CRC Synod begins with 34 fewer churches after LGBTQ decision
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As the Christian Reformed Church of North America convenes for its annual assembly, it's doing so with about 34 fewer members in its midst.
Delegates and church leaders on Friday began the denomination's annual Synod, meeting at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario in Canada. Through June 19, almost 200 delegates will be working through a packed agenda.
'It's exciting to get together — people from all different backgrounds and walks of life — to talk about the business of the church and make big decisions,' CRCNA General Secretary Zachary King told News 8. 'Even though there can be some tense and difficult moments, it's just really wonderful and cool to see people work together to walk on path together. ….There's a lot of energy and hope in doing this work, even though it can be really difficult sometimes.'
Churches prepare to leave CRC following LGBTQ+ decision
This year's Synod follows a contentious meeting in 2024, when the denomination determined LGBTQ-affirming churches must repent — or leave.
Around 34 churches have since disaffiliated, King said, adding that that number is expected to grow. That includes a number of churches in Grand Rapids.
'We're sad and we're disappointed of course that a significant number of churches … have disaffiliated with our denomination,' he said. 'We pray that somehow in the future, and even in the present, that we might have a good connection. … We hope that they flourish in their communities. … That's heavy, but we feel like it's a necessary moment and we want to navigate it with as much grace and kindness as we can.'
After a few years of dialogue around the church's belief that LGBTQ+ relationships are sinful, King said this year, the conversation has 'a different tenor.'
'Obviously we've had a big discussion about human sexuality,' he said. 'I think we completed that discussion. Now we're trying to understand how we can work … better together.'
CRC doubles down on forbidding deacon in same-sex marriage at GR church
There's now more inner unity, he said, and the direction the denomination is going is more clear.
Some items on this year's agenda will work through the impact of last year's decision. A report from CRC-affiliated Calvin University Board of Trustees clarifies how it will approach faculty members who disagree with the denomination's belief on LGBTQ+ relationships and other core beliefs (called confessional issues) of the denomination. Another item will determine the future of its relationship with the Reformed Church of America based on that denomination's stance on LGBTQ relationships, which is to 'live together in the midst of disagreement,' the RCA General Secretary Rev. Eddy Aleman wrote in a letter to the CRC Synod.
Also on the agenda is a report from a task force that examined how the church should approach assisted suicide while showing love and support for families and individuals. In its report, the task force affirmed 'that life is precious, so we should not act to end life.'
If you or someone you know need help, call the National Suicide Line at 988.
Delegates will also discuss questions of funding, church planting and the role of virtual ministry, King said. Many young churches are leaning into using technology like Zoom for worship services, and the CRC is exploring how to leverage that for ministry and connection.
'We also realize that the in-person connection is important too,' King said. 'There's some tension there and we're trying to sort out you know how can we leverage the best of technology while avoiding some of the pitfalls.'
Under God, Divisible: Political conflict deepens rift among Christians
Overall, the denomination has several churches that are flourishing and growing, King said.
'We have a number of churches that may feel that they're plateaued in terms of their numbers, but they're really impacting their community in a positive way and seeing just a lot of fruit to their ministry,' King said. 'We do have churches that are struggling — as many denominations — but … God is really working through their community connections and some of them are just doing amazing things that only small churches could do.'
The CRCNA is streaming Synod proceedings .
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
Canada Is Gathering Global Leaders in a Province That Wants Out of the Country
MIRROR, Alberta—Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to use a Group of Seven summit starting Sunday to showcase Canadian strength and unity. But global leaders will be visiting an oil-rich province that is considering a divorce from Canada. Rising disaffection in Alberta presents a challenge for Carney, who was governor of the Bank of England when U.K. voters decided to leave the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Carney has promised since winning election in April to strengthen Canada's economy and reduce dependence on the U.S.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Women's fencer who knelt in protest of trans athlete reacts to USA Fencing reversal of controversial policies
EXCLUSIVE: More than two months have passed since women's fencer Stephanie Turner went viral after being punished by USA Fencing for kneeling in protest of a trans opponent. And after nine weeks of immense public and federal scrutiny against USA Fencing in the aftermath of the incident, the organization amended two of its most controversial policies last weekend. The organization's board of directors changed its rule to de-prioritized states with laws deemed "harmful" to the LGBTQ population and a rule that did not guarantee the national anthem be played before every event. Turner reacted to USA Fencing's recent policy changes in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. "USA Fencing has fallen into the hands of unpatriotic tyrants who put obscure politics ahead of promoting the sport across the country. Whether to play the national anthem or not should have never been in question. And excluding states from the national tournament selection process because of their abortion and LGBT policies is ludicrous and has nothing to do with fencing," Turner said. "It makes me wonder if these policies were put into place to punish conservatives and red states. There needs to be a shakeup in USA Fencing's leadership and an audit of their social media and online platforms." Turner stepped away from competing in USA Fencing after receiving a 12-month probation for refusing to face trans athlete Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland in late March. But the fallout of the controversy had an impact on the organization and its policies right away. USA Fencing announced in late April that it is preparing to change its gender-eligibility policy. The proposed updated policy ensures that the women's category "will be open