Bruxy Cavey, who was forced to resign from one of Canada’s largest churches earlier this year, has been arrested and charged with sexual assault. A court appearance is scheduled for June 27. Police say more people may have been victimized and encourage them to come forward.
Cavey, 57, had been a pastor at The Meeting House Church in Toronto for 25 years. In late 2021, after learning of sexual misconduct allegations against him, the church placed him on leave and conducted an independent investigation.
The Meeting House, which has hired a victim advocate, is holding a community gathering tonight. The event is for worship and prayer, a “brief Q&A,” and talk of “charting our next steps together.”
Bruxy Cavey Had Apologized for an ‘Extramarital Affair’
In March 2022, Meeting House leaders shared the results of a third-party investigation. It revealed an “extended” sexual relationship between Pastor Bruxy Cavey and his accuser, which “constituted an abuse of Bruxy’s power and authority as a member of the clergy and amounted to sexual harassment.”
At the board’s request, Cavey resigned, and the church’s Anabaptist denomination removed his ministry credentials. Days later, the disgraced former pastor posted a blog titled “My Confession.” He acknowledged having “an extramarital affair,” adding, “This adulterous relationship is my greatest failure, my darkest sin, and I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Before linking to that post in March, Cavey’s last tweet was from November 2021. It reads: “When tempted to judge, remember: We are not [omniscient], so we don’t have all the info. We are not objective, so self-interest infects us. We are not perfect, so our [judgment] is hypocritical. Let’s stop playing God, because we are not good at it and the position is taken.”
Nature of Relationship Had Been Questioned
During church meetings in March, Meeting House leaders debated the nature of the relationship between Bruxy Cavey and his accuser. A board member read a statement from the accuser, who indicated she had been “in crisis” when she sought counseling from the pastor. At the time, Cavey was 46 and the alleged victim was 23.
“This for me was not an extramarital relationship or affair,” the victim’s statement noted. “It was a devastating twisting of pastoral care into sexual abuse.”
Danielle Strickland, a teaching pastor who resigned from the church in March “in solidarity with the victim,” objected to The Meeting House categorizing the relationship as sexual harassment and abuse of power. She also accused the church of trying to silence the woman.
