YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg drops "Christian" from its name

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded by a draper named George Williams, and was a product of the 19th century movement known as Muscular Christianity, which promoted patriotism, masculinity, duty, discipline, and athleticism. The reader of the following article will notice that while the YMCA-YWCA's distinctive Christian characteristics have faded away, those running and using the Y's are content to sponge off the cultural heritage of Christianity, while scorning the source, resulting in an acronym with no meaning. That's what you're left with when Jesus Christ is removed: a meaningless jumble. As always, the wokesters are incapable of building any such equivalent organizations of their own.

As reported by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, February 29, 2024:

The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Christian Association of Winnipeg has changed its full legal name to YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg.

The reason for dropping references to Christianity and gender is to both reflect the reality of the organization and remove any barriers or concerns some might feel because of those words, said president and chief executive officer Cordella Friesen.

“We are open to all faiths,” Friesen said Thursday, noting while the organization was founded on Christian principles and values in the 19th century, it hasn’t been overtly Christian in Canada since the 1970s.

“That has not been our emphasis for a long time.”

However, she was often asked about the role Christianity played in the organization, including when hiring new staff or when signing partnership agreements.

This is especially true when entering into agreements with Indigenous groups, Friesen said, noting references to Christianity in the former full legal name could be triggering and concerning for some.

Changing it to the acronym YMCA-YWCA “just reflects the reality of who we have been for decades and who we are,” Friesen said, noting the organization serves a lot of people from the local Muslim community.

This includes wanting to make sure the YMCA-YWCA is seen as being open and welcoming to members of the LGBTTQ+ community, she added. The organization is providing a universal washroom and locker room at its downtown Winnipeg location, although it will still have gendered change rooms and bathrooms.

“Having separate rooms for men and women is important for some faith groups,” Friesen said.

The end goal of the name change is to send the message the YMCA-YWCA is “welcoming to all,” Friesen said. “The Y will always be a safe place that promotes and celebrates diversity.”

The name change is part of the organization’s recently released 2024-27 strategic plan, developed by YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg’s board of directors over the past year.

The YMCA was founded in 1844 in London, as a response to the terrible working conditions facing young men in cities at that time. The first YMCA in North America opened in Montreal in 1851; the Manitoba branch opened in 1879.

The YWCA was founded in 1858 in New York City.

Ms. Friesen provides more evidence that you can't be a satirist anymore, promoting the Y as a "safe place" while providing a universal washroom, thereby making it "safer" for alphabet perverts to indulge their perversions. And yes, "having separate [change] rooms for men and women" is not only important for some faith groups (read "Muslims," since the views of Christians obviously don't matter to her), but to anyone with any grasp of reality.