exclusively to athletes of the female sex." The men's category "will be open to all other athletes who are otherwise eligible for competition." However, that new policy has not been officially put in place. The incident involving Turner also prompted a Title IX investigation by President Donald Trump's administration and a congressional hearing in May. USA Fencing Chair Damien Lehfeldt was grilled by Republican lawmakers at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee's "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" hearing on May 7. After the hearing, Turner told Fox News Digital that she would devote herself and her platform to pushing for resignations among key leadership figures in USA Fencing. "I'm going to be pushing for people to resign, to be honest. I'd like to see some people resign for the comments that they've made, especially publicly, ones that are harassing and meant to humiliate concerned women, mothers and daughters," Turner said. The organization's policy of prioritizing states with pro-LGBTQ laws was a particular point of scrutiny during the hearing by DOGE Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. "In selecting sites for its national fencing events, for instance, the board policy is to avoid states whose laws and policies on LGBTQ rights and abortion it opposes. It uses 'Equality Maps' to determine which states to blacklist from its competitions, and which to favor," Greene said. "This ends up favoring a lot of blue states and harming a lot of red ones. So, it creates politically determined winners and losers — but it has absolutely nothing to do with fencing." The previous host site policy placed a number of states on the "do not allow" list were Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. The states on its "avoid where possible" list included Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. The organization now claims it will have events in several of those states over the next year. "We merged several overlapping documents into one policy that scores every bid — regardless of state — on cost, safety, and travel convenience. Using this rubric, next season's national events will span nine states including Texas, Missouri, Florida, Utah, Ohio, Virginia, Oregon, Tennessee and Nevada," read a statement to Fox News Digital. USA Fencing has also provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the new anthem policy. "The anthem has always been played at the start of every national tournament. The Board simply wrote that long‑standing practice into policy and added that it will also be played on any U.S. holiday that occurs during an event, such as Independence Day, which falls during our upcoming Summer Nationals," the statement read. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
St. Cloud council strips deputy mayor of post after Pride Month proclamation controversy
The St. Cloud City Council stripped its deputy mayor of his position this week after he publicly accused the council of blocking efforts to issue a proclamation for Pride Month. Shawn Fletcher, the council's first openly gay member, was removed from his post at the tense Thursday evening meeting by a unanimous vote of the five-member council, with Fletcher also voting to remove himself as 'deputy mayor.' Though the city's mayor is elected by voters, the deputy mayor is selected by other council members. Fletcher did did not explain why he also voted to remove himself from that post. The vote followed sharp criticism of Fletcher by the other council members for statements he gave to news outlets in May after the council decided to temporarily halt all city proclamations. Council members didn't explicitly say Pride Month was the reason behind the pause, but the timing of their action effectively nixed their ability to declare June as Pride Month in St. Cloud. And that upset Fletcher, who said he felt Pride Month was targeted. Council member Kolby Urban, who made the motion to take the deputy mayor title from Fletcher, said Fletcher's statements and press release prompted nationwide, and negative, media coverage and included false information. 'Mr. Fletcher knows full well that these statements were false and grossly mischaracterized his fellow council members and the nearly 70,000 residents of our community,' Urban said. 'I find these comments not only offensive, but also irresponsible and borderline defamatory.' Some of the statements Urban referenced were published in the Orlando Sentinel. Urban proposed the moratorium on proclamations during a May 20 workshop meeting saying some may be 'controversial,' and that the current proclamation policy doesn't allow enough time for review. At the Thursday meeting, Fletcher said he did not understand the need for the pause or why it couldn't wait until July. June is recognized as Pride month in many communities around the country in recognition of the Stonewall Uprising in New York in 1969, a protest considered a turning point for gay rights in the U.S. In Central Florida, June has even deeper meaning for the local community because of the 2016 massacre at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, a haven for the LGBTQ community, in which 49 people were killed. Mayor Chris Robertson also criticized Fletcher. 'You need to apologize to all of us,' he said. 'You ran us all through the mud.' Robertson also said Fletcher had 'betrayed' his fellow council members and called his actions 'sickening.' He asked Fletcher if he thought he was a homophobe, to which Fletcher said no. He then asked if Fletcher thought he targeted the LGBTQ community, to which he also said no. 'I'm sorry, Shawn, I'm pissed,' Robertson said near the end of the meeting. 'I'm not letting it go.' Robertson spent around an hour asking questions about an upcoming Pride Month event, Proud in the Cloud, and the volunteer group behind it, the St. Cloud Pride Alliance. The event is scheduled to be held on city property, and Robertson said the city financially supported it. 'I said, 'Wait a minute, didn't we just bend over backwards to help these folks? And how can we be — they say that we're discriminating against them?'' Robertson said. The mayor was upset an Alliance member posted online Fletcher's comments about the proclamation pause. He was also concerned about 'irregularities' and 'misrepresentation' in the applications for the event and if city tax dollars had been used properly. Fletcher apologized for some of what happened. 'I think some things got really emotional. Council member Urban, I personally apologize to you,' he said. But he also stood by some of his other statements. 'I do believe it's undemocratic, because I do believe it was targeted. I do, I really do,' Fletcher said. The Pride Month proclamation should have been voted on, he added. 'To not have something move forward to where you put your name on it and you actually vote for it. That's undemocratic,' he said.
