Just a day after Rev. Dianne Crewe said she was asked to leave her small-town Newfoundland pastoral charge, a 14-year-old congregant’s Facebook post about their experience at the church went viral.

Evan Pritchett’s post outlined the difficulties they have faced as a queer teenager in a small town. “I have been bullied in every single way since I was 7. Just because I’m queer,” they wrote on June 4. “And the second Dianne Crewe tries to welcome us at church — just one single thing to make us feel even an ounce of openness — the whole town goes into an uproar. She’s been asked to leave this town.”

Crewe, 75, became a minister in 2011 after having worked as a teacher for 22 years. She had been working halftime at the Gambo pastoral charge, which encompasses two faith communities — Emmanuel United in Gambo and the smaller Knox United in nearby Hare Bay — since February 2023. She said that Knox United had been without a minister for six years.

She said she faced resistance in that congregation right away. “They were very difficult to handle,” she said, adding that congregants didn’t like her more collaborative leadership style, she said, and preferred a more “evangelical” kind of worship. “It got so bad,” she added of the relationship, “I had to take somebody with me [to an evening service], as a witness to what might happen.” 

Things took a turn at Emmanuel on June 1, after Crewe posted about an upcoming Pride service in the church’s Facebook group and asked everyone to wear rainbow colours. She received negative comments on her post. The next day, she said she was making the same announcement in church when two people stood up and interrupted her, one saying church was “no place to talk about this.” One of those people also came up to her while she was shaking hands with congregants at the end of service, emphasizing how upset they were about her announcement. 

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On June 3, there was a previously scheduled meeting with regional council staffers to discuss Hare Bay. Crewe said a staffer told her that she was not to attend the meeting. Afterward, Crewe was called to the church to be told that the congregations wanted a change in pastoral relations due to her music choices and her leadership style. “I should have been there to defend myself,” Crewe said. She still does not know exactly what was said at the meeting, but said that she was given two options: her tenure would end in 90 days, which was the notice the pastoral charge was required to give her, or she could leave right away and be paid for the remaining work days. She chose the latter. 

“[The question about asking Crewe to leave] came out of the blue,” explained Robin Brentnall, who was in attendance. “It was not what the meeting was called for, and I was very surprised when the question was raised.” For more than 12 years, Brentnall was the central treasurer for both Emmanuel and Knox, mowed the grass in the graveyard, ran the audio/visuals for services, was a lay worship leader, and more. He resigned from all positions after the meeting.

The next day, Pritchett’s Facebook post about their experience as a queer teen in Gambo publicized the news that Crewe had been asked to leave the church. “I was shocked,” Crewe said, “because in order for this person to write this, somebody had to leave that meeting and tell.” The story of Crewe’s departure from the church was later picked up by CBC News and SaltWire.

Crewe says she agreed to talk to the media because Pritchett’s post told a different tale about the June 3 meeting than Crewe knew, and she wanted to share her side of the story. 

She also thinks that the incident is only one example of homophobia in small-town United churches. “Do not put a black mark on Gambo,” she said. “Gambo is no different than any other rural community right across this country.”

She sees a disconnect between the denomination’s broader 2SLGBTQ+-affirming stance and what happened at Emmanuel United on June 3. “There should not even have been an issue that morning,” she said. “We are The United Church of Canada, and if this is who we are, welcoming to all, then nobody should have stood up.”

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According to Brentnall, a replacement minister has yet to be hired and services have been overseen by lay worship ministers, though a few were cancelled because no one was available. 

Emmanuel United still held the June 23 pride service. Brentnall was in the pews and said it was well-attended, with patrons from a variety of denominations in Gambo. He added that those who spoke out against Crewe’s plans to hold the service were also there.

Crewe, who has just moved from the manse to a nearby seniors’ apartment, said some congregants have reached out to apologize for what happened at Emmanuel, including a person who interrupted her June 2 service. She said she feels supported by many in the community, as well as her former teaching colleagues. However, she added that only one United Church colleague has been checking in on her. “I’m very, very disappointed in the clergy,” she said.

First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council declined Broadview’s request for comment on this story, calling it an employment issue. “Rev. Crewe requested a change in pastoral relations, effective June 4. The official board met and accepted her request, effective immediately,” executive minister Faith March-MacCuish said in a statement. The regional council reiterated its belief “that full participation in all aspects of our calling is the right of people of all racial backgrounds, creeds, ages, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender expressions, economic statuses, abilities or any other lived experiences that have led to marginalization and oppression.” 

The board chair for Emmanuel and Knox United churches, Jordan Paul, also declined to comment on this story. 

Despite the hardship, Crewe is able to look at the silver linings. “I was called here to break this open,” she explained of 2SLGBTQ+ issues. “People are talking around their dinner tables; people are talking in coffee shops.” She is calling on others in the community to maintain the momentum. Going forward, she has offered her help to other pastoral charges in the region; she is not currently planning on taking an appointment anywhere else, but said she “doesn’t know what God has up God’s sleeve.”

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Drew-Anne Glennie was a 2024 intern at Broadview.

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