Representatives of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches gathered for an Oct. 21-23 study conference to talk about something that is often avoided.
“God, Sex and Church: A Theology of Healthy Sexuality” was hosted at Westwood Community Church in Winnipeg, Man., in conjunction with the CCMBC annual general meeting.
Daniel Komori of Journey Canada (formerly Living Waters) spoke on spiritual friendship, encouraging people to create a safe place for people to find hope and experience Christ.
“As I’ve heard about the work that Journey does, deeply rooted in the gospel of grace, I’m more and more convinced that what they are doing with people whose issues are often considered more dirty than others is actually deeply needed by the whole body of Christ,” wrote North Langley (B.C.) Church pastor of discipleship and community life Tim McCarthy in a CCMBC blog post after the presentation.
In a workshop with four Winnipeg young adults, audience members heard calls for the church to be more open about discussing sexuality without getting squeamish. Participants also stressed the importance of upholding high views of both marriage and singleness, recognizing that those who choose to be single also have value.
Bruxy Cavey, teaching pastor at The Meeting House, a Brethren in Christ congregation in Toronto, touched on confusion between acceptance and agreement in an Oct. 23 question and answer session. He said brothers and sisters can disagree about an issue yet still accept each other as family.
He said The Meeting House reaches out in radical love to those in the LGBT community while being clear that such acceptance is not theological agreement.
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