An Open Letter Regarding the RCA Renting Space to Praxis Church
Total Signatories
251
as of May 20, 2024 1:53 amLetter
We are writing to express our deep concern about the rental contract between Rotary Centre for the Arts (RCA) and Praxis Church. This contractual relationship has the potential to create an unsafe and unwelcome environment for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Praxis Church rents the theatre and most of the available rental space at the RCA every Sunday to hold two worship services and Sunday school.
Praxis Church’s website explicitly condemn homosexuality and same-sex marriage as well as the anti-trans statement “Any discrepancy between ones biological sex and gender identity is due to the effects of sin in the world.” These statements directly contradict this part of RCA’s mission statement, “By providing a welcoming and supportive environment, RCA facilitates the exploration of diverse artistic endeavours, fostering collaboration, dialogue, and understanding among individuals from all walks of life.”
We believe that RCA’s mission and Praxis Church stated beliefs are incongruent. RCA values also state: “We connect innovative learning opportunities and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences. We embrace accessibility, openness, respect, and inclusivity, fostering interdisciplinary and intercultural connections.”
This creates a mixed message that could mislead 2SLGBTQIA+ community members into a false sense of security, potentially causing harm. The historical and ongoing trauma inflicted on the 2SLGBTQIA+ community by faith-based discrimination, including ostracization, homelessness, and loss of loved ones, makes the message sent by hosting Praxis Church particularly concerning.
Our Concerns:
- Conflicting Mission and Values: The display of the Progress Pride flag at the RCA alongside the presence of a church holding anti-2SLGBTQIA+ beliefs sends a confusing message that belies RCA’s stated value of, “accessibility, openness, respect, and inclusivity, fostering interdisciplinary and intercultural connections”.
- Safety and Trauma: The 2SLGBTQIA+ community has a long history of suffering due to faith-based discrimination. Hosting Praxis Church risks triggering past traumas and creating a sense by 2SLGBTQIA+ patrons, volunteers, and staff of being unwelcome and unsafe.
- Potential for Harm to LGBTQIA+ Youth at Home: Praxis Church’s statements, which combine beliefs about homosexuality, gender identity, and parental authority, can be used to justify discrimination against 2SLGBTQIA+ youth within their own families. The RCA hosting events for such a group, even unintentionally, risks lending legitimacy to these harmful views and potentially emboldening parents to enforce them at home. This can lead to a rejection of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth by their families, causing significant emotional distress and social isolation.
- Supporting Conversion Efforts: There is the potential for those who follow the Praxis Church doctrine on homosexuality and gender identity to try to persuade or coerce youth into conversion efforts which would contravene Bill C-4 that amended the criminal code to outlaw “conversion therapy”: Definition of conversion therapy: 320.101 – In sections 320.102 to 320.104, conversion therapy means a practice, treatment or service designed to:
- change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;
- change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;
- change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;
- repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour;
- repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or
- repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.
We Call for Action:
We urge the RCA to uphold its mission and values by working within them to implement policies and practices that ensure a truly safe and welcoming space for all visitors, staff, and volunteers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Transparency and Community Awareness:
In the spirit of transparency and community awareness, we believe it is crucial to inform the public about Praxis Church’s use of the RCA space. This empowers individuals to make informed choices about entering the facility. We also request the RCA inform its members and patrons of this situation and the conflict of values.
Together, we can create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.
View our page with information on Okanagan faith-based organizations here.
