The Moravian Church is one of the oldest Protestant churches in the world. Fifty years before Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a door in Wittenberg, our ancestors formed a Unity of the Brethren. We trace our roots back to John Hus who was burned at the stake for speaking out against the corruption and abuse of the church and state of his day.

Moravians changed as the world changed, but through all the changes we can still perceive a number of core Moravian values. These values continue to influence who we are and how we relate to society. Many of our deepest values are shared by most Christians, Jews and Muslims. Like many other communities of faith, we try to live by the principle that it is always better to do the right thing rather than the easy thing. Sometimes this has been painful and forced us into exile.

Like all of the children of Abraham, we believe in the one God who created the heavens and the earth and who calls all people to be stewards of the earth. For Moravians this means that we make every effort to clean up any messes we make in order to leave the next generation with a wholesome world. We also share the common vision of the children of Abraham that one day swords will be beaten into plowshares and God's people will no longer learn to wage war. We believe in the Bible's teaching that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated as images of God.

We believe that God calls people to live by certain basic laws and to respect the rights of all people. To do this, Moravians believe that we should educate children to be people of good character. The famous Moravian bishop and educator, John Amos Comenius, taught that educating children without concern for developing their characters was like sharpening the knife of a madman. We try to teach integrity, honesty, self-control, peacefulness, and decency to our children. These have been cardinal virtues for Moravians for generations. In fact, we are one of the few churches that incorporates fundamental ethical principles in our statements of belief. We stress the need for people to be honest and fair in their business dealings; diligent and incorruptible in their public service; and faithful and true in their friendships. We strive to conserve these values.

As Christians, Moravians believe that Jesus Christ died not only for our sins but for the sins of the world, and we take that message of hope to others. We believe that the good news of Jesus Christ is a message of forgiveness and reconciliation rather than judgment and rejection of others. We believe that the best way to show our love for our Savior is by following Christ's own commandments to love our brothers and sisters, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies. We also believe in the Holy Spirit who comforts, guides, and nourishes us. We believe that the Holy Spirit brings joy, peace, and community. These are the spiritual gifts for which we pray and sing. These are our distinctly Christian convictions.

Beyond these beliefs and values that we hold in common with others, Moravians for five hundred years have stressed the importance of community. Our church began with a group of young men and women who formed a separate community in the wilderness of Moravia in Central Europe. They dedicated themselves to living as closely as possible to the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. They did not "parade their piety before men," but instead supported and challenged one another. They tried to put into practice Paul's instruction "to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Despite often intense persecution, these brothers and sisters remained committed to their Unity.

We try to take that same spirit of reconciliation and gentleness into the world. It is not uncommon for Moravians to have friends in Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe because of our worldwide Unity. Today, there are far more dark-skinned Moravians than light-skinned Moravians. Whether African or European, Caribbean or American, we still call each other brother and sister and open our homes and hearts to one another.

Moravians for centuries have stressed cooperation rather than competition. One reason the Moravian Church is so small in America is that we have never fully come to terms with the American free enterprise approach to religion where churches compete for members. We find it confusing that people try to convert us to their church when we have made it clear that we are Christians trying faithfully to follow the way of Christ. It is rare that a Moravian tries to convince a member of another church to abandon their community of faith and join ours. That is not our way.

The Moravians have also understood that the premise of the TV show Survivor is wrong. We do not survive by voting people off the island. We survive by caring deeply about the survival of each one of us. We survive by helping one another live with dignity, making sure that each has food and clothing and shelter. We survive by coming together to plant crops for the next year's harvest, trusting in the goodness of God. We survive by leaving a fruitful and wholesome land for our children to raise up a new generation.

Indeed, Moravians try to preserve what is good. We have also quietly, persistently, and faithfully promoted the common good. It is important to remember that a time when the US Constitution declared that people of African descent did not have human and civil rights, Moravians in North Carolina were sharing the kiss of peace with black brothers and sisters. At a time when the US government ruled that native peoples could not be citizens and would have to relocate to reservations, Moravians were educating Cherokee sisters right here in Forsyth County. At a time when it was illegal in many places in the US for women to speak publicly, Moravians allowed women to sit on their governing boards and hold important offices in the community. During many times of conflict and hatred in our country, Moravians raised a voice for peace and reminded the world of our shared humanity. And we have always shared our own food, money, and clothing with the poor. You will see Moravians today actively involved in organizations seeking ways to do good in the world.

Community, tradition, stability, justice, and mercy. These are some of the traditional values that the Moravian Church tries to preserve and promote. We know that we are an unusual people and that we are often misunderstood, but we have borne witness to these values through the centuries.

Adapted from a speech by The Rev. Dr. Craig Atwood to the Downtown Rotary Club of Winston-Salem, Oct. 26, 2004