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Joanna šŸƒ (she/her) Profile picture
Joanna šŸƒ (she/her)
@ladyjessicahaze
survivor advocate or instrument of Satan, depending whom you ask | unpopular with powerful white men | exvangelical | #ACNAtoo
Mark Helms Profile picture H.L.Griffin- #ACNAtoo I NOPE because I hoped Profile picture 2 subscribed
Apr 13 ā€¢ 6 tweets ā€¢ 2 min read
When I first read Deborahā€™s story draft I cringed at how quickly a part of my brain raised victim-blaming questions ā€” even though Iā€™m a survivor of forms of abuse that were less suffocating than domestic partner violence, but which still trapped and immobilized me. šŸ§µ The conditioning dies hard. Why didnā€™t she leave? Why didnā€™t she do more to protect the even-more-vulnerable victims?

But I know precisely why I didnā€™t, and couldnā€™t, do these things.

Nobody chooses to be coerced. But we still want to blame victims for not escaping sooner.
Feb 26 ā€¢ 6 tweets ā€¢ 2 min read
Helpful thread summarizing the now-public presentment against @MidwestAnglican Bp. Stewart Ruch.

QTing with a few clarifications:

1. Bp. Stewart didnā€™t pressure J.G.ā€™s victim not to go to the police. He just did a lot else wrong.

2. Itā€™s unclear due to the presentmentā€™sā€¦ ā€¦passive voice whether Bp. Stewart dictated Fr. Josh Moonā€™s inadequate discipline. Technically he (Stewart) was on leave so the acting bishop wouldā€™ve handed down the punishment. We can surmise that Bp. Stewart had a hand in it, but itā€™s unclear.

3. It could be inferred fromā€¦
Dec 19, 2023 ā€¢ 8 tweets ā€¢ 3 min read
#IHOPKCtoo survivors and witnesses:

Think long and hard before participating in an investigation where you canā€™t see the engagement agreement.

What confidentiality are you guaranteed? How might your information be shared?

See details from the SBCā€™s 2021 engagement agreement:
Outlined part reads: 2.7 Guidepostā€™s investigative process will include interviews of survivors, witnesses, and others, as well as reviews of existing and new documentation and evidence. Survivor and witness interviews will be trauma-informed and will offer privacy and confidentiality if desired and permitted by law. The SBC, Task Force, Executive Committee, the Credentials Committee, and members of the aforementioned will not have access to the names of, identifying information about, survivors or witnesses without consent of the survivors or witnesses. Then ask yourselves: does the IHOPKC-Lathrop agreement guarantee reporting partiesā€™ information will be kept confidential and specifically that it will not be shared with @ihopkc leaders?

This is basic stuff to minimize the risk of retaliation against vulnerable whistleblowers.
Nov 17, 2023 ā€¢ 29 tweets ā€¢ 8 min read
Introducing yet another case of the evangelical pastor ā€œstruggling with a sex addictionā€ to ā€œabuse of power and predatory behaviorā€ pipeline.

A breakdown and key takeaways from the latest leak of allegations in the second presentment against @MidwestAnglican Bp. Stewart Ruch: šŸ§µ
Excerpt from article reads: Despite knowledge of this history, including a history of Moonā€™s admitted sexual addiction, Bp. Ruch would authorize Moon to preach in UMD churches as early as April 2015, and would go on to ordain him to the Anglican priesthood on October 28, 2020, later installing him as rector of a new UMD church plant, Resurrection, in 2021. Members of the church planting team were not informed about Moonā€™s criminal history. In June 2022, Moon violated the Provincial Canons of the ACNA and his vows of ordination. Moonā€™s abuse of power and predatory behavior created a situatio... Former Presbyterian minister Josh Moon disclosed his ā€œhistory of sexual addictionā€ and 2013 arrest for soliciting paid sex to Bp. Ruch, who allowed him to preach starting in 2015, ordained him in 2020, and installed him as rector of a new @MidwestAnglican church plant in 2021.
Nov 7, 2023 ā€¢ 37 tweets ā€¢ 7 min read
Since @ihopkc has now hired @stinsonllp to do something or other in light of the allegations against Mike Bickle, letā€™s talk about three types of investigations into abuse cases, how they differ, and why it matters:

1. Internal
2. Third-party
3. Independent

šŸ§µ 1. Internal

Internal investigation = the org investigates itself. Evidently silly. This is the equivalent of a court having an accused party and his friends decide if heā€™s guilty of a crime and if theyā€™re guilty of aiding and abetting the crime.

10/10 would not recommend.
Sep 20, 2023 ā€¢ 65 tweets ā€¢ 12 min read
Most of the backlash Iā€™ve seen against @ACNAtooā€™s Statement of Commitment to LGBTQ+ Abuse Survivors is either blatantly homophobic, willfully obtuse, or laughably obsessed with conspiracy theories.

However, a few people seem perhaps legitimately confused.

