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American and Canadian renewal leaders from mainline denominations meeting March 13-15, 1994 in Hamilton, Ontario, expressed profound concern regarding a recent feminist conference planned, funded, and attended by members and leaders of mainline denominations.

Beginning with the premise that Christianity needed to be reformulated, 2,000 women gathered to re-imagine God, the church, and the family. The four-day “Re-Imagining” Conference was held November 4-7, 1993 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The renewal leaders declared the conference a trampling under foot of the Christian gospel, an attempt to reconstruct Christian faith without the offense of the cross.

The event included prayers and a “milk and honey” communion-like service to the goddess Sophia. In addition, speakers denied basic Christian tenets including the incarnation and atonement of Jesus Christ, and the transcendence of the God of Israel.

Some speakers proposed that God is one with trees, mountains, and rivers, and one speaker urged conference participants to harness divine energy in nature through the New Age process known as “pranic healing.”

Participants also joined in a celebration of lesbianism, bisexuality, and transsexuality. Other conference speakers denounced the traditional family structure and proposed the acceptance of sex among friends as a normative expression.

Renewal leaders issued the following statement: “We call upon all Christians to reaffirm their faith in God the Holy Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to confess that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the risen Lord and only Savior.

“While affirming the contribution and role of women in the Christian Church through the ages, we call upon the participants and supporting denominations to renounce the idolatrous worship, false teachings, and syncretism of the ‘Re-Imagining’ Conference.

“We affirm the full and sufficient revelation of God in Christ through the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and that the Christian faith is a gift of God and not a human invention to be reformulated or re-imagined.”

American Signers:

The Church of the Brethren

  • The Rev. Harold Martin, Brethren Revival Fellowship
  • The Rev. Richard Bowman, Director of Research and Publication, Disciple Renewal
  • The Rev. Kevin Ray, Executive Director, Disciple Renewal

The Episcopal Church

  • Mr. Roger A. Boltz, Associate Director, Episcopalians United
  • The Rev. Todd Wetzel, Executive Director, Episcopalians United

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

  • The Rev. Tom Brock, Board Member, The Great Commission Network
  • Mrs. Toni Freer, Executive Secretary, The Great Commission Network
  • The Rev. Tom Parrish, President, The Great Commission Network

The Fellowship of St. James (Touchstone: A Journal of Ecumenical Orthodoxy)

  • Mr. James M. Kushiner, Executive Director

The Institute of Religion and Democracy

  • Mrs. Susan Cyre, Consultant
  • Mrs. Diane Knippers, President

The Presbyterian Church (USA)

  • Mrs. Barbara Byron, Associate in Ministry/Treasurer, Presbyterian and Reformed Renewal Ministries International
  • The Rev. Greg Callison, President, Evangelical Pastors’. Fellowship
  • The Rev. Harold Kurtz, Director, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship
  • Mrs. Betty K. Moore, Executive Director, Presbyterians for Renewal
  • Mrs. Terry Schlossberg, Executive Director, Presbyterians Pro-Life
  • The Rev. Parker Williamson, Executive Director, The Presbyterian Layman

The United Church of Christ

  • The Rev. Vernon Stoop, Executive Director, Focus Renewal Ministries
  • The Rev. Armand L. Weller, Executive Director, Biblical Witness Fellowship

The United Methodist Church

  • Mr. Steve Beard, Executive Editor, Good News magazine
  • The Rev. James V Heidinger II, Editor/Executive Secretary, Good News
  • Mr. Ron Houp Jr., Comptroller, Good News
  • Mrs. Faye Short, Director, ECUMW/RENEW Womens Network

Canadian Signers:

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

  • Mr. Norman Kerr, Administrator, The Renewal Fellowship Within The Presbyterian Church in Canada

The United Church of Canada

  • The Rev. Lloyd Brown, Vice President, The London Regional Association of Convenanting Congregations Within the United Church of Canada
  • The Rev. Cecil Patey, Chair, United Church Renewal Fellowship
  • The Rev. Rick Prieston, Chairman, National Alliance of Covenanting Congregations Within the United Church of Canada
  • The Rev. Brian Robinson, Board of Directors, Community of Concern Within the United Church of Canada
  • The Rev. Graham A.D. Scott, President, Church Alive
  • Mrs. Elizabeth C. Tousaw, Executive Member, London Regional Association of Covenanting Congregations Within the United Church of Canada
  • Dr. John H. Trueman, President, Community of Concern Within the United Church of Canada
  • Mrs. Dawn Cline Trueman, Outreach Secretary, Community of Concern Within the United Church of Canada

(Some of the above signatories were not in attendance at the meeting in Canada but have expressed support for the statement.)

The fellowship of renewal group leaders from mainline denominations has been meeting annually since 1979. This group has always been reluctant to issue any statements on behalf of the representative constituencies. However, there was unanimous agreement concerning the need to make a statement about the substance of the “Re-Imagining” Conference.