It's been a minute. I didn't mean to disappear from this space, but lots of things dovetailed in my personal life, including my pregnancy with my first baby amidst licensing exams, a new job for my husband, etc. No need to get into details – point being, my margin shrank.
I haven't posted for some time about @The_ACNA's abuse crisis – namely because I've been up to my ears momming, remote working during nap times, and taking on two side projects in my "spare time" (ah, what an ambitious imagination I have! Ahem, hindsight).
Nov 30, 2022 • 61 tweets • 21 min read
Let’s talk about mandatory reporting, shall we?
@The_ACNA@ACNAtoo@ChurchRez
For some time now, I’ve been trying to understand why Fr. Rand York did not immediately report the alleged child sexual abuse allegations to DCFS. Given the lack of transparency by the UMD, we unfortunately have limited and incomplete information about what occurred.
Nov 27, 2022 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Remember all the talk about GRACE? And the disappointment around them not being hired to do the UMD @The_ACNA investigation?
@ACNAtoo@The_ACNA
Remember how it was explained by the Province? "GRACE, a firm which had been used previously in a high-profile investigation at an Anglican Church in North America congregation, was in consideration at the beginning of the vetting process."...
2/7
Nov 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Charlie lobbies to be one of two primary people (himself and Anne Kessler) tasked w/selecting an investigative firm. Charlie states, "No one with an interest in the outcome should have input the means or method of the investigation".
It's not actually an ethical matter, as there is no ethical requirement to connect people w/counsel in the IL Code of Professional Conduct for lawyers.
@lVlJW@ACNAtoo@The_ACNA
Perhaps Charlie felt a *moral* obligation to do so, and that is his prerogative, but it was not a mandated responsibility to connect Mark to defense counsel (definitions: ethical = rules, moral = guiding principles).
2/4
Oct 23, 2022 • 29 tweets • 10 min read
The Husch Blackwell report was published in the evening of September 27th. It popped into my inbox and I debated whether to sit down for an undoubtedly intense reading of 58 investigative pages or to wait until the next day.
@ACNAtoo@The_ACNA
I originally settled for skimming the main points. Roughly 9 pages in, I couldn't take the preamble any longer and skipped to the end to at least see conclusions and findings – I knew that would give me a sense of the more detailed content before me to wade through.
Oct 21, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
I've been trying to figure out what to say about the Husch Blackwell report. It was released 3+ weeks ago and I still feel like, where to even start?
While I continue to organize my thoughts, I want to point others to this VERY helpful summary of concerns (as well as inconsistencies) compiled by ACNAtoo. It's lengthy, but not as long as the full 59 page report 😉.
Church, I read this the other night. It made me cry –
again
and again.
This is what trusting Jesus looks like.
This is what humility looks like.
This is what the fruit of faithfulness and self-control look like.
tcpca.org/rice-report. @ACNAtoo
It can be done. A church can lay down their pride and their presumption about what they think they know (even about leaders they love), so as to, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit."...
In light of the ongoing conversation around Mark Rivera's sexual abuse of minors, at times I've heard people suggest it's implausible the abuse could happen as alleged, because it couldn't have happened in plain sight or in group settings.
(Note: some allegations refer to isolated situations as well – you can read several accounts through ACNAtoo, or if you've been forbidden to read things there, you can read survivor accounts through Religion News Service's reporting).
Hi Comm Director @frandrewgross, your choice of words for @RNS – that the ACNA was, "thankful for the courage of the BelieveUsToo survivors who chose to go public last week and for all survivors who are working to build up the Body of Christ” – were and are still damaging.
Sep 18, 2022 • 11 tweets • 9 min read
“Seek the truth; come whence it may, cost what it will.”
-William Sparrow
@ChurchRez friends (or former friends, or lurkers), the thread linked below is worth your time. And it will take you time to read all the way through, and stamina, and a willingness to look at the fruit that fear grows: hypocrisy, deceit, pride, and sheer vanity.
