See Letter from Rev. Aden Ward 
                                   See Letter from Margaret Leinbach
                                   See Letter from Margaret Barnes
                                  See response from Jan Comer

 John Scepanski 
Christian Faith Moravian Church 
 DeForest, Wisconsin, USA 

 Following is a short essay on the subject and some reasoning to support my  personal opinion that the status of homosexuality is not incompatible with  the Moravian Church and Christian Church principles. 

 Homosexuality and the Moravian Church  My personal approach to this issue is to ask the Chief Elder what he had to  say on the subject. However, I've searched the Gospels and cannot find  anything definitive that Jesus had to say about it.  Not much, really, is said in the Bible about homosexuality.

 The harsh laws  laid down in Leviticus are directed toward the nation-building of ancient  Israel. Christians were freed from those laws by the new covenant of Jesus  Christ.  What does our Moravian Chief Elder say about homosexuality? Well, nothing  specifically. He says some things about adultery, marriage, and divorce. He says a lot about what life is like living in the kingdom of God. He says  a lot about relationships between God and humans. He says a lot about  relationships between humans and humans. But he does not say anything about  homosexuality. 

 I think the most relevant story in the New Testament is the one in John  8:1-11, when the scribes and Pharisees brought before Jesus a woman who had  been caught in the act of adultery. They said to Jesus, "...in the law  Moses commanded us to stone such women...what do you say?"  Jesus bent down and fiddled in the sand for a moment with his finger. You  know what he answered them: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the  first to throw a stone at her." Then he bent down and wrote on the ground  again. The scribes and Pharisees slunk silently away, leaving Jesus alone  with the woman.  Now we come to the most extraordinary part of the story. Jesus is alone  with the woman. He straightens up from fiddling in the sand and says  rhetorically and intimately to her, one-on-one, for they are alone now,  "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  She responds, "No one, sir"; and Jesus says,  Neither do I condemn you. Go your way,  and from now on  do not sin again. 

This is the Jesus of riddle. Jesus is asking us to mull this one over in  our heads. He says, "Do not sin again." He talks about sin, not a specific  sin.  But here is the real kicker: it is impossible for us humans NOT TO SIN  AGAIN! Is Jesus setting an impossible task for us ? Therein lies the  riddle.  I think the answer is this: no one is without sin, therefore no one should  attempt to judge another. But, everyone has access to forgiveness and grace  from God.  There is a place set for everyone at the banquet table in the kingdom of  God, especially the sinner.  "Do not sin again" is Jesus' challenge to us to examine our lives. It is  not a pronouncement or a command. It is not about adultery or marriage or  divorce or sexual immorality or homosexuality. 

Should we allow sinners into the Moravian Church? Yes, of course. The  Moravian Church is comprised of one hundred percent sinners. Should we  allow sinners into the pulpits of our Moravian Church? Yes, of course. Our  Moravian pulpits are filled one hundred percent by sinners.  Would Jesus welcome sinners into the kingdom of God? Yes, of course he  would.  Then who are we to say otherwise? 

 John Scepanski 
 Christian Faith Moravian Church 
 DeForest, Wisconsin, USA