Published February 17. 2026 11:17AM<\/p>\n
Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem invites Valley residents to join in celebrating the 275th anniversary of the Old Chapel through a series of engaging mid-week Lenten dinners and programs beginning Feb. 18.<\/p>\n
Built in 1751, the Old Chapel, one of nine locations forming the Moravian Church Settlements \u2013 Bethlehem UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds a special place in American history and continues to serve as a vibrant center of worship and community gathering.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 275 years, the Old Chapel has been a sacred space where generations have gathered to worship, reflect, and build community,\u201d says Rev. Janel Rice, senior pastor at Central Moravian Church. \u201cWe warmly invite our neighbors and the wider faith community to join us this Lenten season as we honor this remarkable heritage and discover together how these historic walls continue to inspire meaningful connection and spiritual growth today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout this commemorative Lenten season, Central Moravian Church will host weekly Wednesday evening programs exploring the rich history, famous visitors and cultural significance of this remarkable landmark.<\/p>\n
Each evening begins with dinner at 6 p.m. in the Christian Education building (40 W. Church St., lower level), followed by programs at 7 p.m. in the Old Chapel.<\/p>\n
For those unable to attend in person, programs will be livestreamed on Zoom (us06web.zoom.us\/j\/84564287979) and on Central\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
Program schedule<\/p>\n
\u2022 Feb. 18: Ash Wednesday Worship Service<\/p>\n
\u2022 Feb. 25: \u201cConstruction and Evolution of the Old Chapel\u201d led by Tom Tenges<\/p>\n
\u2022 March 4: Famous Visitors in the Old Chapel, featuring Central\u2019s young people sharing stories of Martha Washington, Ben Franklin, Marquis de Lafayette and more.<\/p>\n
\u2022 March 11: \u201cIndigenous Peoples in the Old Chapel,\u201d exploring the 1792 visit by chiefs and warriors of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy<\/p>\n
\u2022 March 18: \u201cMoravian Academy Then and Now\u201d with Abby Mahone, director of Moravian Academy\u2019s Downtown Campus, and Charlene Donchez Mowers, senior adviser and historian, Bethlehem World Heritage Commission<\/p>\n
\u2022 March 25: \u201cMusic in the Chapel & a Singstunde,\u201d concluding with a traditional Moravian hymn sing led by Becky Lepore, minister of music, Central Moravian Church<\/p>\n
All events are free and open to the public.<\/p>\n
The series offers a unique opportunity to explore the fascinating history of this UNESCO World Heritage site while building community through shared meals and meaningful conversation.<\/p>\n
For more information, contact the Central Moravian Church Office at office@centralmoravianchurch.org or 610-866-5661.<\/p>\n
Contributed article<\/p>\n
press photo courtesy central moravian churchCentral Moravian Church welcomes visitors to the 1751 Old Chapel on Sundays at the 9 a.m. worship service. In addition, both the Old Chapel and 1803-1806 Sanctuary are open for tours on Fridays and Saturdays beginning March 6 and 7 from 2 to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published February 17. 2026 11:17AM Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem invites Valley residents to join in celebrating the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-116169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}