Gone but not Forgotten

http://www.calgaryherald.com/forgotten+souls+Taylor+Cemetery/5740080/story.html

Wordless Wednesday

Emmaus Cemetery and Why Cemeteries Are Vandalized

This particular cemetery that I focus on was part of the Second Street Evangelical Church on 2nd and Ridge Streets in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, USA. During the church's life there, it was the second oldest Evangelical denomination in Emmaus. It was in 1839 that the Reverend Charles Hesser travelled though Emmaus and preached the first Evangelical sermon for the town in the home of Charles Fehr. In 1840, the church was established and the Reverend George Haines became the first preacher. The church building itself wasn't built until 1845, which cost $1450.

The history of this cemetery is interesting. It adds to the local flavor of Emmaus. However, it isn't kept as well as you think it should be. Currently Bethany Methodist Church in Wescosville, PA, has the records and seems to be taking care of the cemetery. It isn't their fault that it isn't well kept. It's the people who vandalize it that compound the work for the cemetery care takers.

What makes a person vandalize cemeteries? That's a hard question to answer. I couldn't find any solid evidence online. I did find a lot of theories from different organizations. Texas Historical Commision mentioned that theft in cemeteries could be due to the need sell vintage items for profit. The other theory I found was people would tip gravestones because “they could get away with it.” Spray painting and defacing a tombstone is not just seen as graffiti but can also as a hate crime. It just depends on what is put on a stone.

And we can't forget about neglect. Why are graveyards abandoned and neglected? There are a bunch of possibilities. Money is one of them. Either the owner ran off with money or there was enough funds to keep up. A good example of neglect is Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It has been neglected for so long that the city had to step in. The city doesn't know for sure who owns the cemetery. One day, the office was closed.

However, this really isn't much we can do. Sure, we can call the police but by the time they police get there, the damage is done. Unless every cemetery will have a gate and cameras, it seems like we are loosing the war.

I shared a quote in April on this blog. It stated, "Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness, the tender mercies of its people, their loyalty to high ideals, and their regard for the laws of the land." That quote is powerful. Remember it when you walk or drive by a cemetery that is vandalized or forgotten.



Please check out my growing Photostream of Second Evangelical Church, Emmaus, PA to see more pictures of this cemetery and how the cemetery changes with every visit.

Rapture vs Zombie Apocalypse

I decided, since I didn't go into heaven, to go into a cemetery and see if the zombie apocalypse happened. If it did, it didn't happen in Whitehall, Pennsylvania.

On a happier note, the weather is getting better and I can finally get out of the house once in a while and visit some cemeteries. I'm hoping I can get out there more with Memorial Day around the corner.

If the Rapture will happen or if the CDC's preparation for the Zombie Apocalypse comes in handy, at least those who have no families will be remembered. Be prepared!

Caring for the Dead

"Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness, the tender mercies of its people, their loyalty to high ideals, and their regard for the laws of the land." -- William Ewart Gladstone

Tombstone Tuesday

"In the Hope of a Glorious Ressurection. Were laid to rest February 24, 1751 on this spot then the centre of this cemetery the mortal remains of Juliana Nitschmann whose maiden name was Haberland, wife of Bishop John Nitschmann and a distinguished deaconess of the church. She was born at Schoenauin Moravia July 30, 1712. A lineal descendant of faithful members of the Ancient Brethren Unity, the daughter of fearless confessors amidst bonds and imprisonment of the pure gospel of Christ fleeing for conscience sake to Herrnhut in Saxory. She served with singless of heart. Her God and the Church in Germany, England, and America, and died on the 22 of February 1751."

I took a walk after church service at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, PA. Walking on the road that winds its way through the cemetery, I found this one in the middle of the road. My mind said to itself, "AKWARD!" So, just like in any good old fashioned cemetery explorer way, I took a photograph.

Doing some extra investigating, I found the Bethlehem Digital History Project. There they have community records about deaths and anything else you can imagine about the history of Bethlehem. A copy of the death notice, translated into English from German, states:

Juliana Nitschmannin, born Haberland, our dearest and most true Mother of Pennsylvania, was torn from us in a sudden but very blessed death at about ten-thirty this morning here in Bethlehem, to our greatest sadness and general regret. Her flight home occurred quite quickly, and was, for us, very unexpected. She had been ailing for some time, but this morning she appeared to be well and went about her usual business. Just a few minutes before her blessed end she lay on her bed. As she bent her head, she ran her hand over her brow and said "Ey," (as if she wanted to say: "Ey, what’s becoming of me?"). With that she let her arm fall. The body was dead and the soul in eternal life, with the lovely reception-Loosung: "Hail! Come in the House!"

She was born in Moravia on July 10, 1712, in the village of Schönau, out of the remnants of Brother Riechlein, which had lain in the ashes over 100 years, and came as an exile with her parents and siblings into Herrnhut on June 14, 1728, after surviving many dangers and hardships. There, in the year 1729, she was confirmed—or taken into the Gemeine—according to the custom of the day, and soon thereafter, she enjoyed the body and blood of her husband* for the first time. She was hitherto a blessed little Choir-Heart in her Single Band, and decided, along with the small number of maidens who were then among us, to form the blessed Maidens-Band. In 1734, in October, she entered into marriage with our dearest heart Johann Nitschmann, according to the will of the Little Lamb and the advice of the Brethren. The Lamb granted them seven children, of whom four sons are still living; three children, however, have already gone to the Little Lamb.

In the years 1737-1738, until Easter 1739, she stayed with her husband in Jena, where he was sent with our dearest heart Christian Renatus for the service of the learned and the salvation of the same in the university. In 1739, she became an eldress in the Gemeine in Herrnhaag. She was with the Pilgrim-Gemeine in Geneva in 1741; after her return she was with her husband in Marienborn (where they helped initiate the marriages of the groups destined for Pennsylvania in 1741 and 1743), until in 1744 she was once again was installed as eldress of Herrnhaag. She moved there in 1745, where she remained with her husband for two years. In 1747 and 1748, she was with the Pilgrim-Gemeine in Hennersdorf, at the time that the royal commission was held there. From there she began her journey to Pennsylvania, via Herrnhaag, Zeist, and London. Shortly before her departure from London she was declared "Mother of Pennsylvania" by the Pilgrim-Gemeine. The embarkation from London occurred in February 1749, with a Sea-Congregation of some 120 Brethren, and in May she came here to Bethlehem with her dear husband and the remaining Brethren. Here, her first and principal work then was to introduce into marriage the little group who came with her, and they were married soon after their arrival. Almost all the time that she spent in this land she was weak and sickly in her body, which suffered from consumption, until finally the soul had to leave her and us, and suddenly flew to the cleft of the Little Lamb. Her soul-less and exhausted body was taken to our Hutberg at dusk on the evening of 13/24 February, amongst an unusually numerous company, and lowered into the cool earth.

Bethlehem is just becoming more interesting as I go along.

Trash on Cemeteries

Unclean cemeteries bother me. However, they make really good pictures.

I took this during a walk on God's Acre in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after church service. After a mean winter, it felt good to have nice weather and to get out even if it was for half an hour.