The Meeting House, a Canadian megachurch whose former celebrity pastor faces criminal charges for alleged sexual misconduct with members of the church, has suspended its services as it struggles to obtain “abuse liability” insurance.
The Meeting House announced on its website that it was not offered coverage renewal options by its provider and has been unable to find a new provider for Abuse and Employment Practices Liability.
The church, which at one point boasted thousands of members across 19 locations in Ontario, stopped all in-person and online services as of June 30. It will instead be broadcasting “a selection of past teaching” on its YouTube channel and website.
The church did not answer questions about the expected duration of the suspension, with the Meeting House’s interim senior director Matt Miles saying “things continue to evolve.”
Megachurch embroiled in sex abuse allegations
In the last few years, the Meeting House has been embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct committed by former staff members, including celebrity pastor Bruxy Cavey, who is currently awaiting trial for sexual assault charges laid by Hamilton police after two separate criminal investigations. The trial for one of these cases is scheduled to start later this month.
Cavey told the woman “what they were doing wasn’t right but that God was permitting it,” she alleges. Cavey called his actions an extramarital affair.
In a statement on its website, the church said it has taken “significant steps to address systemic risk and create a safe environment” for the church community, and has received “positive feedback from insurers and experts who believe our actions have been particularly rigorous and effective, and that our abuse prevention framework is now first rate among churches.”
“After an exhaustive search, most other insurers have declined to offer us this coverage,” and an extension from their current provider was declined, the statement said.
The Meeting House’s Miles told the Star in a statement: “We may not have chosen this path, but along with the difficulty and uncertainty there is a lot of hope for the future as we work together to prepare for what’s next. After all, the church isn’t the institution, it’s the people gathered with a purpose.”
The pausing of church services was previously reported by multiple Christian news outlets.
Bruxy Cavey, once a celebrity pastor, now faces trial
Cavey was the long-haired, cargo shorts-wearing pastor of the Meeting House for 25 years before allegations of sexual misconduct involving a congregant were brought to the church’s attention in December 2021.
A sexual assault charge was dismissed against former megachurch pastor Bruxy Cavey after a judge ruled delays had breached his right to a timely trial.
Toronto Star file photoHamilton police laid a charge of sexual assault six months later. In an interview with the Star, the congregant, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, accused Cavey of abusing his position of power to pressure her into having a secret sexual relationship. Cavey described the relationship as “an extramarital affair” when he resigned from the church in early 2022. These allegations are the subject of the upcoming trial. They have not been tested in court.
In December, police laid additional charges against Cavey, these ones related to two alleged assaults of another person, one in 1997 and another in 2007. These allegations have not been tested in court and no trial date has been set.
“It is unfortunate that a new and unrelated allegation has surfaced on the eve of Mr. Cavey’s trial,” said Cavey’s lawyer, Megan Savard at the time the new charges were filed.
“Mr. Cavey maintains his innocence and will vigorously defend against the new charges in court. In the meantime, he remains focused on and committed to clearing his name at his upcoming trial.”
In August 2022, the Meeting House said it “substantiated” additional allegations against Cavey, including one case involving a minor. These allegations arose from the church’s internal investigation. There is no criminal case related to this matter.
Four former pastors subject of complaints
The allegations of sexual misconduct against Cavey are not the only ones the Meeting House has reckoned with. The church said it has received complaints against three other former pastors. As previously reported in The Walrus, last year, former congregants filed lawsuits against the church. One of those was a $5-million claim that alleged the Meeting House failed its duty of care by employing a youth pastor who sexually abused a parishioner when she was as young as nine.
In its statement of defence, the church said it did not become aware of the abuse until 2012, more than three years after the pastor had resigned from the Meeting House over inappropriate texts he had sent a female intern. The Meeting House has filed a countersuit against the former pastor, asserting that the misconduct for which the pastor pleaded guilty to criminal charges was completely outside the role of “youth pastor and was not sanctioned in any way by the church.”
