550th Celebrations

The weekend of July 7 and 8 was an enjoyable one for Moravians in the Lake Melville area. Guest lecturer Hans Rollmann, professor of Religious Studies at Memorial University, as well as the ten members of the Hopedale school band, arrived on Friday afternoon, in time to take in the buffet supper provided by the Moravian Youth Camp. Campers and their leaders held a gathering in the Happy Valley Moravian Church to give an overview of their week at camp. A good crowd showed up to enjoy the meal and the band music and the PowerPoint presentation. You could not help but notice the joy and enthusiasm amongst the campers and staff. There was a fine balance of activity at the Gosling Lake Camp: athletic, creative, and reflective.

On Saturday evening, Dr Hans Rollmann spoke to a nearly full house at the Labrador Interpretation Center. He gave a very interesting and informative talk about the early beginnings of the Unitas Fratrum in Czechoslovakia, as well as the history of the Moravian Church in Labrador. Sandra Watts, director of the Labrador Interpretation Center, had arranged to have the photo exhibit “Labrador Through Moravian Eyes” on display there. She had also secured copies of Dr. Rollmann’s book “Labrador Through Moravian Eyes” and these were available for sale.

Refreshments were provided during an intermission, after which the Amos Comenius Memorial School Band under the direction of Nicole Burt, delighted us with their music (brass and woodwind). They have a repertoire of hymns learned during the year, since they play once a month in the Hopedale church for Sunday services.

On Sunday morning, the band played for the church service at the Happy Valley Moravian Church. Zipora Hunter remarked that she was very proud that her grandson, a member of the band, was there to take part in the 550th celebration. She, along with her late husband, Rev. Renatus Hunter, had been part of other milestones in the Church chronology, and could hardly have imagined while taking part in earlier celebrations, that their grandson would be a part of the 550th celebration! By the way, the preacher at this service was Rev. Tim Byerly from North Carolina, who had just finished serving as pastor at the Moravian Youth Camp, Gosling Lake. In response to a comment that these members of the Hopedale band are the church of the future, he said that really they are the church NOW.

On Sunday evening, Dr. Hans Rollmann and the Hopedale school band again went to the Labrador Interpretation Center, to an appreciative crowd, though smaller than the first evening, about 75% full. Stella Saunders, representing the St. John’s fellowship, was there to enjoy the second evening of history and music, Moravian style. The Master of Ceremonies, Amos Lyall, was moved by the fellowship and sharing. Everyone was impressed at the wealth of knowledge that Dr. Rollmann has of Moravian history. Zipora Hunter said, “He knows more about us than we know ourselves!”

Dr. Rollmann brought back to Labrador, valuable books that he had borrowed from Nain and Hopedale, having made digital copies of them at Memorial University. He was able to point out to us certain facts which are not common knowledge to most Labradorians. For example, Nain has a copy of the first extended Biblical text, published in Barby, 1800, containing extracts from the Gospel, for Passion Week readings, that had been translated into Inuktitut. The FIRST such book in Labrador Inuktitut! It was possibly an important factor in the receptiveness of the Inuit to the gospel. Another book was probably the first Labrador liturgy, published in 1830 at Bautzen, near Herrnhut, in Inuktitut. There are also newsletters printed in Nain dating back to 1902! The Moravians greatly promoted and aided the development of a high standard of literacy in Labrador.

Dr. Rollmann organized an international symposium on Moravian history in 2002 that was held in Makkovik and Hopedale. Articles presented by the historians during that symposium will get printed into a booklet this year, thanks to Dr. Rollmann’s initiative. More information about Moravians in Labrador can be found at Dr. Rollmann’s website: www.mun.ca/rels/morav/index.html

All in all, the weekend of July 6-9 was indeed a memorable one.