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Lovefeast 2016

The annual Wake Forest Lovefeast celebrates the unique Christmas traditions of the Moravian community in Winston-Salem.

Story by Wake Forest University January 4th, 2017

First Family Lovefeast

Moravian student Jane Sherrill Stroupe (’67) organized the first Wake Forest Lovefeast in December 1965. Two hundred students gathered to celebrate the traditional meal. Since then, the Wake Forest Lovefeast has grown to be the largest Moravian-style lovefeast in North America, and one of the favorite features of Wake Forest tradition.

This year, we welcomed students, alumni, family and the Wake Forest community to two Lovefeast services. Beginning at 4:30 p.m., the first Family Lovefeast brought together friends and family of all ages for an abbreviated, but no less moving, service.

Click here for more photos from the Family Lovefeast. For more of the Lovefeast experience, check out #WFULovefeast, relive the livestream, download the Lovefeast bulletin, and visit lovefeast.wfu.edu.


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"Regardless of your religion or faith tradition, there's a higher calling on our lives. Lovefeast is a reminder that there's more to life than what divides us." Rev. Tim Auman, University Chaplain
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Traditional Lovefest

Wait Chapel shone again at the traditional 8 p.m. service with approximately 2,400 in attendance.

Click here for more photos from the Traditional Lovefeast. For more of the Lovefeast experience, check out #WFULovefeast, relive the livestream, download the Lovefeast bulletin, and visit lovefeast.wfu.edu.



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"Whatever one thinks love is, that's the underpinning of what we know life to be." Rev. Tim Auman, University Chaplain
Hearn Plaza, beautifully lit, despite the rain.
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Reverend Tim Auman, University Chaplain, welcomes the congregation.
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"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."
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Wake Forest University President, Dr. Nathan Hatch, sharing a smile.
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Footnote: Photos by University Photographer Ken Bennett and Ann Thuy Nguyen (‘17); Story by Leah J Haynes ( BA '16, MA '17).
Wait Chapel, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC