Dear Provincial Elders Conference:

Greetings in the name of our Lord, Savior, and Chief Elder, Jesus Christ. I am writing on behalf of the Joint Board of the Olivet Moravian Church in regards to recent issues in our province and in the Northern Province. Our board feels the need to communicate our thoughts and feelings to the Provincial Elders Conferences of the Northern and Southern Provinces and to the Faith and Order Commission in regards to the issue of Jesus being the only way to heaven that the Southern Province has been dealing with and the issue of the acceptance of homosexuality that came from a resolution at the Northern Provincial Synod.

I have enclosed a letter from our church's Seekers Sunday School Class written by the teacher of the class, Mike Parsons. We read and discussed this letter at our recent Joint Board meeting on August 11 We have also shared earlier discussions on the issue of J esus being the only way to heaven.

From our discussions we want to share the following statement with you so you will know how our Joint Board feels about these issues. Others have written very eloquent and lengthy statements on their positions to these matters. We felt we wanted to convey our thoughts in a clear and simple manner. The following statement is what we want you to know:

"The Joint Board of Olivet Moravian Church believes that Jesus is the only way to God, the Father. We are to accept people as Jesus accepts them, but we do not condone sin. We believe that Scripture guides us concerning sin. According to Scripture, homosexuality is a sin. "

Please know that you and your work are in our thoughts and prayers. May God lead each of us to His truth, and may we faithfully follow.

In Christ's love and service,

Douglas C. Rights