The Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 24, number 1, September 1940

              scandinavian moravians in wisconsin joseph s chafer irakis course through continents over seas and like wind borne embers start conflagrations wherever spiritual tinder intercepts them thus the theological views of john wycliffe of england lighted a great fire in bohemia through the conditioned mind of john huss the hussite doctrines long and often suppressed three centuries later found a favoring host in the soul of count zinzendorf of saxony thence it spread over europe and through parts of america resulting in the creation of pious moravian com munities in many places the american center was the well known and well loved pennsylvania town of bethlehem though the moravian church antedated the reformation led by luther and its founder had anticipated many of the doctrines of the german reformer it was lutheranism that overran the north countries of norway sweden and den mark establishing itself as the official religion in each of these states that left to moravians only the opportunity to send missionaries into their communities in the hope of mak ing lutherans brethren-minded these men were mission aries of the diaspora when at the beginning of the year 1849 a diaspora worker of stavanger norway stephanus due heard a macedonian cry which came from milwaukee wisconsin asking for a pastor to shepherd the diaspora brethren at that place he appealed to certain candidates who had just completed their theological studies in a norwegian lutheran seminary all wanted to be missionaries in different parts of the world several being destined to zululand in africa