Volume
37, No. 2 [back] BICENTENNIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The bicentennial celebration continued on Saturday morning, October 6th, as sixty people gathered at Bahnson Center for the Walking Our History tour. A chartered bus transported the group to Nazareth where the Seminary was founded and headquarterd for the first 50 years of its existence.
Susan Dreydoppel, director of the Moravian Historical Society, coordinated the tours and program while the group visited Nazareth. Beginning at the Whitefield House, three groups walked the history of the Moravians and Seminary in Nazareth led by a family of Moravian history experts, Otto and Susan Dreydoppel and their daughter, Sarah Dreydoppel Hriniak. Several sites along the tour were home to the Seminary during its early years: the Whitefield House from 1851-55, “the Cottage” from 1830-38, and the Manor House which was originally built in 1755 for Zinzendorf and became the Nazareth Hall boys’ school. It was in conjunction with the boys’ school that the Seminary was founded in 1807.
The group enjoyed a gourmet picnic lunch on the grounds of the Whitefield House. After the meal, professor Otto Dreydoppel, Jr., addressed the crowd, offering rich tidbits of Seminary history as he shared his dilemma in trying to chose the best approach to address 200 years of institutional history — chronological, curricular, anecdotal? As a compromise he offered his “Moravian Theological Seminary’s Ten Best Contributions to Community, Church, and Culture.” The text of his talk can be found on the bicentennial pages of the Seminary’s website.
Upon the return to campus, Jane Burcaw, director of marketing, led a walking tour of the development of the Seminary from 1892 to the present. It was interesting to note how much of the expansion of the campus followed the placement of tennis courts constructed by “Haus” Hoffman, a reclusive College faculty member from 1913-49. The group toured Comenius Hall, the site of the original dormitories and classrooms of the Seminary and College. It was enlightening for all when alumni on the tour verified bits of oral history — pranks played in Comenius Hall, special treatment of the tennis team, significant events in Borhek Chapel, odd behavior of faculty!
Since the 1970s, a tradition of Seminary life has been the 4:00 Club, an informal Friday afternoon gathering over which “a bishop” presides. Former Dean Schattscheider, alumna Betsy Miller ‘85, and Dean Crouch gave insight into the tradition and re-enacted “the passing of the peas” at the consecration of the bishop.
The bicentennial celebrations drew to a close on Saturday afternoon with a Lovefeast led by Chaplain Bennett and musical selections by students, Shanti Pradhan and David and Christie Melby-Gibbons.
After 200 years of education and ministry and a weekend packed with memories and friends, Moravian Theological Seminary enthusiastically enters a new century!
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