Our goal at Calvary is to demonstrate God’s love to our world and be a safe church and a place of belonging for all who desire to follow Jesus Christ. Over the past several years we have begun to realize that we as a church community have failed to do this by causing significant harm to individuals and families who are part of the LGBTQ+ community through our actions and through our inaction. To all who are part of the LGBTQ+ community:
We confess that we have been far more concerned with maintaining the status quo than about being honest about the harm we have caused to you as a person who is treasured by God.
We confess that instead of seeking to understand your reality, we gave easy and self-assured answers without honestly considering the truth of your existence.
We confess that when you asked for help discerning how to live a faithful and virtuous life, we ignored your questions and many cries for help.
We confess that instead of viewing you as a person made in the Image of God, we reacted to you with homophobia, prejudice, judgmentalism, and fear.
We confess that we have caused harm by what we have done, as well as by what we have left undone; by what we have said, and by what we have left unsaid.
In all these things and more, we have sinned against you and against God and we ask for your forgiveness, even though we do not deserve it.
Why This Confession?
Because of our concern with the ways that people have been hurt by the church and because of our ongoing capacity to cause harm, we are starting with confession.
However, we understand that this confession is only a beginning and we have much work ahead of us as a congregation. If you want to learn about how God is leading our community to learn about and care for those who identify as LGBTQ+, we encourage you to reach out as you are led to church members, one of the church elders or deacons, or church staff to discuss how God is currently at work in our midst as we seek to be a more faithful community of Christ.
This Introduction to this Confession to the LGBTQ+ Community also shares more information about the context and the reason for this confession. If you would like to learn more about our journey in this area and the background of our thinking on this topic, the 2023 report of our Task Force is also available below in four sections.
2023 Task Force Report Materials
In the summer of 2022, the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church had a long-awaited deliberation based on the Synodical Human Sexuality Report and made some significant decisions based on that report.
Because we were deeply concerned with the pastoral implications of these decisions for members of our congregation, our council formed a Task Force with a mandate to “Formulate a response to Synod 2022’s adoption of the recommendations about the Human Sexuality Report.” This Task Force completed its work in June of 2023 and its work is available here in four parts:
The Mandate and Work of the Task Force - This outlines the mandate and the congregational work in which the Task Force engaged.
Task Force Report on our Pastoral Care Concerns - This is the main body of the report that outlines our Pastoral Concerns regarding the decisions of Synod 2022 based on the work of the Synodical Study Committee.
Recommendations about Inclusion - This is a list of recommendations regarding future inclusion. It should be noted these conclusions are dated to the publication date of June 2023.
Who We Are and How to Have A Discussion Together about Sexuality and Gender Identity - This is a statement developed by the Task Force in order to have clear guidelines for how we have discussions together about this topic. This content has become a very compelling guide and has set the tone for our congregational discussions in this area.