SEE "COMMENTS"  ON ORIGINAL VERSION OF RESOLUTION 543/10/03

READ RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER BY WEBMASTER 8/20/03

Your informational comments about actions leading to Resolution #54 of the Southern Province Synod are misleading and inaccurate. I was a member of the committee which drafted and submitted the final resolution to the floor of Synod. The original resolution was drafted before Synod for consideration by an individual, and members of the committee obtained that draft from the author. The majority, if not all members, of the committee was sympathetic to the resolution; however, there was concern expressed by a few members of the committee as well as others outside the committee that, while it would affirm the beliefs important to the committee, the resolution originally drafted would be seen as a condemnation of one or two people and would be an offense to many without accomplishing the intended goal of uniting the Church behind the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

 Strong appeals were made to the committee to seek a different course of' action, however, no efforts were made to thwart the Committee's authority as your comment inaccurately suggest. The committee worked long and hard on the resolution submitted to Synod, and it was the product of the-members of that committee; While the language of the original resolution considered by the committee did generate concerns among some, your report that this "sent church leaders scurrying to prevent it from being presented as it might offend those who believe differently" is simply untrue. 

Rev Timothy Byerly
Grace Moravian Church