Silence Protects the Abusers

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Expanding the Focus

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/09/expanding-focus.html

Before people get bored reading my story, and move on to something more interesting, I am expanding the focus of the Shattered Pulpit to include the perspective of others who have had similar experiences. I can write about it from the victim’s standpoint, but I can’t explain it from any other viewpoint. I think it is important for people to understand what happens as a result of these sins from all angles not just a victim’s.  

The New Focus:
A look behind the closed door of Lutheran clergy sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse with first-hand accounts from victims, family members, congregants, coworkers, leaders, pastors & perpetrators to aid in the understanding & prevention of further exploitation. By reading viewpoints from all angles, people will not only better understand the early warning signs to prevent it, but also the devastating affect that it has on everyoneinvolved.

Author: I survived extensive clergy sexual abuse at the hands of a long-time WELS Lutheran pastor which ultimately destroyed my faith and soul. I share my story with how it started, progressed, the red flags that everyone missed, and how it destroyed me emotionally & spiritually. 

To anonymously share your story, from any angle, email: lilliansuearmstrong@gmail.com

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GJ - In a parallel story. the NFL uses a similar protection scheme to keep scandals out of the news or to tamp them down as soon as they erupt.

The Synod Presidents are really in charge of damage control, which means denying the obvious, absolving the guilty and unrepentant, and slandering anyone who talks. When I was still following ELCA, the denomination reported scandals in their national magazine and in their news releases. They certainly did not report everything.

So-called news departments are public relations efforts. Someone can track the agenda by what is reported and what is spiked. Herman Otten was always eager to spike stories for the ELS, LCMS, and WELS. His readers did not want to see anything against Holy Mother Synod unless it was part of the Otten-Cascione agenda.

Two major factors in clergy abuse are alcoholism and Thrivent. 

Alcoholism and drug abuse are both the cause and the excuse. "I didn't know what I was doing because I was drunk."

One sure sign of clergy alcoholism is the need to have meetings, "ministries",  and "Bible studies" in bars. I would also look for the alcoholic liver, the belly that extends beyond the normal body shape.

Thrivent fosters abuse by its genocidal support of abortion on demand through the funding of Planned Parenthood. By grouping all the Lutherans together in funding and projects, Thrivent reduces everyone to the lowest common denominator and erases any sense of compassion for the victims. Smooth operations and gobs of money are the goals.

Not WELS - A Valuable Property Stolen by the Episocopalians, Sold to Babtists

GROTON, CT: Bishop Seabury Church sold to evangelical Baptist congregation

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
August 21, 2014
The Diocese of Connecticut, which is bleeding money and people and who recently let a bishop go because it can no longer support three bishops, has sold a flagship parish after the congregation was forced to leave following the parish and priest's rejection of the theological and moral innovations of The Episcopal Church.

The building, formerly known as Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church on North Road in Groton, has been sold to Stedfast (sic) Babtist Church, which describes itself as independent Babtist with "one message--the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, and one ministry--the ministry He has given us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." The church is also the home of several other ministries.

No price was given for the sale. The Land Clerk's office in Groton said there was an exemption clause on the sale of the building, so no price was available. The diocese also did not reveal how much it received in their press release.

The message of Stedfast Babtist is the same message that the former occupants under Fr. Ron Gauss declared, but a very different message from the one proclaimed by Bishop Ian Douglas, the diocesan Bishop of Connecticut, whose gospel is more one of inclusion and diversity.
Douglas had already lost what became known as the "Ct. Six" -- the most active orthodox Episcopal parishes in his diocese -- and with it a sizeable portion of income to the diocese. Fr. Gauss was one of the original "Ct Six." After the group lost their suit in federal court to preserve their rights of worship, the Bishop of Connecticut and his Diocese filed suit against the rector and vestry of Bishop Seabury Church in 2008 to establish their ownership of the property under the supposed terms of the trust unilaterally imposed by the malodorous Dennis Canon. The trial court ruled against the parish in 2010; the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the trial court's decision in September 2011; and the United States Supreme Court declined to review that decision earlier this year.

Douglas set a policy, reinforced by the national Church and Mrs. Jefferts Schori, of "no negotiations for properties and no sale to Anglican churches." The parish had attempted to negotiate with the bishop but to no avail. Fr. Gauss had sought a negotiated settlement, but the response was a temporary rental -- nothing else.

According to a press release from the diocese, the last 18 months have seen lay and ordained leaders from the Bishops' Office and from Episcopal parishes in Gales Ferry, New London, Niantic, Norwich, Poquetanuck, Stonington, Mystic, and Yantic attempting ways of discerning what God is up to in Groton and its environs, and how the resources of the Bishop Seabury Church might best be used to extend God's mission in Groton and across Connecticut.
In a community-wide meeting in January, representatives of the neighborhood, social service agencies, other faith communities, and municipal offices all shared their hopes and dreams, needs and aspirations for Groton. The meeting came up empty-handed despite the need for housing for wounded veterans, a community center, and a soup kitchen. In the end, it was decided that the best option would be to sell the building to another Christian community and use the proceeds to support a new missionary program of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut if indeed that ever comes about.

