May 20, 2023
From: Bob and Stacy Bainbridge
Bob and I want to draw attention again to the letter that Darryl Doland shared in April and the letter that was shared to the friends in Atlantic Canada yesterday. We asked that the workers send out a letter to all the friends here in Atlantic Canada to stop the false rumours that they were spreading against Morgan. We asked them to clarify that the accusations brought forward by Morgan and others were validated. The letter was vague and confusing and left a lot of room for interpretation
We would like to highlight some parts of the letter in particular.
“….inappropriate and disrespectful interpersonal behaviour”
What was happening was psychological abuse, sexual misconduct, and hateful malicious behaviour. “Inappropriate” is dearly a euphemism to downplay what was actually happening. Does any parent want their child to offer for a ministry Where they Could be forced to share a room or a bed with someone who is aroused by them? Does any parent think it’s ok to have their son or daughter browbeaten to the point of considering suicide? Does any parent want their child to join a ministry where they visit friend’s homes and are sexually assaulted or leered at by “trusted elders”? It is no surprise that this behaviour exists. It is appalling that it is not dealt with properly,
“The changes made regarding these workers were made with the intention to address this behaviour and to stop it going forward.”
These workers were simply moved around. The removal of these workers only occurred because it became obvious that Morgan was right about them. So much hurt and confusion could have been avoided if they had simply did what she asked back in 2020.
She simply asked that they take a break from the work and get some psychiatric help.
Here is the full letter from the workers
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Dear all,
We would like to write to you today to be open and clear about inappropriate and disrespectful interpersonal behaviour that has existed and subsequently been reported in our ministry. Recently there were changes made on this staff because of behaviour that was considered inappropriate, especially for responsible workers in a field towards their younger companions. The changes made regarding these workers were made with the intention to address this behaviour and to stop it going forward There was no intention to cast any blame or doubt on the victims of this behaviour. We have moved after thorough deliberation on these issues, wanting to gather as much balanced information as possible. In seeking the guidance of God and wanting to move prayerfully and carefully, we believe that appropriate action has been taken in each case and that all involved will be wiser and kinder going into the future.
We feel that there needs to be an extra amount of compassion and understanding for those who are feeling vulnerable, and we know that as circumstances change, this could include any one of us at critical times in our life. We all need to learn to communicate with each other and listen to each other in a way that makes us free to voice our concerns and needs. This is an atmosphere that we would like to nurture and encourage in our fellowship and especially in the ministry.
God’s ministry on the earth is made up of human beings, with a human nature prone to failure. However, this is a very serious calling and, by the grace of God given to us, we should be held accountable to a high standard of love, meekness and morality. Just as a faithful adherence to this example set by Jesus has the potential to help and encourage; anything less than this heavenly standard has the potential to cause hurt and discouragement in others. In spite of sometimes being greatly disappointed in individuals in this ministry; we still believe in our calling in this ministry and our greatest ambition is to be servants, with a faithfulness to this calling.
We know that our greatest responsibility is to keep our own life and spirit right before God, but we do feel the weight of the responsibility when making decisions about things that involve so many of you. We fear that we will sometimes fail to make the best decision, and looking back we acknowledge that sometimes this has been the case. We feel sorry for our failure in this way. We are certainly in need of your prayers, and appreciative of your mercy and understanding. Most of all, we are thankful that God is above all and sees all. If we Seek His Spirit and heed it, He will lead us in the way of truth and righteousness.
With brotherly greetings.
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Remember, the point of this letter is to clarify that the acts of abuse, harassment and assault were true as per Morgan’s allegations and that they were mishandled, dismissed, and the victims were attacked, slandered, and shamed.
As far as Woodstock convention; The workers asked for a meeting with us to tell us that Woodstock Convention would be cancelled because Bob had said that there was corruption in the oversight. We were repeatedly told that they had prayed about it and this was the conclusion:
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Dear staff.
The last while we have been thinking about the Convention at Woodstock. We have prayed about it, and discussed it together. We feel like it would be better this year not to have the convention there. Hopefully it will be possible to have it there again next year. We have spoken to — and — and asked if we could have a 2nd Napan, from June 30-July 2. They are agreeable to that plan. It will follow the same format as 1st Napan, three days with two meetings per day. Could you please let everyone in your field know about this.
Your brothers, Dale, Ray, and Jonathan.
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Following this email, we received another saying from the workers, saying they are reconsidering. At this time Bob was asked how he felt about having a convention?
Bob’s reply to that was, “This convention is not ours it belongs to the friends, what do they want? Bob stated that his vote was for a full convention but it was ultimately up to the friends who have put a lot of work and money into the grounds.
So now we go to the latest email regarding convention.
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Dear friends
We plan to have a three day convention at Woodstock
Two meetings a day, no evening meetings
We won’t have sleeping arrangements and won’t have meals arrangements
So I plan to go next week for a few days
The 19th of June a few of us will go to Woodstock to prepare, we’ll have a couple of days to prepare the meeting shed, the washrooms, the mini home and cabins
There will be lots of room and services for trailers as before.
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No explanation to us on why it is not a full convention. Still a warning, we’re not out of the woods yet?
As far as the workers that were the perpetrators towards Morgan: One is at her sister’s home. No official word that she is “out of the work” but she was still exhibiting grooming behaviours at gatherings toward young girls. Two of our true sister workers have caught her exhibiting this behaviour and the true friends in the area have asked that she not attend their meetings as they have young children.
The other sister that was moved to Ontario has been removed from the work just in the last week or two, I believe because of a professional recommendation.
The overseer that was moved to AB is no longer an overseer but is still in the work. We wish the AB brothers would reach out to get the information because the brothers in AB probably haven’t been told the extent of damage that he has done or even what it means to his victims for him to still be in the work. Step aside, get the help you need, and then see if you are fit for the work. It feels like there is no thought for the victims and how much that would go towards helping people heal.
– Bob and Stacy Bainbridge
WINGS for Truth 