Setting up a scene telling the story of the Christ Child goes back to the middle ages. In the Moravian Church, we call this a putz, and it holds a special place in our hearts. Members at Central Moravian decided 80 years ago to build a putz and share it as a gift to the community. To celebrate this 80th anniversary, Central’s History Committee will be sponsoring a Putz Crawl on December 9, 2017 from 10 to 3. The Rev. Dr. A.D. Thaeler, a Moravian minister who served Central, 1901-1918, said that a putz is “a bit of poetry….the putz should contain something of the builder’s personality.” You will find this to be so true as you view the work of Central Moravian, East Hills Moravian, Edgeboro Moravian, Deborah and Robert Brandt, Richard Miller and David Charrier, and Jim Whildin.
Tickets will be $10, or $20 with a copy of Central’s 72 page book, The Moravian Christmas Putz. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets will be on sale in the office of Central Moravian at 73 West Church Street, beginning Nov. 13. They can be purchased during regular hours—weekdays from 8:30-12:00 and 12:30-3:00, or by calling 610-866-5661. Tickets will also be available from 9:30 to 10:00 in Central Moravian’s Christian Education Building the day of the tour.
Because of space limitations, only the first 60 tickets sold will be able to view the Whildin putz. All proceeds from the ticket and book sale will go to Hurricane Relief in the Caribbean Moravian Churches.