Signatories |
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Lorne |
Danny Mbikayi |
Stéfane Morin |
Andreas Rutkauskas |
Alison Beaumont |
Brooklyn Bellmond |
Vanessa Arcana |
Sheila Tansey |
Jeanne Rokosh |
Mich Mohan |
Carmen Klassen |
Emmett MacMillen |
Joa Lazarus |
Nat ruin |
Chas Moore |
Christine Moore |
Victoria Moore |
Bailey Ennig |
Delaine Coppock |
Darrel Lewis |
Wendy McLeish |
Peter |
Scott Elliott |
Amanda Valoppi |
Alanna Coady |
Amanda Nevdoff |
Douglas mathias |
Julia Scott |
Janice Roy |
Nicole Ensing |
Denise Kenney |
Susan Haynes |
Jacen Dennis |
Brian K |
Emily Myatt |
Connor Charlesworth |
Doug Skeggs |
Debbie Hubbard |
Raymond Bystrom |
Carol Harvey |
Dana Nease |
Parker Neufeld |
Beverley Ambler |
Terry Bridges |
Carolyn MacHardy |
Joshua Keating |
Deannie Zahara |
Philip Jansen |
Elana Bizovie |
Lotte Jansen |
Diane Oorebeek |
Peter W Dawson |
Saturday Sazaran |
Ron Hole |
Maureen Clayton |
Waseem Sarwar |
Lucy Snider |
Craig Snider |
Emma Lind |
Kenton Warner |
Rene Roy |
Heather Musgrove |
Faith |
David Currier |
Brent Forder |
Matthew G Lount |
Michele Rule |
Frithjof Petscheleit |
Cate Eales |
Amanda Poon |
Nicolle Williams |
Jon Taylor |
Lianne Caron |
Julian Pino |
Chris Pettypiece |
Nina Gregoire |
Gideon Dante |
Nina B. |
Rebecca Elechko |
Yvette M Longstaff |
Miranda G |
Clare MacDonald |
Phil Cadima |
H. Douglas |
Daniel Washbrook |
Mary Willatt |
Brittany Ojala |
Elizabeth Flowers |
Mason Campbell |
Trina Haidenger |
Amber Pamplin |
Kristin Kowalko |
Jill Barton |
Glenna Cross |
Janice Selbie |
Franchesca Adriano |
Maya Andres |
Brian RG McKenzie |
Christine Gifford |
Katie Ward |
Mitch White |
Victoria W |
Chad Hale |
Kat Jones |
Quentin Camber |
Jan Brown |
Dixie Beardmore |
Anthony Zimmerman |
Erynn Davis |
Sarah Kobylka |
Madeline French |
Stephanie Beck |
Colin Sherlow |
Ben Butler |
Simon Astle |
Bradley Smith |
Blaine Foster |
Jordan hawk |
Erik B |
Diane Lingren |
Valerie Teel |
Vanessa Reid |
Meghan |
Jenn Goulet, Footwerk Events. |
Mieke Krus |
Brendon Lenkart |
Ali Wasiliew |
Tammy Miller |
Kelly Schwab |
Troy |
Carolyn Klassen |
Brigit |
Catherine Woodyard |
Madi Philibert |
Samantha Trarback |
Paige Bourgeois |
Celeste |
Leslie Johal |
Terri Adams |
Jennifer L. Newman |
Aura Rose |
Oakley Pritchard |
Kate Balfour |
Adrian Smalley |
Kaiden Klicper |
Robert Belton |
Susan Taylor |
Holly Spencer |
Patty Balfour |
Jeff Irwin |
Gayanne Pacholzuk |
Fred Robillard |
Sara-Jane Bennett |
David Fowler |
Dee Milton |
Ben Neitsch |
Helene Girardot |
Whalemade Productions |
Jillian Karpick |
Kelvin Britten |
Peter Diniz |
Alex Short |
Heather Stewart |
Natalia Penuela |
Lucy Fleming |
Clare Fleming |
David Geraghty |
Hanner Chacon |
Lorena Ordóñez |
Shirley Chau, UBCO |
Fiona Sherwood |
Terry Short |
Chelsea Jones |
Garth Caron |
Michelle Hewitt |
Kirsteen McCulloch |
Victor Enns |
Cara Hills |
Amanda Martin |
Kirsten Vinge |
Will@willdean.ca |
Danielle Moore |
Skylar Naiman |
Kevin Saya-Moore |
Kathleen Munn |
Lea Paquet-Martel |
Joanne Booth |
Jo-Anne Ritchie |
Tintina Tundra |
Mackenzie Irving |
Robert Choate |
Claire R |
Katrina Op de Beek |
Pam Nicholas |
Arthur Wong |
Connor A. |
Evan Sych |
Brock Weston |
Carmen Klassen |
Audrey Kaake |
Audrey Labrie |
Audrey Labrie, Galerie d’art du Parc |
S.Smart |
Chantal R. |
Tina Neff |
Tristan Boisvert (Penticton Arts Council) |
Brittany M |
Elodie Dorsel |
Joey W |
Roya A |
Michael Crawford |
Jeffrey Simon |
Jaime Kerr |
Nicole L. |
Francine Portelance |
Mathilde Lessard |
Marc-André Léveillé |
Ben Willis |
Kathy Currier |
Mary McBride |
Kelowna Pride Society |
MKM Photography |
Davina Kula |
Candace Banks |
Abigail Bos |
Christopher Young |
Denny Choboter |
Rachel Adair |
Sheldon Robillard |
Colleen Cowman |
Dana Hope |
Keely Lowe |
Heidi Starr |
Rebecca Purdom |
Darrien McWatters |
Dee McWatters |
Arianne Tubman |
Rebellious Unicorns Production Company Inc. |
Moozhan Ahmadzadegan |
Lorna McParland |
Jason Peil |
Vicki Valks |
Dara C |
Dorothee Birker |
Tracy Lundberg-Schimpf |
Monica Kriese |
Candylee Ross |
Heidi Starr |
Darcie Hodge |
Wilbur Turner |
Advocacy Canada |