Church holds ‘influence’ over Ontario community that voted down Pride flags, locals say

For locals, the Sunday quiet — and a recent controversial decision to ban Pride flags on municipal property — point to the outsized influence in Norwich of one church.

On a recent weekday afternoon, the main street in Norwich Township was bustling with people chatting at the local cafe, eating at the deli, or browsing through shops.

But residents say all that changes on Sundays, when the community in southwestern Ontario largely closes for the Christian day of rest, clinging to a practice generally abandoned across the province since the early 1990s when the government scrapped mandatory Sunday closures.

For locals, the Sunday quiet — and a recent controversial decision to ban Pride flags on municipal property — point to the outsized influence in Norwich of one church, the Netherlands Reformed Congregation.

“There’s a big influence here from a certain religious group,” said James Forrest, a professor at the University of Waterloo, who has lived in Norwich Township for over 18 years with his family.

“I know people that have tried to open businesses and be open on a Sunday and they’ve been visited by the minister saying, ‘If you stay open on Sunday, you’ll be out of business.'”

The Netherlands Reformed Congregation, established in Norwich in 1949, sits in a well-tended building with a traditional spire, nestled in the township of 11,000 people that is surrounded by farmland.

Norwich captured attention last month when the local council voted 3-2 in favour of a motion to prohibit Pride flags on municipal property. Only the flags of the federal, provincial and municipal governments are now allowed.

The move came after the township saw several cases of vandalism last year involving Pride flags and banners in support of the LGBTQ2 community.