St. Stephen church 'rebels' against order to stop performing same-sex marriages

A church in St. Stephen is striking off on its own after disagreements with its head organization over performing same-sex marriages.

Peter Fitch, head pastor of the St. Croix Vineyard Church, said his congregation is being forced out of the conservative Christian fellowship in Canada.

Fitch said the beginning of the end was when national leaders of the Vineyard Movement told all its churches to stop performing same-sex marriages in 2014, something he couldn't abide by.

"I was always troubled by [it] because I have a gay brother, and something about exclusion just seemed so wrong to me," he said.

"I think we feel a little bit of freedom because we have been trying our best to practice dissent from within … but we don't like being a part of a movement that we believe still harms people."

Fitch said after years of butting heads against Vineyard management, they've now been asked to leave the association.

He said the ultimatum is forcing them out of the community they love.

"It was sad, there's no question about that," he said. "We had really longed for [change] because we know there's tons of pastors in the movement that wanted to be a little bit more open. It broke our heart."

A journey toward change

The St. Croix Vineyard is one of the founding members of the Association of Vineyard Churches Canada, a group which has 45 churches across the country, and over 2,400 around the world.

The St. Stephen branch was founded in 1992 as an independent church, and joined the 'Vineyard Movement' in 1995.

Fitch said Vineyard churches are a little less formal than most church groups, and tend to be very welcoming, using music during their service as a way to connect.

In 2014, Fitch went against the church's recently mandated ban, and performed a same-sex marriage — the first of three the church have performed over the years.

"We left [the discussion] that time with the determination to see if it was possible to create a place where churches that weren't affirming and churches that were could share the same table," he said.

After back-and-forth between the two groups, Fitch and the rest of the Association's churches got an answer in January: all 'affirming' churches must give up the Vineyard name.

An amicable break-up

Fitch says although they were "heartbroken" by Vineyard's final decree, there aren't any hard feelings between the two groups.

"We think that church history is littered with ugly separations, and we just didn't want to do that," he said.

David Ruis, national director of Vineyard Canada, said he understands Fitch's decision and the St. Croix Vineyard has his blessing to leave the denomination.

"It's not about fighting or right or wrong or anything, they just need to flourish," he said.

"We feel the separation but we really want them to flourish, and we bless that."

Fitch says he hasn't heard directly from the Vineyard Association yet, but expects to have conversations with them in early March.

An outpouring of support

When the decision came down that St. Croix Vineyard had to leave the Vineyard Movement, Fitch says they wanted to find a way forward that could be rooted in creativity, one of the pillars of his congregation.

That's when Walter Thiessen, a professor at St. Stephen University and a part-time pastor with the church, had the idea to launch a website, where people could submit their photos and comments about what the church has meant to them.

It's been a week since the website has been live, and Thiessen says they've gotten over 1,100 responses from all around the world.

David Hayward, a comic artist and a former Vineyard pastor knows the journey the St. Croix church is going on all too well.

In 2010, he too left the church because he felt it was holding him back.

"I feel the church really favours homogeneity instead of diversity. When you're a little too diverse, that's when you realize you've crossed a line," he said.

Hayward says the way Fitch has handled the situation will inspire hope in other Vineyard churches.

"I think it's going to be a blow to the wider Vineyard...I don't think St. Croix Vineyard is going to be the only one required to leave. I think there will be quite a few across Canada," he said.

A new beginning

Fitch says underneath the sadness is excitement, and a plan to "go out with a bang."

On March 15, they're holding a celebration at the church that will reflect on the past and give a hint toward the future.

"Kind of like a funeral, and a rebirth. So we'll intersperse lament, and we'll intersperse stories of people in the church, with music," he said.

Fitch says they'll also be revealing the church's new name that day.

Fitch is hesitant to say if this will start a mass exodus from the Vineyard Movement, but it's not out of the question.

"I think that this message will grow," he said "And I think that it won't be too long before they have to face this again."