April 27,2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters.

The Provincial Elders' Conference greets you in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom is our hope.

It is with a great deal of regret that we inform you of Brother Greg Little's apparent decision that he can no longer serve the Southern Province under call of the church through the Provincial E1ders' Conference. His pastorate at Macedonia will conclude within the
next few weeks. Greg has served the Moravian Church for more than 11 years as a pastor at Macedonia congregation and associate pastor at Fairview. We are grateful for his service, in which we have shared a recognition of Christ's Lordship and a deep allegiance to him as our Lord and Savior.

In the Moravian Covenant for Christian Living we agree that ''as members of the Moravian Church we will abide by the decisions made by the official boards of our congregation, and agree to be governed, both as individuals and as a congregation, by the enactments of the Unity Synod of the Moravian Church and of the Synods of the Province to which our congregation belongs." Moravian pastors in their ordination and consecration services must give a positive response to the following question: Do you solemnly promise, as you serve in our Unity, to give obedience to the faith and order of the Moravian Church as these are formulated under Scripture and the Holy Spirit by our Synods and constituted authorities?

Likewise, among the duties of the Joint Board of a Moravian congregation is "to cooperate with the Provincial Elders' Conference in carrying out the rules and principles enacted by Synod." (Rules and Regulations of a Moravian Congregation)

Your pastor and you as a Joint Board have dealt with the question of whether or not you can abide by decisions of our governing bodies. \\'hen it became apparent that he could not abide by certain decisions of his denomination, and that for him local church boards held greater authority than the Synod and the Provincial Elders' Conference, the Conference recognized his decision that further service as a pastor in the Southern Province was not possible. To assist him and his family in transition, the Provincial Elders' Conference is extending a call to provincial service for a period of three months.  The Provincial Elders Conference remains open to possible future service by Brother Little and encourage him to meet with a Bishop to determine whether we can re-establish his ministry in the Moravian Church.

The Conference will appoint an interim pastor right away and will work with the Church Boards and with the interim to continue a. strong and vital ministry at Macedonia Church. One of our tasks will be developing cooperation between the Boards and the PEC in carrying out the rules and principles enacted by Synod. Regardless of the depth of concern or disagreement all of us as Moravian Christians have responsibilities to our church as well as to our Lord.

As we move forward we ask that you as Elders and Trustees continue your commitment to serving our Lord Jesus Christ, the Southern Province, and the Macedonia Congregation. We ask you to support the interim pastor and participate actively in partnership with the Provincial Elders' Conference to strengthen our ministry as a province. Please join us in humble recognition of our common need for Our Lord's guidance and grace.

Sincerely, in Christ.

The Provincial Elders' Conference