Moron (Kanton Bern, Switzerland)
Moron, a small village on an elevation with the same name in the Bernese Jura, Switzerland. The beautifully situated village at an elevation of 3,300 ft., lies three fifths of a mile (1 km) east of the highway from Biel to Pruntrut (Porrentruy). Moron, attractively surrounded by meadows and fir forests, is the center of the Kleintal Mennonite congregation. The inhabitants in the 1950s were almost exclusively Mennonite. Most of them were the descendants of refugees from the Emmental in the 18th century. The Mennonite census list (Verzeichnis aller Wiedertäuffer nach Namen, Zunamen, Heimat, Wohnort in jedem Oberamt aufgenommen: Kontrollbücher I and II in the state archives in Bern) of 1823 enumerates a number of families who settled in Moron and the vicinity. The narrower circle of the Kleintal congregation with its seat in Moron, including the communes of Souboz, Sornetan, Monible, Chatelat, and Saicourt, showed a Mennonite membership of 147 persons, and that of the Münster (Moutier) district 469 persons. About 1850 Peter Studer of Malleray and David Nussbaumer of La Cote Souboz were preachers. Meetings were held in the farmhouses. Toward the end of the 19th century the desire and the need arose for a suitable building. In 1892 the chapel on Moron was built under the leadership of Christian Gerber, and dedicated in November.
In the midst of the French-speaking region the Mennonites in the Jura always made an effort to preserve the German language, considering it a necessary condition for their existence. To this end the new chapel of Moron was to serve, by having on its ground floor a German school, where Gottlieb Loosli, the elder of the congregation, taught for many fruitful years, especially through the addition of a Sunday school and baptismal instruction.
In 1904 the revival movement in the Jura also seized the Moron congregation, and in the revival meetings held by evangelist Fritz Schüpbach from the Emmental many awoke to new life. Even though the movement was considered extreme in certain circles, it left a trail of blessing in its wake. The girls' society formed in the interest of home missions continued its service to the present.
In the history of the development of the Moron congregation Loosli's work played an essential part in the organization of choruses, song services, annual celebrations, and revival meetings. The regular meetings were held the first and third Sunday afternoon of every month.
Loosli's death in 1931 was a serious loss for Moron; a second blow was struck in the passing of Elder Hans Geiser on 28 August 1938. (For a more extended account of die history of the Moron congregation, see Kleintal.)
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 168 ff.
| Author(s) | Samuel Geiser |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Geiser, Samuel. "Moron (Kanton Bern, Switzerland)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moron_(Kanton_Bern,_Switzerland)&oldid=145901.
APA style
Geiser, Samuel. (1957). Moron (Kanton Bern, Switzerland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moron_(Kanton_Bern,_Switzerland)&oldid=145901.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 752. All rights reserved.
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