From Our Senior Pastor

The Moravian Church in North America Published this article in their website:

The Moravian Star

Originating in the Moravian boarding schools in Germany in the nineteenth century as an exercise in geometry, the stars were carried throughout the world by missionaries and other church workers. Now, from the Himalayas to the Caribbean, the star proclaims the hope of Advent. While we are most familiar with the white star, the first star had alternating red and white points. Stars colors have also included red and yellow, white and yellow, and a yellow "starburst" with a red center.

Whatever its form, the star reminds us of God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness and of the light which is the life of humanity. It reminds us of the promise of Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars; we are reminded of the star that pointed to the "great and heavenly light from Bethlehem's manger shining bright." The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This is the message of the Advent star, which also points to Jesus, who said, "I am the bright and Morning Star." It is the star of promise, the star of fulfillment, and the star of hope.

    I am delighted to share this article with you, because while I attended seminary at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA, I was first introduced to the Moravian Star.  When Christmas lights came down, residents around Gettysburg and Littlestown, where I served a Congregation named St. John’s, kept their Moravian Stars hanging in windows and from porch ceilings.  Despite the fact that Moravian Stars were closely identified with both Advent and Christmas, at least in the area where I resided, the Moravian Star was more closely identified both in homes and in Congregations with the coming of Wise Visitors to the Christ Child beginning with the Feast Day of the Epiphany and continuing throughout the early days of the Season of Epiphany. 

     In a season of deep shadows, long nights, grey days, cold weather, and times of despair, these beautiful stars reminded me then and still do of the hope that light brings amidst darkness.  When one decides to light a candle, the bleak shadows begin to lose…Light is never swallowed up in darkness, quite the contrary.  So I hope the light of revelation will shine in all our hearts as we seek the Savior along with the gentile travelers who came from afar and who avoided the perils of King Herod.  They returned home by another way…God’s way, and may we all do likewise.

+Pr. Drex