In response to the April 3 special meeting, a few members offered comments about what transpired. One asked to be anonymous.
Former lead pastor
Lee Kosa.
“It would have gone a
long way to have simply heard BCMB leadership say something like, ‘Given that
we have not experienced a situation like this before, we didn’t respond as well
as we should have. We do not have a dedicated policy or tools for dealing with
church-related concerns and conflict and thus were not prepared. We are sorry for
the confusion and pain our actions have contributed to. We are committed to
doing better for Cedar Park and all BCMB member churches as we seek to follow
our Lord together.’
“Instead, the
Conference's words seemed to indicate that they are completely without fault in
their interactions with Cedar Park, despite the meticulously documented
evidence to the contrary.
“Given the glaring
inconsistencies in their comments, obvious avoidance of directly answering many
questions, and unwavering posture of defensiveness, people in attendance
wondered if they were given legal counsel to not admit any fault in order to
protect themselves.”
"When
it comes to conversation about LGBTQ+ inclusion, policing the Confession of
Faith, and biblical conflict resolution, it seems that BCMB cares more about
their own legal liability than the needs of real vulnerable people. This
revelation was profoundly disturbing to witness."
Member
Ted Andres.
“The meeting was an embarrassment. CPC members came wanting answers but
didn’t get them. It was clear the Conference had mistreated our pastor, but
they seemed to be under legal advice not to say anything about that.
“We didn’t get an answer as to why it was wrong for us to want to have a
discussion about LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion, but MB churches in B.C. who
don’t support the peace statement get a pass. Why is there a line in the sand
for this issue, but not the other?
“We didn’t get an answer as to why our pastor was being investigated, or
why his credentials were removed, or why he was deemed to be out of step with
the Confession.
“It was jarring to hear Eldon Fehr of the Pastoral Ministries Committee
say our pastor is a false teacher. That is a very serious allegation.
“We didn’t get an answer as to why the Conference didn’t follow Matthew
18 and tell members who were concerned about the direction of the church to
speak directly to leadership, or to other members.
“The thing that is amazing about all of this is we didn’t actually even
meet to discuss welcome and inclusion. We just wanted to talk about it. We just
asked about the rules around it when we did. It seems that the main lesson BCMB
learned from the Artisan situation is to come down hard and fast on any church
that shows any interest in the subject, to cut it off quickly.
“At the meeting, Sharon Simpson kept talking about the Confession of
Faith. But that’s not what concerned us. We were concerned about the process,
and how BCMB had treated our church. All through that process it was like the
Conference kept pouring fuel on the fire.
“I don’t blame the small number of people who were concerned about the
direction of the church from going to the Conference as they perceived their
church was changing and they were fearful. But the Conference should have sent
them back to the church to talk with us, not held secret meetings. BCMB
mishandled that.
“When someone said things had become so bad that our pastor contemplated
taking his own life, there was no reaction from the BCMB leaders at the front
of the room. None. They said nothing.
“Being told at the end
of the meeting the church could be reinstated only for those willing to adhere
to the Confession of Faith was a pretty curt statement. The implication was if
you can’t do that, you might as well leave.”
An
anonymous member.
“As
I listened, it was apparent to me the BCMB leaders at the meeting were under
legal instruction not to say anything or answer any questions directly. Their
responses to our questions all felt like legalese. There was no humanity in
them.
“When
asked directly if they had met with individual members, Simpson said yes. Yet
e-mails from other members of the congregation supporting our pastors went
unanswered.
“What
touched and saddened me was Kosa’s brokenness. The Conference broke a good
person. What was said at the meeting seemed to pierce his heart.
“To
me, if BCMB learned anything from the Artisan experience it was to come down
hard and fast on any church or pastor open to talking about LGBTQ+ welcome and
inclusion. That included coming down hard on our pastor. It seemed like they
needed to make an example of him, to keep the others in line.
“When
Lee was called a false teacher, the first thing that came to mind for me was
what happened to the early Anabaptists who were accused of the same thing. They
were executed. This felt like a symbolic execution of our pastor.
“I
understand some people have concerns about this conversation about LGBTQ+
welcome. But it would have been better if we could have talked. It’s
unfortunate BCMB didn’t tell them to do that, and then protected them during
this whole thing.
“You
know how many families in CPC have gay children, siblings or relatives? Twelve.
It’s a big issue for us.
“I
suspect the Conference feels, by acting this way, that it has taken care of
things. But it hasn’t. This issue will come up again and again. They will be
reduced to playing whack-a-mole.”
Riley
Merrell, a now-former CPC attender.
“What
happened on Sunday night was abusive and absent of even a hint of restorative
justice or peacemaking. I am willing to bet BCMB had legal counsel before
entering the meeting. This was evident by the request that no journalists be
present, as well as the repetitiveness of non-answers.
“I
would personally like to call for the resignation of Eldon Fehr, Chair of
Pastoral Ministries Committee) who publicly declared pastor Lee a false
teacher in front of his family, colleagues, and a church full of people who
adore him.
“Additionally,
Rob Thiessen offended a community member by asking what Jesus they served,
insinuating that their Jesus was not his Jesus nor the ‘right’ Jesus, nor the
Jesus the Conference believes in.
“For
over an hour community members took to the mic to share their heartbreaking
stories of how they've watched the conference tear this church apart. Stories
from people who built CPC, from people who've attended for 40+ years, from
teachers, counsellors, and industry professionals who criticized the
conference's shortcomings with regard to due process, accountability, and
communication. Time and time again, the moderator responded with non-answers
using various bylaws and the confession of faith as a shield, disregarding
the desperate pleas and heartfelt concerns.
