They are Grace Church, Calvin Church, Church of the Servant, Boston Square, Eastern Avenue, First Neland Avenue, and Oakdale.
Here is Sam Landstra at Fox News 17:
At least eight Grand Rapids-area churches plan to leave the Christian Reformed Church, a process called disaffiliation, due to the denomination’s recent decisions on sexuality.
For decades, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has officially considered same-sex relationships to be sinful, though this belief was not binding. In 2022, during Synod — the annual assembly of the denomination at Calvin University — this changed. Members of the CRC ruled its stance on sexuality bore “confessional” status, meaning it was core to the church and its teachings.
Continuing to clarify its traditional view of marriage, the CRC ruled at Synod this past summer that its churches, pastors, elders and deacons must agree with the denomination on matters of confession — including sexuality — or else face discipline.
Now at least eight Grand Rapids-area churches — Grace Church, Calvin Church, Church of the Servant, Boston Square, Eastern Avenue, First, Neland Avenue and Oakdale CRCs — are in the process of disaffiliation. Others will likely follow.
“There has been a lot of pain and there was a lot of pain,” said Emily Helder, clerk of Grace Church in Grand Rapids.
In the first of two votes, the congregation of Grace Church voted in December to disaffiliate from the Christian Reformed Church. Since Synod 2024, its members had been meeting with each other — and with other disaffiliating churches — to discuss next steps, though a separation seemed “inevitable.”
“A lot of grief and sadness and in needing to walk away from the church that nurtured the denomination, that nurtured my faith,” Helder said. “It’s been all the emotions.”
In the Christian Reformed Church, the process of disaffiliation begins when a church council agrees to separate from the denomination. The council then sends a letter to its classis (a regional group of churches) and its congregation holds two votes on disaffiliation. If both votes pass, the classis must then declare it approves of the separation.
Read the rest here.