The Meeting House
LocationOakville, Ontario
CountryCanada
DenominationRiver Brethren, Anabaptism
AssociationsBe in Christ
Weekly attendance5,000
Websitethemeetinghouse.com
History
Founded1985 (1985)
Founder(s)Craig and Laura Sider
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Karmyn Bokma

The Meeting House is an Anabaptist church located in the Greater Toronto Area suburb of Oakville, Ontario. It consists of nineteen regional sites meeting mostly in cinemas, each of which has a lead pastor with a team of elders and part-time staff, with and interim senior pastor, Karmyn Bokma, and a board of overseers. With a consistent average weekly attendance of around 5,000, it is ranked by the Hartford Institute of Religion as the third largest church in Canada.[1] It is a member of Be in Christ.

History

In 1985, Craig and Laura Sider moved to the Greater Toronto Area suburb of Oakville, Ontario, to start Upper Oaks Community Church.[2] They were supported by the Brethren in Christ Canada.[3][4]

In 1996, Craig and Laura accepted a leadership position with the Brethren in Christ in Pennsylvania.[2] Bruxy Cavey became the teaching pastor, and the church met at Iroquois Ridge High School. Shortly afterward, the church changed its name to "The Meeting House".[3]

In 2018, the attendance was about 5,000 people each Sunday morning.[5][6] As of 2020, the church reported an average of 9,800 weekly livestream views.[7]

As well as the main location and headquarters in Oakville, Ontario, The Meeting House has about 20 remote locations in Ontario, most around the Greater Toronto Area.[6] Remote locations are referred to as "parishes" and meet usually in rented premises, mostly movie theatres.[8] The locations have their own staff including pastors and worship groups. While much of the service at each remote location is specific to that location, the teaching is generally relayed from the Oakville location, either by live link or delayed a week. Regular attendees are encouraged to also join a Home Church.[9] Home churches meet in homes every week or every two weeks on weekdays. Each Home Church is attached to a parish.

As well as the official parishes, there is a global community of churches that meet and make use of the livestreamed teaching of The Meeting House.[10]

Leadership

The Church is led by a board of overseers, and until 2022, senior pastor Darrell Winger,[11] at which time Karmyn Bokma assumed the role of interim senior pastor.[12][13]

Bruxy Cavey was the primary teaching pastor from 1996 to 2021,[14] but resigned in March 2022 after an independent investigation determined that he had committed sexual misconduct.[15][16]

Danielle Strickland was hired in 2019 as an additional teaching pastor.[17] She is the author of eight books including Better Together, The Ultimate Exodus[18] and The Liberating Truth. In March 2022, she announced her resignation "in solidarity with the victim of abuse" by Cavey.[19]

On March 25, 2022, the church announced that Winger would be stepping down. Winger stated that he believes the church needs "new leaders" as it moves into a "season of lament and refinement".[20] On April 14, 2022, the church announced that interim senior leaders would be Karmyn Bokma and Matt Miles, as Senior Pastor and Senior Director respectively.[12]

Teachings

The Meeting House teaching aligns with Anabaptist teachings. They emphasize a lifestyle of compassion, peace, simplicity, and the priority of community. The Meeting House has a particular emphasis on the irreligious nature of the teachings of Jesus. Their core beliefs are outlined in the articles of faith and doctrine of their denomination.

Teaching (sermons) produced on the church's main Oakville campus is either simulcast or sent out on a one-week delay to its remote locations, most of which meet in cinemas. These sermons often take the form of series, which focus on specific books, people, or themes from the Bible.

The Meeting House also produces the "After Party" podcast.[21] This is a live broadcast at 12:00pm EST each Sunday, and features a changing lineup of pastors, spiritual leaders and scholars who discuss the sermon from earlier in the day. This often involves content which was cut from the sermon, as well as congregation submitted questions.

Sexual assault charges and allegations

In 2012, former youth pastor Kieran Naidoo was arrested and charged as part of a large scale child pornography investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police.[22] He was charged with four counts of luring, four counts of sexual exploitation, invitation to sexual touching, and possession of child pornography.[23] In January 2021, he was again arrested and charged with sexual exploitation regarding an incident that had occurred between 2002 and 2005.[24][25] Toronto police stated that they believe there may be additional victims.[26]

In 2014, youth pastor David Churchill was charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.[27][28] The church later stated that Churchill was convicted.[29][30]

In December 2021, Bruxy Cavey was accused of sexual misconduct and subsequently placed on leave of absence from his role as Teaching Pastor.[31][15] Cavey subsequently resigned on March 3, 2022, after the conclusion of an independent external investigation into the allegations.[15] The independent investigation into Cavey's conduct determined that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a member of his congregation, which had begun as a "pastoral counselling relationship" and lasted for "a number of years".[32][33] The investigation concluded that this "amounted to sexual harassment", and that Cavey had "abused his power and authority".[32][33][16] Cavey's pastoral credentials were also revoked by the Be In Christ Church of Canada.[32] On March 8, teaching pastor Danielle Strickland announced her resignation, "in solidarity with the victim of abuse".[34][35] In a statement, Maggie John, Chair of the Overseers Board, stated that Strickland did not agree with the language used in the report, and that both Strickland and the victim wanted the church "to use stronger language".[32] As of March 2022, the church had removed all recordings of Cavey's teachings from its website as a result of his misconduct.[36]

On March 12, 2022, the Meeting House announced that it had engaged a victim advocate to receive concerns of sexual misconduct by a staff member of the church.[37][38][39]

In a town hall on March 31, 2022, the church announced that it had received additional allegations against Cavey, and historical concerns related to Naidoo.[40] These allegations have not yet been investigated.[37][41] At the Town Hall, Overseer Carol Ann Stephen acknowledged "the harm and hurt that has happened" in the church and Ottawa Lead Pastor Eric Versluis spoke about the challenge of the church trying to discern who they are without Cavey.[40]

