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Nicholaus Lorenz Bage (1732-1789)
This memoir chronicles the life of Nicolaus Lorenz Bage (1732-1789), a devoted member of the Moravian Brethren community who served as a religious worker across multiple settlements in Europe and America. Born in Danish Holstein, Bage experienced a profound spiritual awakening at age ten that set him on a lifelong path of faith, leading his family to join the Moravian community in Herrnhut, Saxony in 1744. His autobiography traces his journey from childhood through his ordination as a deacon in 1764, detailing his missionary work with the boys' choirs and congregations in various Moravian settlements including Christiansbrunn (Christina Springs) and Lititz in Pennsylvania, Bethabara and Salem in North Carolina, and finally Hebron (Lebanon) in Pennsylvania, where he served until his death from dropsy (edema) in 1789. Throughout his life, marked by three marriages (the first two wives predeceased him) and the loss of several children, Bage maintained an unwavering childlike devotion to Christ, whom he consistently referred to as "der liebe Heiland" (the dear Savior), and he was remembered by his community as a humble, patient, and loving servant who found joy in preaching the Gospel to both congregation members and strangers alike.