The first Moravian settlement in Britain was established in Bedford in 1745 and its members lived and worshipped as a close-knit community.
The first Moravian settlement in Britain was established in Bedford in 1745 and its members lived and worshipped as a close-knit community. The Bedford congregation is exceptionally well documented. In this edition Edwin Welch presents extracts from the principal sources for the period 1740 to 1786. The criteria for publication was to provide information on the foundation of the congregation and the events of the 1740s that led up to it. This is followed by specimen extracts from different types of records which may be found in their eighteenth century archives. Most are diaries or minutes – the congregation diaries; Jacob Rogers’ diary; labourers’ and helpers’ conferences; the diaries of the single brethren and sisters; elders’ conference; letters; and the rules and orders in 1777.
The sources throw light on the ordering of the congregation, its activities and concerns as well as noting journeys to London and elsewhere. Some cover procedural matters such as who preaches where; others are spiritual or religious; and others are practical and domestic. An example is the record of buying tea and sugar for the love-feasts, which is followed by a note that the love-feasts were not conducted with the respect and veneration that their dignity required.
The volume has an index of names and contains pictures of the leading figures in the church as well as illustrations of the buildings..
About the author
Edwin Welch (1927-1998) was an archivist and worked in various parts of England from 1951 to 1971 and subsequently in Canada. He was an expert and writer on Dissenting history.
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