So here you go. šŸ§µ (Fair warning that this thread is long and rather repetitious on some basic points. Tl;dr: maybe you donā€™t understand @ACNAtoo, or maybe itā€™s just not your cup of tea; either way, feel free to start your own anti-abuse initiative.)
Sep 13, 2023 ā€¢ 76 tweets ā€¢ 18 min read
One fascinating part of helping @ACNAtoo publish @steveslaggā€™s story was discovering a copy of the workbook used in the Redeemed Lives program Steve went through at @ChurchRez in 2009.

Chapter 16 is entitled ā€œTransferenceā€ and it isā€¦interesting. šŸ§µ (Quick note to say the RL workbook I have is copyright 2002, so Iā€™m not sure if itā€™s identical to the one Steve wouldā€™ve used in 2009. Either way, this thread is a deep dive into the philosophical underpinnings of Rez, so 2002 serves as a good entry point.)
Sep 9, 2023 ā€¢ 39 tweets ā€¢ 8 min read
Iā€™ve seen a bit of the predictable commentary pop up since @steveslaggā€™s story was published:

It was a non-affirming church. Why did he go there in the first place? What did he expect? Why not leave sooner?

Some of yā€™all have never watched a cult documentary and it shows. šŸ§µ (ā€œOMG ARE YOU SAYING REZ IS A CULT?ā€ No, Iā€™d probably call it a high-control church, not a cult. Take a breath and keep reading; this is a whole-thread kind of a situation.)
Sep 5, 2023 ā€¢ 25 tweets ā€¢ 6 min read
So Christ Our Light, now defunct, housed a catechist who sexually abused numerous victims, and @cherinmarie2ā€™s lawsuit discovery shows that the church had no insurance.

@greenhousemove planted Christ Our Light within @MidwestAnglican.

Whatā€™s up with the insurance, Greenhouse?
Screenshot of a paragraph from the linked New York Magazine article. The paragraph describes Cherin Marieā€™s civil suit against the church, saying ā€œSince Christ Our Light had no assets or insurance, Cherin Marieā€™s team didnā€™t move forward with the case, and a judge dismissed the suit without prejudice.ā€ It further explains how Cherinā€™s lawyers have the opportunity to explore options for claims against ā€œother ACNA entities, including the Diocese of the Upper Midwest,ā€ and quotes Cherin saying that her family intends to refile the lawsuit. If I remember correctly, more than half the churches within @MidwestAnglican were planted by @greenhousemove. Do these churches have insurance to cover them in the event that they are sued for institutional negligence? Is it legal for churches not to have this insurance?
Jul 10, 2023 ā€¢ 35 tweets ā€¢ 11 min read
ā€œHow do we stop sexual predators?ā€ people ask.

First step: understand how they operate.

This šŸ§µ is a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the book Predators and why itā€™s essential reading for non-predators.

(Note: the book contains explicit abuse details; my excerpts below do not.) Photo of the front of the book Predators by Anna C. Salter, PhD. Full title is Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, & Other Sex Offenders: who they are, how they operate, and how we can protect ourselves and our children Introduction

Dr. Salter explains how she got into her work of interviewing sexual predators and what this book is about:

- why and how sexual predators prey on their victims
- how they hide this from the rest of us
- why weā€™re so bad at seeing through this and stopping them Excerpt from intro reads: ā€œIt is, first of all, a book about secrecy and deception because secrecy is the lifeblood of sexual aggression. It is a book about why and how sex offenders get away with their crimes for decades, sometimes forever. It is about how they fool you and me and people like us everywhere. It will touch on why we are so trusting, which we are as long as the offender isnā€™t poor and toothless and/or of a different ethnic group, as long as he looks like us and talks like usā€”most certainly if heā€™s a priest or pediatrician or teacher.
Jul 2, 2023 ā€¢ 44 tweets ā€¢ 8 min read
After I exposed my abuser, one person texted me this crucial observation:

ā€œAn honest person is no match for a con man.ā€

This šŸ§µ is about the con manā€™s list of tricks and how you, as a presumably honest and well-intentioned person, are no match for them: Are you a receptive listener?

The abuser will feed you bits of apparently vulnerable information about themselves to make you feel specially connected to them, and to prompt you to reciprocate.

ā€œI donā€™t usually tell people about this, but when I was a kid ______.ā€
Apr 13, 2023 ā€¢ 5 tweets ā€¢ 2 min read
Yesterday my rapist pled guilty.

I felt relieved. A bit numb.

The joy came later, at our small post-court gathering, seeing @cherinmarie2ā€™s daughter ā€” whose courage won the first guilty verdict ā€” smile and chat and cuddle her dog, surrounded by people who love and support her. This little girl is Markā€™s youngest survivor I know of whoā€™s come forward, and Iā€™m the oldest. She spoke up before any of us and paved the way for all of us.

She was scapegoated long before I was. Dismissed as a liar and abandoned by friends, relatives, church, and community.
Dec 18, 2022 ā€¢ 5 tweets ā€¢ 2 min read
Why do I celebrate that Mark Rivera is headed for prison?