“BCMB
has tripped on power and landed flat on their faces, leaving a path of
destruction in their wake. For the sake of what? The Kingdom? What
Kingdom is that? Perhaps the kingdom of the BCMBC, a kingdom that I have
no interest in ever being a part of again.
“I pray the Lord has
mercy on them and softens their hearts to a place of repentance leading them to
seek forgiveness from our pastors, Lee, Megan, and Darren who, along with their
spouses and 10 children between them, embark on a season of healing and
unemployment.
“As
for the discussion of LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion, Artisan was granted nearly
four years of healthy dialogue, listening, and discernment before the axe
came down. CPC barely got 10 minutes.
“Consider what
happened to CPC a warning to the next BC Mennonite Brethren Church hoping to
hold a safe place for dialogue around faith and human sexuality. You
should also know that the moderator used you ("97 churches") as a
defense mechanism—leading congregants of CPC to believe that we were all alone
in this.
“If you're reading
this and you are a part of one of the 97 Mennonite Brethren churches across
B.C., and you are someone who desires to have healthy dialogue within your
community on the topic of human sexuality, then make some noise and show the
conference how misled they are. The time to be silent and comfortable is
over.
“The love of Jesus
cannot be contained to the limited vision of the BCMB. They have no
accountability unless the churches within the conference come together. If not,
your community could be the next they tear apart.
“How privileged am I
to have never questioned God’s love for me. No wonder; I’m a white heterosexual
man who has spent most of his life in MB churches. I was born to thrive there.
Replace any one of those three identifiers and, depending on the point in
history, I’d be facing some sort of hurdle. Non-white? Where do I start. Woman? Well 60
years ago and I’d barely be allowed to teach Sunday school. LGBTQ+? Not welcome
or included.
“We’ve come a long
way on diversity and gender roles in the world today, two mountains the
religious folk have died on before. Here’s hoping they find a way to traverse
back down this third mountain of LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. They may be
surprised to find Jesus there comforting all the people they’ve left behind.”
Carol
Johnson, former moderator and someone who identifies now as Queer or LGBTQ+.
“I
stepped aside my position when I came out in order to not be a distraction to
the congregation. It was important for me that the focus not be on me as the
gay moderator but the focus instead be on the greater conversation of what can
inclusion and welcome look like at CPC for folk who identify as queer. The
Elder Board accepted my stepping aside.
“Lee
was an incredible pastor. Many people relied on him for support. He lovingly
walked me and my family through my husband’s death from cancer in 2019. He
journeyed alongside us and supported us as a family. So to witness Lee leave
the meeting shaking and crying uncontrollably was extremely
heartbreaking.
“To
tell you how emotional the meeting was, one of CPC’s founding members, a quiet
man, shouted to the BCMB leaders at the front as Lee left: “This meeting is
over! You’ve broken a good man. Other people also broke down crying.
“All
through this BCMB wasn’t transparent with us. My e-mails expressing concerns
about their heavy handedness and threatening behaviour weren’t responded to by
them. Others said the same thing.
“At
the meeting, there was a lot of hedging and hiding behind the bylaws. That was
so frustrating. And so devoid of compassion and love.
“I
didn’t grow up Mennonite, but I have come to appreciate Anabaptism. The way CPC
was treated is so far from Anabaptism, from the idea of sitting down and
talking together. As an Anabaptist church, our intention was to
discern together what the Spirit was saying to our community. It is wildly
confusing to wonder why BCMB resorted to treating us and our pastors in such
reprehensible ways.
“What
is shocking to me is we didn’t get to facilitate a fair, resourced and open
conversation about LGBTQ+ welcome. Artisan had four or five years of
discussion. We asked a simple question: what the ceiling was for LGBTQ+
involvement in the church? Be a member? Be a worship leader? Lead a small
group? Be an elder? We just asked the question and then—boom the hammer of
authority came down. This is a serious abuse of power and gatekeeping as to who
is in and who is out. The table belongs to Christ, not BCMB. Christ’s invitation
is for all to come.
Dan
Unrau, former Mennonite Brethren pastor in Manitoba and B.C. who was an
observer at the meeting.
"I was invited to be
a witness at BC MB’s called meeting with the people of Cedar Park Church on
April 3, 2022. It was a meeting I will recall as among the saddest I
have witnessed in my life—at almost every conceivable level. No one left the
meeting untouched, unharmed.
“That night, I had
this raw read of the meeting.
“Pastor Lee Kosa and
the people of Cedar Park Church are broken and devastated and, in my view.
exhibited the signs of being abuse victims.
“The official BCMB
position, as articulated by the representatives of BCMB leadership themselves,
is that it chose to walk without grace, mercy, and compassion towards those in
pain. But it was unable to see and accept and be accountable for the damage it was told it had done and was still doing. The posture it held to was that of
a cold, heartless, legalistic, self-righteous, misguided parent.
“A week after the
meeting, I had these thoughts.
“Whatever might be
said about the history and the issues at play in this story, and add a plethora
of unhappy clashing dynamics roiling the meeting, central to it for me was that
Lee Kosa and the people of CPC were broken and bleeding by the roadside last
Sunday night.
“It felt like a
window in on the story of the Good Samaritan, with the priests and Levites of
BCMB walking by on the other side extending no compassion, no hand to help. In
fact, some said, even a pouring of salt on the wounds of the wounded throughout
the evening.
“And what even
increased the tragedy of the wounded? By their account it was those
very same priests and Levites who had thrown them to the curb in the first
place. I wept as I listened and felt and saw."
Read
about the special meeting. Read a timeline from
Cedar Park Church. Read why these reports are appearing on this
blog.
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