On May 21, 2022, the church announced that it had received allegations against Tim Day,[42] who had served as Senior Pastor of the church for 14 years.[43] Day is accused of sexual misconduct and abuse.[29]

On June 6, 2022, the Hamilton Police Service announced that they had arrested Cavey and charged him with sexual assault.[44] In their announcement, the police stated that they "believe there may be more victims", encouraging them to come forward.[44] Cavey was released with conditions pending a court appearance.[45]

On June 7, 2022, at a Town Hall event, the church disclosed that they have received 38 reports about clergy sexual misconduct and abuse by former pastors Naidoo, Churchill, Cavey, and Day, along with other leaders and staff.[46][30][47] At the event, Jennifer Hryniw, Co-Chair of the Overseers Board, acknowledged that there has been a pattern of "prioritizing the care and well-being of offenders over victims," describing multiple stories where victims "felt shamed and rejected by the church, while the offender was supported through so-called restoration."[29][30]

References

  1. ↑ "Megachurches of Canada Listing". hirr.hartsem.edu. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  2. 1 2 devincthomas (June 8, 2011). "One Roof: The Meeting House Turns 25". Brethren In Christ Historical Society. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "our history". The Meeting House. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Name Change Announcement: Be in Christ Church of Canada". Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Megachurches of Canada Listing". Hirr.hartsem.edu. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Nguyen, Linda (May 31, 2016). "Churches in Oakville, Ottawa gather at multi-purpose facilities to stay financially stable". Toronto. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ The Meeting House (September 25, 2020). The Meeting House 2020 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ Nguyen, Linda (May 31, 2016). "Churches in Oakville, Ottawa gather at multi-purpose facilities to stay financially stable". Toronto. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ "House Churches Swap Steeples For Sofas, And Say They've Never Been Closer". NPR.org. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ "The Meeting House". www.themeetinghouse.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Meeting House Annual General Meeting, Nov 13, 2021" (PDF). The Meeting House. November 13, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Interim Senior Leadership at The Meeting House". us8.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Meeting House". www.themeetinghouse.com. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Staff and Careers". The Meeting House. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 "Important News from The Meeting House". Mailchimp. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Iqbal, Maria; Chong, Joshua (March 10, 2022). "Oakville megachurch pastor resigns after sexual misconduct investigation". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ "The FT Interview with Danielle Strickland". Faith Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  18. ↑ Strickland, Danielle (August 18, 2017). The Ultimate Exodus: Finding Freedom from What Enslaves You. Lion Hudson PLC. ISBN 9780857218612.
  19. ↑ Danielle Strickland [@djstrickland] (March 7, 2022). "I've resigned my position as teaching pastor" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Darrell Retirement Announcement, retrieved March 26, 2022
  21. ↑ "The After Party". The Meeting House.
  22. ↑ "Ontario child porn bust snares 60". CBC News. February 2, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Cops charge 5 Hamilton men in massive child-porn sweep". The Hamilton Spectator. February 2, 2012. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Former Toronto youth pastor charged in historical sexual exploitation investigation". Toronto. January 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Toronto youth pastor facing sexual exploitation charge". Toronto Star. January 27, 2021. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Former Toronto youth pastor charged in historical sexual exploitation investigation". Toronto. January 27, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  27. ↑ Johnston, Paul (July 17, 2014). "Former Oakville church employee charged with sex assault". CP24. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  28. ↑ Lea, David (July 18, 2014). "Former Oakville youth pastor charged with alleged sexual assault". Toronto.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  29. 1 2 3 "Dozens of Stories of Sexual Abuse Emerge at Bruxy Cavey's Megachurch, Multiple Pastors Accused". Protestia. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  30. 1 2 3 June 07 Community Gathering, retrieved June 10, 2022
  31. ↑ "Canadian Megachurch Pastor Bruxy Cavey Accused of Sexual Misconduct". The Roys Report. December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Town Hall | March 8 | The Meeting House, retrieved March 9, 2022
  33. 1 2 Town Hall | March 10 | The Meeting House, retrieved March 11, 2022
  34. ↑ "Danielle Strickland resigns from The Meeting House". ReachFM. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Canadian pastor Bruxy Cavey placed on leave after alleged sexual misconduct". Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  36. ↑ Shellnutt, Kate. "Ontario's Most Influential Pastor Resigns Following Abuse Investigation". News & Reporting. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  37. 1 2 "Bruxy Cavey investigation widens to include two more alleged victims". Religion News Service. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Victim Advocacy". us8.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  39. ↑ "The Meeting House Church Family Update". www.themeetinghouse.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  40. 1 2 Town Hall | March 31 | The Meeting House, retrieved April 19, 2022
  41. ↑ "Important Update from The Meeting House". us8.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  42. ↑ "The Meeting House". www.themeetinghouse.com. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  43. ↑ Longhurst, John (May 28, 2022). "'Thankful' for those who have shared their 'stories of hurt and abuse'". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  44. 1 2 "57-year-old Male Arrested in Sexual Assault Investigation". Hamilton Police Service. June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  45. ↑ Hristova, Bobby (June 6, 2022). "Hamilton police charge former pastor of The Meeting House Church with sexual assault". CBC News. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  46. ↑ World, John Longhurst | For Anabaptist (June 9, 2022). "Ontario church discloses dozens of abuse reports". Anabaptist World. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  47. ↑ Alwahaidi, Keena (June 16, 2022). "Victims advocate at Ontario megachurch receives 38 allegations of sexual misconduct against ex-pastors". CBC News. Retrieved June 18, 2022.

Further reading

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