Groundhog Day: The Church Edition
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Groundhog Day: The Church Edition

I recently resumed pastoral ministry in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) after 10 years with the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC). During those years, the matter of human sexuality dominated the denominational agenda. The engagement was serious, intense and divisive, with each side endlessly quoting their chosen Bible texts. When I attended my first Classis…

Sifting, sorting, sweet spots
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Sifting, sorting, sweet spots

Last time, I wrote about the possibility of a schism in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). It certainly remains a live option, though should it come to pass, I expect it won’t be in the immediate future. Thanks be to God. In lieu of a schism though, some serious sifting and sorting has already begun….

Why I Don’t Go to Church
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Why I Don’t Go to Church

Hey, my name is Maya MacLachlan. I’m the daughter of one of the editors of this publication. I’m a nerdy bisexual 14-year-old, and I have some issues with the mainline church I used to attend. When I was about six, I was baptized at a church with my younger sister. My parents took a vow…

So that all can come to God
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So that all can come to God

Intrigued by the description of Rohadi Nagassar’s book When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, I read the book eager to learn more about enfolding those on the margins into the church. For ten years I was a chaplain and pastor to people on the margins of our society: those who live in Long…

Passions that war within us
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Passions that war within us

As the U.S. House of Representatives’ January 6 committee wound down its hearings last month, the role of religion and church could not be forgotten in the events leading up to that day. One experience that stuck with me was witnessing the tell-all interview of Leo Christopher Kelly, an Iowan Christian who entered the Capitol…

Feeling our way forward
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Feeling our way forward

From grief to relief; from shock to anxiety; from weariness to embarrassment and many points in between. For this editorial, I asked members of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), “Now that the Human Sexuality Report has passed, with a good majority, how does it feel?” While the theological and biblical reflection has been intense, this…

Non-Rebels with Causes
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Non-Rebels with Causes

Older people have complained about younger people since the beginning of history. Socrates once wrote about how young people no longer respected their elders and were running amok in Athens. The 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause showed teens as emotionally confused, angry and disrespectful – a theme that has woven its way through lots…

Common Ground after the HSR
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Common Ground after the HSR

We know that you, our CC readers, have lots to say about decisions made at the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod regarding the Human Sexuality Report. One year ago, our Editor pleaded for unity on this issue, and while denominational unity is beyond CC’s mission statement, our membership in the body of Christ remains.  Honesty and Understanding CC is committed…

Your church might need a rummage sale
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Your church might need a rummage sale

In Oshawa, Ontario, in 1978, an unremarkable mall called Five Points was built. I used to go there sometimes as a teen. Over time, business dried up as big box stores started cropping up on the outskirts of town. Eventually, Five Points was torn down and replaced, in 2017, with Dymon Self Storage – a…

Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin
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Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin

“There are two deeply divergent interpretations of Scripture in this denomination,” Paul VanderKlay said on June 14, addressing 188 delegates of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). To most CRC members, the degree of that difference is painfully clear, and it was only accentuated at this year’s annual meeting. Synod 2022 made three key decisions concerning…

‘Blood on our hands’
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‘Blood on our hands’

When CRC Synod delegate Dominic Palacios said “I believe our theology around this issue has caused there to be blood on our hands, and there will continue to be blood on our hands because of it,” he lost the right to speak again for ‘violating the rules of decorum.’ CC reached out to both the…

I chose the CRC despite the Human Sexuality Report
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I chose the CRC despite the Human Sexuality Report

After a few years away from the denomination, our family decided to “return to the fold” of the Christian Reforemd Church (CRC) in Fall of 2021, and began attending Inglewood CRC here in Edmonton. Once we joined, we were sent a list of all sorts of important and useful documents, from a directory to doctrinal…