Because abusers like Mark hold vulnerable people inside invisible prisons. They imprison souls, and they torture nervous systems. And the torture continues long after the direct sexual and emotional imprisonment is over. Putting abusers like Mark in prison is the only way, in the world as we know it, to keep them from torturing their victims inside invisible prisons.

As a middle-aged adult, my soul and nervous system were trapped inside Markā€™s prison.

How much worse is that prison for a child?
Dec 4, 2022 ā€¢ 13 tweets ā€¢ 4 min read
In light of @ACNAtoo revealing that a convicted child molester has been attending @ChurchRez for three years, people are asking hard questions about church restoration plans for abusers.

The best plan Iā€™ve seen so far, written by @DianeLangberg, is linked in the tweet below. Spoiler: Dr. Langberg says the answer is not to have the abuser attend church, but to bring church to the abuser. As she illustrates in the article, this is hard work. But if @ChurchRez is serious about ministering to people like John Hays, then they need to put in the work.
Dec 2, 2022 ā€¢ 7 tweets ā€¢ 6 min read
Rez shuns survivors and sics cops on its own members for being advocates, yet welcomes in a child molester and protects his anonymity.

@ChurchRez, was John Hays allowed to attend your ā€œfamily meetingā€?

Is he ā€œsaferā€ than @LuhmannAudrey and @Bookof_kell?

This isnā€™t a rhetorical question. I donā€™t know if John Hays was at the ā€œfamily meeting.ā€ I just know about people @ChurchRez kicked out or tried to kick out, and why.

And Iā€™m curious if a registered sex offender was welcome where survivor advocates and a victimā€™s mother werenā€™t.
Oct 15, 2022 ā€¢ 30 tweets ā€¢ 6 min read
Hi Sean Luke, I hope you donā€™t mind me responding to your comments in a quote-tweet. Long replies done as individual tweets get messy.

First off, I am fine with you praying for Markā€™s repentance. I would love it if Mark would repent. I just believe the chances are minuscule. I say this because Iā€™ve spoken with countless survivors, and with mental health professionals and other abuse experts, and not only does Mark check a whole lot of boxes for sociopathic behavior, but people who serially abuse multiple victims the way Mark did rarely change.
Sep 22, 2022 ā€¢ 11 tweets ā€¢ 5 min read
.@The_ACNA and @ChurchRez:

Yes, I am an ā€œoutsider.ā€

But my Christian friends who are in/supporting/corroborating @ACNAtoo?

They love the Church. Deeply. Even though you have wrought destruction on them and, in many cases, their families.

See all comments on this thread: A number of my dear friends have been in @The_ACNA for years or decades.

They are devastated. They still love Jesus. They cannot reconcile their love of Jesus with what you are doing to ā€œthe least of these.ā€

They are crying out, and youā€™ve rebuffed them by scapegoating me.
Sep 8, 2022 ā€¢ 7 tweets ā€¢ 3 min read
There are so many ways to deceive without technically lying.

Facts are not the same as the truth.

My abuser lied, but much more frequently he wielded facts and omissions to gaslight me.

@The_ACNA comms team reminds me much more of Mark Rivera than they remind me of Jesus. [collective gasp]

ā€œHow can you compare ACNA leadership to a serial sexual predator?!ā€

Because it was not the sexual assaults, per se, that nearly destroyed my soul.

It was the pervasive co-optation of my reality.

The theft of my lived experience.

The erasure of my humanity.
Aug 27, 2022 ā€¢ 23 tweets ā€¢ 6 min read
I couldnā€™t agree more. My abuser only ā€œhad sex with meā€ (raped me while I was blacked out) twice in 2.5+ years of abuse.

The abuse consisted mostly of harassing, gaslighting, and manipulating me, electronically and in person.

It was about the power, not about the sex. šŸ§µ I still donā€™t know of a single person Mark had consensual extramarital sex with. Just victims where he had or created a power differential. In my case, by raping me then spinning lies while I was frozen in shock. He used my shock, outsider status, past trauma, etc. to control me.
Aug 24, 2022 ā€¢ 28 tweets ā€¢ 6 min read
CW: sexual abuse details

Iā€™ve been sexually objectified and coerced by men in relationships throughout my life. These men were all over the religious and political spectrums.

Each one helped condition me for eventually being sexually abused by a conservative church leader. šŸ§µ The boyfriend who called me frigid and suggested that I owed him sexual favors considering all the nice things he did for me in the day-to-day.

The boyfriend who unilaterally decided to play out his porn fantasies in bed and laughed after doing something humiliating to me.
Jul 21, 2022 ā€¢ 8 tweets ā€¢ 3 min read
So glad @condorhanson wrote this piece. I read it and cheered because it echoed so much of how I felt that same day, watching the same kids run around and play.

Those kids are the most compelling possible answer to, why bother doing all this? It was so good to see the little girl in question having such a great time, days after watching her endure a brutal cross-examination in court while her abuser sat maybe 20 feet away, facing her.

It was good to see her just getting to be a kid instead of having to be a hero.