April 30, 2004

To: Congregations of the Southern Province

From: The Provincial Elders Conference

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We write to you today as the PEC to provide you accurate information concerning developments at Macedonia Moravian Church and to solicit your prayers for Macedonia, Br. Greg Little and his family, the PEC and the province as we seek to move forward in service and ministry together in the days ahead.

The PEC has notified the Joint Boards of Macedonia that Rev. Greg Little is being called to temporary provincial service and will no longer serve as pastor at Macedonia.

Brother Little has many gifts for ministry. However, he has also stated that due to his convictions he cannot abide by certain actions of our Synod and of the Provincial Elders Conference. His actions during the past year have reflected that conviction. Br. Little considers his responsibility to the Macedonia Church Boards to be higher than his responsibility to the PEC, even though he has been ordained by action of the Southern Province and is under call to the Province. He has consistently refused to meet with the Conference without the presence of Macedonia Board members.  Pastor Little has supported the Board's decision to withhold contributions to the Province, and he has supported the Board's investigations into the possibility of affiliation with another Province.

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."   Likewise, Moravian pastors when ordained agree as they 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."

Br. Little's choices make it clear that there is no possibility of his continuing to serve as a Moravian pastor under call to the Southern Province.

The PEC has also had a number of meetings with the Joint Boards at Macedonia for more than a year to listen to concerns, frustrations and disagreements the boards have with the PEC, actions of Moravian synods, other Moravian institutions, other Moravian boards, other Moravian pastors, and Moravian governance. Although at times these discussions have been difficult, the PEC has appreciated these times of honesty, searching for God's will, and a mutual effort to be in mutual conversation and prayer. In these meetings the PEC has also shared it concerns over Macedonia's refusal to participate more fully in the province and to contribute its full financial portion to the wider provincial shared ministries as is required in the Book of Order.

Prior to its recent meeting with the boards at Macedonia on April 27, the PEC was informed of the intentions of the boards to recommend to the congregation at Macedonia that it withdraw from the Southern Province and seek affiliation with the Czech Province of the Moravian Church, thus severing a 147 year old relationship of fellowship and participation in the wider mission and ministry of the province here. The PEC has informed the boards at Macedonia that we cannot approve of this action to withdraw from the province.  The Conference finds it inconsistent with Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum and how the Unity Board of the worldwide Moravian Church has dealt with such intentions and requests in recent years. It is also inconsistent with our desire as a PEC to work through disagreements, even difficult ones, as a province and as a Unity.

The PEC is moving forward to appoint an interim pastor at Macedonia and has called on the joint boards to work with it to seek resolution and a clear direction for the congregation in the weeks and months ahead. The doctrine of our church has not changed or shifted. It is set forth in
The Ground of the Unity as a whole and in its specific statements. Our
prayer is that our Chief Elder will lead us all to service in His Name.  Our prayer is that we will see a renewed focus on mission and outreach among our congregations.  Our prayer is that our differences can enrich and not divide us.  This is not to trivialize differences.  This is to affirm that through our common unity in Christ we believe we can work together with those differences and together follow the "Lamb Once Slain."
 

 Yours in Christ's service,   
The Provincial Elders Conference