So with all these efforts of liberal do gooders, and despite the tremendous need in the area, all the surrounding parish leaders could not come up with anything, even with a soup kitchen, to keep the property from being sold. Finding no basis therefore in keeping the property, the diocese sold it to an evangelical Babtist congregation who, they say, will keep the gospel alive under the noses of liberal Episcopalians.

"There is irony heaped upon irony here," the Ven. Ronald S. Gauss, Rector of Bishop Seabury Anglican Church, Gales Ferry, CT, told VOL. "These Babtists no more tolerate homosexual behavior than we do; they have a clear fix on the gospel as we do; and now they have bought the property from one of TEC's most liberal bishops. God has got a great sense of humor."
A further irony is that the Babtist church is growing and they were looking to relocate to a new and larger facility. The money was too good to pass up for Bishop Douglas as he watches his parishes age and wither and income into the diocese drops.

In a press release, Douglas said of the sale, "I am delighted that the building formerly known as Bishop Seabury Church will continue to be a house of prayer for sisters and brothers in Christ. And I am particularly excited that the resources freed up by the sale of the building will help to underwrite a new missionary program through the Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. After all, Bishop Samuel Seabury, the first bishop in The Episcopal Church, was a pioneering missionary in these parts in the early years of American independence. I can think of no better use of the money coming from the sale of the church that bears his name than to support new missionaries in Connecticut today."

Said Fr. Gauss; "If the building was not going to be used by our congregation, it couldn't have been put to better use. One note is that Bishop Seabury Church in all of its 140 years of existence was never called Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church. The original name was Bishop Seabury Memorial Church, and later shortened to Bishop Seabury Church. The Diocese has removed The Seabury Window, and all other memorial items (The Seabury Pulpit, Altars and Lecterns) from the property. It is my prayer that they are put to good use and not just stored away somewhere or sold. Hopefully the funds obtained from the "short sale" of Bishop Seabury Church will be used to present the REAL Gospel of Jesus the Christ, and not the socially correct Gospel that caused Bishop Seabury Church to depart the Episcopal Church."

Several WELS cronies of Mark Jeske stole this congregation,
St. John in Milwaukee.

Where was the protest from the Love Shack
when St. John's property and endowment were stolen?

Even the Seminary President's Name Is Ambiguous. Save the Date - October 12, 2014. Will She Do an Ellen Afterwards?

Robin Steinke is the only woman Lutheran seminary president, the first woman to head Luther.
Liz Eaton is the first woman to head a Lutheran denomination.
Rebecca M. Bergman is first woman president of Gustavus Adolphus College.
Paula J. Carlson is the first woman president of Luther College. 

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

THE INAUGURATION OF ROBIN J. STEINKE

SERVICE OF INSTALLATION

Save the Date!

October 12, 2014

3 p.m.

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, Minn.

Preaching: The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA Presiding Bishop

A reception will follow the service.

Get directions to Shepherd of the Valley.

ROBIN STEINKE

President

The Rev. Dr. Robin Steinke came to Luther Seminary as president in June 2014. She was the first woman in the 145-year history of the seminary to be named to the position.

Prior to coming to Luther Seminary, Steinke was the dean of the seminary and professor of theological ethics and public life at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, where she served from 1999. She previously served as an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; a training manager and financial planner at American Express Financial Advisors; and a middle school band director in Marietta, Ga. Steinke is a graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. She holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Sacred Theology from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in England.

Steinke is known for her strategic leadership and passion for sharing the gospel. She is involved in a number of important church and academic initiatives. She is currently co-chairing the national ELCA Theological Education Advisory Council that is evaluating and exploring the future of theological education. She serves as the ELCA Representative to the Lutheran World Federation Council and chairs their Endowment Fund. She is a member of the ELCA Ecclesiology Task Force and serves on a number of other church and academic committees. She previously served a six-year term as a commissioner for the Association of Theological Schools’ Commission on Accrediting.

***

GJ - A reader noted that Phyllis Anderson (married) became the first woman seminary president when she replaced Timothy Lull, who died after heart surgery. Below is Anderson with the entire incoming class at Berkeley, which had to merge and sell its valuable property to stay alive.

The prez with less than 20 incoming seminary students.
Why not host a secret initiation ritual, the way WELS does, and lie about it?
These are details about the amalgamation.

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Grumpy Luther wrote:

Whenever I see a portrait of Robin Steinke, all I can think of is the "It's Pat" skits they used to do on Saturday Night Live.

If you are not familiar with that, Pat was a sexually ambiguous character.  The whole theme of the skit usually involved the other characters trying to figure out if Pat was a man or woman.

So, ditto with this Robin lady...er...dude....ah...well, anyway....