincial Women’s Board. In this organization, women from the Southern Province, including the state of North Carolina, work together and in fellowship with other women to service the female members of the Moravian Church. This organization serves in many different areas of the Moravian church
such as in outreach programs, Bible studies, church missions, church finances, and church communication. ("How are we," ) “The purpose of the Provincial Women’s Board is “to promote the acquaintance and fellowship of the women of the Province and seek to encourage their growth in Christian character and service, to formulate and present a program for the united effort of the Women's Fellowships of the congregations and to enlist their cooperation in carrying it out, to lend their assistance to the Provincial Elders' Conference or other boards of the Province, whenever called upon, towards the accomplishment of the work assigned to them, and to further the cause of Christ and the Kingdom among the women of our Southern Province ("How are we," ).”
“Women were members of councils at every level of Moravian society around the world,
and in these governing bodies they participated actively in discussions and
decisions. Women were also active spiritual leaders: they served as acolytes;
they were ordained as deaconesses, eldresses, and for a brief moment, even as
presbyters (ministers); as deaconesses and eldresses, they led worship and
preached in services for their own choirs; a few Moravian woman ordained
deaconesses and female presbyters, a function usually reserved for bishops,
although women never officially assumed that office (Smaby, 2011).”
Today, women still play a vital role in the Moravian Church. In the Moravian Church Southern Province, Moravian women have formed the Provincial Women’s Board. In this organization, women from the Southern Province, including the state of North Carolina, work together and in fellowship with other women to service the female members of the Moravian Church. This organization serves in many different areas of the Moravian church
such as in outreach programs, Bible studies, church missions, church finances, and church communication. ("How are we," ) “The purpose of the Provincial Women’s Board is “to promote the acquaintance and fellowship of the women of the Province and seek to encourage their growth in Christian character and service, to formulate and present a program for the united effort of the Women's Fellowships of the congregations and to enlist their cooperation in carrying it out, to lend their assistance to the Provincial Elders' Conference or other boards of the Province, whenever called upon, towards the accomplishment of the work assigned to them, and to further the cause of Christ and the Kingdom among the women of our Southern Province ("How are we," ).”
Among the First to Educate Women
Image:http://www.walkertownareahistoricalsociety.org/meetings.html
Salem College
Moravians have always have put a great deal of value on education. Early Moravians believed that education was something that not only men needed to have, but women as well. In 1772 in the Moravian town of Salem, they started one of the first schools for girls in North Carolina. The founders of the school believed that women should be given a comparable education to that which men were given. Their views on educating women are very progressive for that time, but that did not stop Moravians from doing what they believe to right for the women in Salem. “In 1802, it became a boarding school for girls and young women; in 1866, it was renamed Salem Female Academy. Salem began granting college degrees in the 1890s. Today, the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. ranks Salem College as the oldest women's college in the nation by founding date and the 13th oldest college overall (Salem College, 2012).”
Moravians have always have put a great deal of value on education. Early Moravians believed that education was something that not only men needed to have, but women as well. In 1772 in the Moravian town of Salem, they started one of the first schools for girls in North Carolina. The founders of the school believed that women should be given a comparable education to that which men were given. Their views on educating women are very progressive for that time, but that did not stop Moravians from doing what they believe to right for the women in Salem. “In 1802, it became a boarding school for girls and young women; in 1866, it was renamed Salem Female Academy. Salem began granting college degrees in the 1890s. Today, the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. ranks Salem College as the oldest women's college in the nation by founding date and the 13th oldest college overall (Salem College, 2012).”