The Hesed Project believes that harm is being done to our children due to the decisions of Synod 2022 and has become a stumbling block for the faith development of many of our children and youth. The cancellation of a worship and teaching event for high school-age teenagers in Ontario is another casualty.
The harm caused by decisions of Synod 2022 is continuing to be felt – this time by the youth of the CRC in Ontario, with the cancellation of the All Ontario Youth Convention due to concerns about the keynote speaker’s doctrinal stance on LGBTQ+ marriage.
A week of intense questions and hurtful accusations about “hidden agendas” resulted in the volunteer planning team’s decision to cancel the two-day event which had been planned for May 2023. While the focus of the convention was to encourage high school age students to “fix their eyes on Christ for whatever lies ahead” the doctrinal stance of the keynote speaker’s home church became a lightning rod for criticism. “Nobody on our team was aware of the tone, intensity, and polarisation of conversations,” wrote the seven-member team. “Perhaps it’s impossible to lead an event like the AOYC given the current fractured landscape of the CRC.”
Read the full letter about the decision to cancel on the AOYC website. What a destructive legacy we are leaving the next generation.