Community Letter to Rotary Centre for the Arts

An Open Letter Regarding the RCA Renting Space to Praxis Church

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522

Letter

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:

1. 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”.
2. 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. 
3. 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.
4. 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.