By Ellie Lizotte • Halifax • 2026-05-04
Members and friends and the curious will gather at Bedford United Church (BUC) on The Bedford Highway in Halifax on Sunday, May 10th to celebrate the 20th anniversary of becoming an Affirming Ministry of the United Church of Canada (UCC), and they're inviting everyone to celebrate with them.
Starting in the 1980s, the national lesbian and gay group within the United Church, Affirm United, began to develop a guide which laid out what makes Affirming Ministries unique. The guide is titled Open Hearts: Resources for Affirming Ministries in The United Church of Canada. A link to this document can be located at the bottom of this story.
Bedford United completed its certification in 2006, although the journey began much earlier. It carries on today.
In 1988 the church voted to allow for the ordination of LGBT ministers, a move which was met with mixed reactions in local congregations. Some churches split from the UCC entirely, while other congregations were hopeful to embrace this new shift, but met pushback from their leaders.
At Bedford United Church, however, the conditions were ideal for change. Their minister, Jim Crooks, had just retired and shortly after came out as gay. This had left an atmosphere of uncertainty among many members of the congregation, but also presented an excellent opportunity to bring these issues to light. I spoke to his successor, David Hart, to find out how this was being received by the congregation. He explained that while people still felt close to this person they had spent so much time with, there was a problem with a lack of knowledge.
“There was still a lot of affection and love in the congregation, but a lot of like ‘how do we deal with this?’" said Hart, "The congregation hadn’t really had any experience with that."
To address this, Hart began hosting a series of talks to educate people about gay and lesbian issues. He was not alone however, as many in the United Church of Canada shared his priorities. The 2001 Building Bridges Maritime Conference and 2002 United Church Elder’s Conference were both opportunities for people in the UCC to educate themselves, as the Conference’s theme for that year was specifically focused on developing better relationships with Indigenous and LGBT peoples.
However, this process was slow going until 2004, when Carolyn Crowell and Carolyn Innes came to David Hart to put forward a concrete plan to transform BUC into an Affirming Ministry. Crowell and Innes had both been long-time members of the church at this point, and both had personal connections to these issues. Innes had come out to Crowell before this, which inspired a trip where the two of them had gone to visit Brunswick Street United upon hearing that it was the first church in Atlantic Canada to become an Affirming Ministry. They were inspired by their journey and brought this information back to BUC with an exciting vision of what the future could hold.
Carolyn Crowell stressed the trio's emphasis on a gradual but persistent approach to their Affirming journey. Despite this, the whole process would ultimately be completed in only two years, which is an inspiring and remarkable achievement. “We just never gave up," says Crowell.
Part of the transition process was hosting a series of talks given by relevant experts, including a doctor, a theologian, and members of the gay and lesbian communities. An emphasis was placed on the importance of normalization, as well lived experiences with the people whose inclusion was considered contentious. They focused on meeting people where they were at, which resulted in many more positive outcomes and changed minds.
her main concern was what her baptist neighbours would think.
David Hart described a time in which he had gone to one congregant’s house to discuss the possibility of BUC becoming an Affirming Ministry. This congregant was firmly opposed to the idea and Hart wanted to hear her concerns and hopefully address them. After some discussion Hart said “it doesn’t sound like you're opposed to gay or lesbian people, you're quite open to them, […] so what’s your problem with us becoming an Affirming Congregation?” To which the congregant replied that her main concern was what her baptist neighbours would think. Ultimately, it was this approach that allowed people to get to the root of their apprehension that meant that many of the people who were opposed to the idea at first have since come around and continue to attend BUC to this day.
When the day finally came for a vote to be held there was one final question to be answered. Should the vote be open to the public, or should it be left to members only? The decision was reached that it would be best to leave it as a members only vote, to avoid the risk that bad actors from outside the church might come in to try to swing the vote.
However, their concern was unfounded, as what happened was exactly the opposite of what they had expected. Many people were coming to BUC saying they had hoped to be able to vote in favour of becoming Affirming, but were not members. Many long time congregants also were realizing for the first time that they had not yet become members. To rectify this a huge push began to get all these people confirmed as members. Over 60 people were signed up in short order, and the vote ultimately passed with 80% in favour.
Despite the significance of this accomplishment, BUC has not been resting on its laurels; the church views its status as an Affirming Ministry as an ongoing commitment to justice rather than as a simple triumph of the past.
The current minister, Rev. Beth Hayward, has ensured that BUC has continued to evolve along the path it started long ago. This is reflected in something as simple as speakers in the service saying their pronouns when introducing themselves, which echoes the ethos of normalization and familiarization that is a staple of Bedford United.
It is this commitment that is represented by the title of Affirming Ministry, and it is this commitment which has continually attracted new members to the Bedford United community. "After all, a rainbow is only brightest with all its colours, which is a sentiment well and truly embodied at Bedford United Church," says Rev Hayward.
The anniversary celebration is at Bedford United Church,1200 Bedford Highway, Halifax; the doors open at 10:00am. "Everyone is welcome to join the celebration!" says Rev Hayward, "at BUC, all are welcome, all the time." There will be a social time with refreshments after the service.
The document Open Hearts: Resources for Affirming Ministries in The United Church of Canada is here. (pdf, 79 pages)
The ride people photographer is unknown; the rest of the photos are by Charles Plant.
Ellie Lizotte is a fourth year Religious Studies student at the University of King’s College. They are hoping to go into a career in journalism and are currently volunteering as a member of the audio visual team at Bedford United Church.
