Ministry in a fractured landscape
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Ministry in a fractured landscape

ON April 4, the All Ontario Youth Convention (AOYC) announced that its three-day May weekend was being canceled over concerns about the main speaker’s beliefs around sexuality and marriage. The speaker that had been hired was Kevin Makins, author of Why Would Anyone Go to Church? and pastor of Eucharist Church, an affirming congregation in…

But what about unity?
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But what about unity?

Sponsored Content: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the editorial perspective of Christian Courier. Perhaps the biggest concern I hear about Synod 2022 is how decisions on sexual ethics will affect unity in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). “Personally, Lora, I agree with…

Sex and money
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Sex and money

I have purposely not written a column expressing my opinion on the 2022 Christian Reformed Synod’s Human Sexuality Report, and specifically not about the report’s recommendations concerning same sex relations. My reason is that, from the outset, I judged the entire process to be disingenuous. Handcuffing the committee members with a mandate that forced it…

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…

A scalpel, a word, a schism
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A scalpel, a word, a schism

One night, in the midst of the CRC’s Synod, I awoke with a word in my head. Vivisection. I’m not entirely sure what to make of this early morning revelation. Some folks dream lucidly, others sweat through nightmares. Me? Apparently I receive ten-dollar words. It might be just the peculiarity of my own gray matter…

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…

Dialogue within the ‘bond of peace’
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Dialogue within the ‘bond of peace’

Since Synod 2016 the Christian Reformed Church has been studying, discussing and agonizing over same-sex relationships. That year, Synod created a committee which produced what is now called the Human Sexuality Report (HSR). Among other issues, the HSR recommended that homosexual activity breaks the seventh Commandment and is thus prohibited. Synod 2022 took the report…

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…

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…

Affirming or Confessional: Aren’t there other options?
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Affirming or Confessional: Aren’t there other options?

As pundits and pew quarterbacks are struggling to find descriptions for what transpired at the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod 2022, I’m at a bit of a loss. Most descriptions are two-sided, fitting our bifurcated partisan day and age. When it comes to human sexuality, almost everyone seems to be either affirming or confessional. But I…

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…