Salem Congregation

Salem Congregation is a religious and charitable non-profit representing thirteen Moravian churches in the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Its basic mission is to serve their church members, the communities where the churches are located, and the larger purposes of all Moravian churches within the United States and elsewhere.

The group conducts worship services, such as the annual (now 252nd) Easter Sunrise and the Great Sabbath; sponsors a Moravian band for burial services and Easter; operates the 1771 historic graveyard for burial of church members; receives gifts and bequests of all types of real and personal property – to manage, maintain or dispose of – and uses these resources to support church programs. The Congregation is governed by Boards elected by the member churches: the Elders for spiritual matters and the Trustees for financial and business decisions.

The present-day Salem Congregation organization has evolved over many years. It was first created to manage the settlement and life of the town of Salem in the colonial period of the United States. It began to operate in April, 1772, as Salem’s Congregation Council and has operated continuously since that time.