Sep 17, 2022 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Who wants a little light reading this weekend? I know – you're tired of reading my posts about church abuse and I'm tired of writing about it. But here in this moment before the 1st report is released, I want to call attention to key concerning things about the investigation.
1)"Bp. Alan Hawkins, the Provincial Response Team’s point person with Mark Rivera’s survivors, did verbally promise that survivors would have a vote on selection of the investigation firm but repeatedly refused (in both written & spoken communication) to clarify who “counted”..."
Sep 7, 2022 • 19 tweets • 16 min read
Continuing thoughts on the danger of not adequately (read: completely and comprehensively) entrusting an abuse investigation to experts.
Helen Keuning's second witness piece is linked below. An important aspect of this particular piece is how she sheds light on the danger of Either/Or thinking when it comes to the abuse scandal in @The_ACNA.There is so much more Both/And going on in this story with @ChurchRez.
"We're attracted by the “poles”.Either Stewart is a perfectly godly man who's enduring the attacks of Satan&the abuses of the Enemy or he's a sick&twisted man who's been masquerading all these years & who cares little to nothing for injustices & is only out to cover up the truth.
Apr 28, 2022 • 36 tweets • 12 min read
Here is Helen Keuning's first witness piece, explaining the yellow (and red) flags she saw firsthand, and the marred and compromised way the Bishop's Council of the Upper Midwest Diocese functioned in the wake of @The_ACNA abuse crisis.
There is A LOT here, it is well documented, it will take you time to sit and read and digest...and it's really important if you've been following the story and are looking to better understand it.
Rev. Gina Roes (ACNA ordained, former-PRT member), wrote a piece that was published Monday. It is crucial to understanding what has been unfolding, unhelpfully and uncharitably, REPEATEDLY, behind the scenes within @The_ACNA.
[ Regarding Confidentiality Concerns w/the ACNA Investigation]
On February 13th, @The_ACNA announced that the formal abuse investigations had begun and directed people how to contact the chosen firms, Husch Blackwell (sexual abuse) and Telios Law (spiritual abuse).
They noted at the end of this email, "The Province is committed to seeking justice for any acts of abuse. We will not shield anyone who has committed abuse or engaged in misconduct from the scrutiny of an impartial and objective investigation that seeks the truth."
Mar 29, 2022 • 35 tweets • 10 min read
(Note: I won't be discussing the specific content of the BelieveUsToo statements or the specific content of the ACNAtoo response. I stand by what I said last week, "I do not believe digging into them will benefit survivors who are already the walking wounded, pleading for help".
This weekend I found a window to sit with a slow cup of coffee and last fall's Magnolia Journal. This issue is over six months old, but I hadn't made it past the first 28 pages. Burrowed on page 29 was this:
Feb 8, 2022 • 46 tweets • 8 min read
Regarding my ongoing concerns surrounding the abuse scandal in @The_ACNA:
Dear Provincial Response Team,
I first wrote to you four weeks ago with my concerns about the state of the investigation into the Anglican Church in North America's abuse scandal.
I've yet to hear a response, unfortunately. This will be my 3rd letter to you, in addition to a number of social media posts I've written or pertinent articles I've found and tagged you in, all in hopes of some kind of dialogue, or at the very least, the respect of a response.
Jan 28, 2022 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
I came across an article today from Christianity Today's former Editor in Chief @markgalli regarding the Sovereign Grace Ministries abuse scandal. He makes key arguments regarding the importance of an independent investigation...
...that are worth revisiting at this crucial time in @The_ACNA. Let's take a posture of humility and learn from other denominations past mistakes: christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/march-…
@ArchbishopFoley, @The_ACNA and @frandrewgross, can you point to a credible source that supports not hiring a qualified AND independent professional to be the best course of action? I’m all ears.
@ArchbishopFoley@The_ACNA@frandrewgross Some reference points (note: not from the legal research I referenced earlier, just a cursory Google search): this article gives a rundown of what happened with the Sovereign Grace Ministries abuse scandal:
