Category: News

WINGS Note: The CSA crisis has led many people to search scripture and reconsider foundational traditions of the fellowship.  Some proposed paths forward include more open communication between friends and workers via newsletters and forum discussions, and involvement of younger workers, sister workers, and friends in all levels of decision making in the church.  Advocates for the Truth, a group formed in March 2023 by former members and survivors of abuse and a private investigator, has been collecting details of accused CSA perpetrators.  Advocates for the Truth has issued the following letter calling for current overseers to step down.  

WINGS does not take any position on general issues that have been raised recently regarding doctrine, rules, except to the extent that they foster or hide CSA. 

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Jun 2

To All Overseers Worldwide,

On March 24, 2023, we established a hotline on behalf of Dean Bruer victims. In just ten weeks, our hotline has revealed over 400 perpetrators in the Truth: Overseers, Workers, Elders and Friends. We continue to receive new allegations each day. The volume is utterly shocking to us. However, the allegations should not be shocking to you and many of the Workers. You are already well aware – and in most instances have been aware for decades – of the pedophiles and perpetrators in your midst. Almost ALL of the pedophiles and perpetrators brought to our attention are already known to you. For ten weeks, we have reached out and communicated the massive crisis and path of destruction in your community. We have been met with silence, complicity, stonewalling, gaslighting, and outright refusal to listen to the pleas of decades of survivors.

This is completely unacceptable to us, the members of your community, and society as a whole. We ask you to do the right thing and step down from your places of authority and leadership.

There is no hiding or turning back from what we now know. The system that you, the Overseers, have been using for decades to mitigate criminal child sex abuse and sex crime cases is deceitful, complicit, illegal, and autocratic. For generations upon generations, countless lives have been ravaged emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically by the failure of your system and your lack of leadership and integrity. Trust in your authority has been completely broken. This is not hyperbole; this is real, this is palpable. This is the outcry we are hearing from survivors, families, and Friends in the Truth.

Each of you has participated in coverups, minimized crimes, or committed criminal acts yourself. Many of you are legally culpable. Your behavior has harmed survivors and continues to put children and adults in the fellowship in the presence of sexual criminals to this day. For years, your system has coddled, enabled, and promoted perpetrators while repeatedly victim shaming and victim blaming. The perpetrators and pedophiles have received therapy paid for by you, the Overseers, and you have done nothing for the countless survivors of those perpetrators. To this day, you are not exercising a system to hold child sex abusers and sex criminals accountable in the Truth. We have learned in the last ten weeks that the devastation of child sex abuse and sex crimes in the Truth is worldwide and systemic – a fact that each of you have obviously been aware of.

Instead, offending Workers and Friends are shielded by your leadership. Workers with allegations have been sent to other geographical areas, enabling them to continue their behavior at will. Many of the Friends who have committed sex crimes have been given the privilege and status of Eldership with meetings in their homes. Notably, the offenses of predators and perpetrators have been described by the Overseers as “immoral” instead of “criminal.”

Some Friends and Workers that have spoken out about abuse—their own or that of others—have, as a result, been sent to other countries, asked to leave the Work, or even put out of the Fellowship . This corrupt and neglectful response that has been sanctioned by each of you for so many years has never been acceptable and will no longer be tolerated by uncompromising Workers, Friends, concerned citizens and law enforcement. Your complicity, deceit, and behavior for the past ten weeks has shown you are either unable or unwilling to change. It is vital for the safety and rebuilding of the community for each and every one of you to step down.

Matthew 16:6 states: “Beware of the leaven of the pharisees.” You, as the Overseers, have preached virtues, high morals, and honesty while practicing the opposite and asking for the community’s utter and complete trust in return. That trust has been irreparably broken.

As perpetrators and their victims have been uncovered, the sheer numbers of which have been a deluge on our community, you’ve each been given the opportunity to take accountability for your actions and your contribution to such suffering. Instead, we have seen letter after letter skirting responsibility, sweeping the pain of those whose trust you’ve conscripted under the rug. You’ve repeatedly asked for patience from a community you continue to betray and deceive. We fully expect more of the same after the publication of this letter.

Consider the enormity of the consequences of your abuse and complicity:

• Religious and psychological trauma by asking the survivor to be re-traumatized by the perpetrator at Meetings and Conventions.
• Loss of family for the survivor by taking a stand and not having community or family support.
• Monetary loss due to financial hardship from c-PTSD.
• Life in a mental health facility
• Comorbidity in conjunction to diminishing mental health.
• Social isolation
• Psychological disturbances
• Nightmares
• Complex-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Hyperarousal
• Hypoarousal
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Addiction
• Eating disorders
• Relationship loss
• Intergenerational trauma
• Suicide

It is our belief that no recourse could adequately restore the community’s trust in you. Each of you, as is evident by your past and present actions and abuse of power, have proven that you are unfit to be Overseers.

In the past ten weeks, countless cases of child sex abuse have been reported to law enforcement in multiple countries. Those reports include numerous instances of you, as mandatory reporters, failing to report sex crimes against children.

Thus, at this time, we formally ask that you publicly submit your resignation to all of the Workers, Elders and Friends across your respective area, with first and last name, by June 8, 2023.

In Transparency,

Cynthia Liles, Sheri Autrey, and Lauren Rohs

(503) 386-4634 in the US/+1 (503) 334-6866 internationally advocatesforthetruth@gmail.com

Advocatesforthetruth.com

WINGS Note: The author expressly requested that this information only be shared verbally or in printed form and not electronically. However, WINGS believes that attitude of secrecy is inappropriate and not the best way to protect children from CSA.

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From: Peggy Jansen [Email redacted]
Date:  May 1, 2023 at 11:26:05 AM CDT
To: Peggy Jansen [Email redacted],
       Leah Klepzig [Email redacted]

Dear Friends,

In general, this is a letter Matt [Jensen] has sent to us to send to the friends in our fields.

You will find three attachments included in this letter.

The first document is self-explanatory.  The second document is somewhat of an appendix to the first, detailing contact information within Illinois and Indiana, rather than Washington State.  The third contains more Child Sexual Assault information.

Due to the inappropriate behavior of some people in some other states, our attention has been brought again to the subject of child abuse within our fellowship.  I feel like it would be beneficial to write to you about this subject.

Some people have wondered what the workers in Illinois and Indiana are doing to make ourselves more aware of this subject.  All of the workers in the Eastern States and Provinces are required to take the MinistrySafe Awareness Training every two years.  This has been done for over ten years.  Most of the active Illinois/Indiana workers took the training again this past February, and as of April 25, all the active workers in Illinois/Indiana have completed the training. 

In addition to MinistrySafe training, some workers attended a sensitivity meeting approximately ten to twelve years ago.  Appropriate, interpersonal boundaries were discussed.  The gleanings were shared with all the staffs in the Eastern States and Provinces.  Some of the workers have also attended multi-hour workshops to better understand our responsibilities as reporters of abuse and neglect.

Child abuse of any nature is a crime.  Clergy are mandated reporters in the state of Illinois.  Everyone is a mandated reporter in Indiana.  It is against the law to not report, if there is a reasonable cause to suspect.  Reporting can seem daunting, but the goal is that victims would get help as soon as possible.  The other goal is that the behavior of the perpetrator would be stopped, and that they would also get professional help.

We encourage you to read and understand the attached documents.  We encourage you to take the MinistrySafe Awareness Training.  We encourage parents to take the MinistrySafe Parent Training.  We encourage you to understand your role in reporting abuse.  I believe awareness will foster a safer environment for all, and will minimize the risk of this happening.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to any of us on the Illinois and Indiana staff.

Please honor my request that you not forward this email, nor the attachments electronically.  Please do not share this message on social media platforms.  If you wish to verbally share what is written here, feel free.  If you wish to print the attached documents and share them that way, feel free.

And the workers in both Indiana and Illinois will be sharing these documents with those in their fields.

Peggy Jansen
[Address redacted]
Wilmette,IL 60091
[Phone redacted]

From: Raymond Hoffmann ‹rayjh76@icloud cam>
Date: April 25, 2023 at 11:51.55 AM EDT

Subject: CSA info

Dear Friends,

Recent events have made us more aware of our need to continue learning how to properly respond to any report of child sexual abuse. We are sad to think that a lack of awareness in the past may have caused more hurt or prevented healing for victims We value the trust among us as we seek to follow Christ and want to do our part to foster a safe environment for all.

Abuse of any kind has no place in God’s family and any incident of child sexual abuse is a crime. If you reasonably suspect that a child or juvenile is being sexually abused, please report it to the authorities. Reports can be made to local police or by calling an abuse hotline such as 800-656-HOPE

When we hear about another person’s sin, we may desire to not expose it. But in the case of child sexual abuse, not reporting is against the law, prevents victims from getting the help they need, and allows perpetrators to continue their devastating behavior. A perpetrator of child sexual abuse is not easily identifiable by personality, and will generally offend repeatedly given the opportunity. Therefore, it is crucial to report suspected child sexual abuse.

To help prevent and detect child sexual abuse, we continue to require each member of our staff to complete the MinistrySafe Awareness Training every two years. This course is very helpful and is available for anyone to take.

We encourage you to be educated on these topics. It is highly recommended that parents read the summary of information found in this link and watch the Parent Training video by MinistrySafe (which is currently free during National Child Abuse Prevention Month). If you are an adult who was a victim of abuse, the RAINN.orq online chat or phone hotline can connect you with support services in your area.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to any one of us.

Thank you,

The PA/NY/NEng Workers

Lukis Nighswonger was sentenced to a 46-year prison sentence, with an additional 40 years suspended. Nighswonger has also been assigned 15 years of probation and will need to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. This was based on a plea agreement between state prosecutors and Nighswonger on 24 separate charges ranging from sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and harassment.

See https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/05/30/iditarod-elementary-teacher-sentenced-46-years-abuse-conviction/

WINGS pre-sentence report: wingsfortruth.info/2023/04/10/lukis-nighswonger/

WINGS Note: This letter was written by a professing man and sent to all workers in leadership in western US. WINGS is publishing this letter because it is a good example of professing men standing up and giving the workers guidence based on their professional positions and experience. It is also a reminder of how important it is to let professionals and law enforcement deal with victim statements and perpetrator contact.

It is also a reminder that further action is likely in some cases.

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From (name redacted): 

Many situations of late have landed in my care, simply because I’ve been in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion and was able and willing to help. I’m not passive when it comes to children’s welfare and also vulnerable adults. My background also lends itself to understanding how to handle these situations maybe better than most. I spent 8 years with Spokane County working oftentimes side by side with the Sheriff’s Department personnel on many issues. I was formally trained on investigations, interrogations, and body language and used this training extensively while doing investigations from a Risk Management perspective.

Matt Smith has also been a big help. He is retired military and now works in Law Enforcement as a training officer at the police academy here in Helena, MT. He has penned a few letters describing how CSA/SA situations within the church MUST be handled from a legal standpoint as well as a moral standpoint. The workers have also appreciated his input and help.

Information was shared with me with details from Robert Corfield’s primary victim in Saskatchewan. I waited for as much detail as possible and vetted the information.

Since the information gathered was horrible, with lots of detail, I decided it was best that Matt Smith and I drive directly to the Manhattan grounds and meet face to face with Robert. We were hoping Scott Rauscher was also present when we got there, but felt it was best to not give anyone forewarning that we were coming. Unfortunately, I’ve also been involved in a couple of visits where the individual was given forewarning and thus, was able to make up a story to deny things and plan ahead on how they would respond. This is precisely why it was necessary to drop in on Robert without notice.

Robert was in charge of the preps at Manhattan and was leaving soon to join the crew at Ronan convention before returning for Manhattan preps. It was imperative with the information I had, that he did not have any more opportunity to be in close contact with minors and that quick handling of the situation was critical.

We found Robert in the brother worker quarters at Manhattan and he was alone. We told him we needed to visit with him and he agreed. Robert knows us, and mentioned that he was grateful for all the help we had been giving the workers and friends with the current issues. 

I explained to him that we were there to address an issue that involved himself. He was surprised. I told him that I would read to him all the facts and details we had and once I was finished, we could discuss it.

When I finished reading, Robert hung his head and said, “it’s all true”. 

Without going into much of the details of that conversation, I will say that Robert’s response was very humble and honest. He acknowledged that he still struggles with the desire for pedophilia and understood that he could no longer be allowed access to children. He mentioned multiple times that what Matt and myself were doing, and how we had come directly to him was “the right thing to do”. He thanked us. As hard as the discussion was for him, he seemed quite relieved that he would no longer have to face his temptation on a daily basis. 

We called Scott immediately after our visit and informed him of what had taken place and that Robert could no longer fill a role in the ministry. We also informed him that Robert could no longer attend any meetings where children would or could be present. Scott said he understood and asked us for permission to have Robert drive to Ronan where he was and they could work on a plan for him. I told him as long as there were no children present that would be fine, but he would need to leave before family’s arrived for preps later in the week.

Matt and I helped Scott write the notification letter to be sent out to the MT/WY friends.

We did this so that he would not use any ‘triggering’ comments for former victims or for victims we did not know about yet. 

Incidentally, there have been two more victims speak out since the news on Robert was sent out. This is also why workers should never pen these types of letters without help on how they need to be worded.

We know when these things arise, that the workers and overseers have virtually zero experience or, quite frankly, the credibility currently to handle the situation correctly. This is why this situation was handled in the manner it was, without involving other workers first.

It worked perfectly and this is how these situations should be handled. The result has been best for all involved.

Another side note. Robert will likely be facing criminal charges since there is no statute of limitations in Canada or MT. He committed crimes in both locations. Those who also knew of Robert’s crimes and failed to report (Dale Shultz, primarily) will also likely face criminal charges. Dale was horrible to Robert’s primary victim and needs to be held accountable for that situation and many, many others he has handled horribly and with utter disdain for victims.

As we have been asked to, and moved to help, we are keenly aware of the need to address these situations with God’s help and Spirit leading. God does expect action, but it must be according to his Will and in His timing. Without God’s leading we would be no better than those who have committed these horrific acts.

Hopefully this is helpful to you and others.

Sincerely,

(Name redacted)

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A letter from Matt Smith has been published by WINGS. See https://wingsfortruth.info/2023/05/07/disclosure-and-separation-of-suspects-and-offenders/

I was encouraged to read the letter by Jonathan Olson with the central point on the folly of the “one true way” doctrine and I applaud Jon’s courage in taking the conversation there. Some may question how we get from CSA to the “one true way” issue but it’s vital to understand that CSA exists anywhere a skewed hierarchical organizational structure exists. Large corporations. Professional sports. Religion. The military. Extended families. These are all systems that have a specific hierarchical organization that is intensely revered from within them. And these are all systems where sexual abuse and other kinds of abuse flourish. As serious as the CSA issue is – and is rightly being addressed more aggressively than it has ever been in the past – it remains a symptom of a far deeper issue of self-righteousness in the church, as Jonathan has correctly pointed out. 

There’s a common thread amongst us all and shown on this site and in the comments; that we’re fighting to preserve the church. We don’t actually want to burn the church down. NOT because it’s the one true way, but because it’s good. It’s not perfect, it’s good. And that’s good enough. And maybe more importantly because it’s OURS. It’s what we’ve grown up with, or it’s what we’ve come to love through a friend at school or a workmate or a random invitation on a community centre bulletin board.  And we’d all be lying if we didn’t admit to having enjoyed many days of encouragement and hope while going to meetings and conventions and that many of our closest friends are also professing. And we’d all also probably be lying if we didn’t admit to being uncomfortable with the unwritten rules and regulations that have no scriptural merit. It’s one thing to abide by a rule that is simply a tradition, Jesus warned specifically against that in Mark 7 and in John 15. It’s another thing altogether – and not in a good way – to abide by a rule under the pretext that it achieves righteousness when in fact it’s an empty tradition. Tradition in and of itself is not evil. We love our hymns. They’re familiar to us and that’s okay. God created us, God created music, God created our brains that migrate to a certain amount of traditional “comfort”. God doesn’t despise that in us. And although this may be open to other interpretations, in Matt 6:23 when Jesus said “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” it could mean that if the things that we think are Light and righteous are actually things that are meaningless (darkness), how much greater is THAT darkness. Because now we’re distracted from the true light . . .JESUS. If we can get a false sense of security by what we wear or because we don’t have a TV or a bottle of wine in our home, or because we think we have a membership card in the “one true way”, then the enemy has us right where he wants us. He has us completely distracted from Jesus as the real way and the truth and the life. 

I suggest that many of us would agree there is much about our church that is right and good. Clearly there’s a growing mistrust in the leadership of the ministry (understatement), but I’ve no doubt every single one of us knows some workers that we love and respect deeply and that point us to Jesus, instead of just pointing us to a religion. And the reality is that our church HAS helped direct us to Jesus, which is exactly what it’s supposed to do. Sometimes it’s been done in spite of itself, but it’s been done, and here we are. And many of us want to keep going to meetings in some way shape or form. But the minute we start worshipping the church, instead of where it should be pointing us (Jesus), that’s when we’ve gone adrift. The minute we revere the vessel that holds the water more than the water that quenches our heart and soul, that’s when the water spills and we wake up to the harsh reality that licking the cup doesn’t quench our thirst. 

Jesus didn’t pull any punches in declaring that religion was over, and the veil would be rent. He was now THE way. The law pointed us to Him, but now that He’d arrived, the law could be put away, made obsolete (Heb 8:13). And this is not to suggest that anyone is esteeming the old law, but the point is that Jesus was trying to show us that the old law, and all religious law in general, was no longer needed now that we could have a relationship directly with God. At that wedding in the 2^nd chapter of John, Jesus could have turned the water into wine in any vessel. Surely there were empty bottles or skins laying around everywhere. But he chose to use the pots full of water specifically meant to be used for ceremonial hand washing (same ceremonial handwashing he mocked in Mark 7). He wasn’t just performing a miracle, he was making a mockery of the tradition of ceremonial handwashing, a mockery of trusting in religion. And yet here we are, some 2000 years later, with new versions of ceremonial handwashing, new laws, albeit “softer laws”, but laws nonetheless, that are just a distraction from Jesus as the way and the truth. 

Doing certain things because we believe that’s how they were done in the first century church is a noble, and possibly even worthy cause. But trying to prove that our church is the continuation of the first church is flawed at its core when Jesus himself promised that He would be with us. Jesus was unimpressed in Matthew 3:9 with with their lineage connecting back to Abraham. And Jesus would be unimpressed today with the claim to be a religious continuation of the first century church. If we focus on Jesus, then THAT’s the connection. Not lineage. Not provenance. The historical reality is that our church comes out of the radical reformation that followed the primary 16^th century reformation, out of which came the anabaptist movement, of which we maintain many of the hallmarks of, for what remain as many good reasons. And all that is OKAY. It matters not where we’ve come from, it matters where we’re going and what we believe in. And if we believe we’re spirit led – as I’ve heard said often recently – then it’s time to put our faith where our mouth is and cease with this borderline blasphemy of thinking we’re saved because we belong to the correct religion.  There’s a big part of me that wants to post my name to this. But I’m committed to “staying with the ship” so to speak; to fight to make it right from within instead of fleeing into the night. And to be clear, I applaud the ones that have left the church but continue to meet and enjoy fellowship. I’m not quite there yet and I fear that we still have a long way to go before comments like mine will be well received by certain workers with influence. I am the elder of a precious little Sunday morning meeting in our home and as long as we’re not ostracized like some have been, we can slowly but surely be part of a rising crescendo of voices from within the church. So, I won’t post my name, in an attempt to try to keep my place so that our family can try to uphold a standard of truth from the inside, and to slowly effect change. I know many are doing the same, some quietly, some loudly, but God sees and hears all. 
A brother and friend from Canada. 

Dear Elders in the EB/Alex field,

We are wanting to let you and your meetings know more about Jeff’s situation, although a lot of it is still unknown. Some have expressed not wanting any more emails with this kind of news, so we are asking you to share it with your meetings as you see fit. We hope this will be a gentler, more sensitive approach to sharing news.

The MN/IA staff will be together in Rochester on 5/26 for a staff meeting. Lyle Schober will be with us as well We are all looking forward to it I got back to the field on Friday and yesterday Kara returned from IA. We are glad to be back together and in the field. We are needing to regroup a bit and will be in touch when we have some meetings scheduled.

Your prayers and care are appreciated,

Kara & Marla

Here is the letter to share:

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Dear Friends,

We want to send a short note to give some clarity about the thoughts about Jeff Thayer. It seems rather clear that it would be best to not have Jeff return to the MN/IA staff regardless of the outcome of any investigation. We hope this will be enough to answer questions that have circulated about his future here in these states.

There will be help sent to fill the needs but at this time it is not clear who it would be and when that may occur. In the meanwhile we encourage everyone to have patience and continue to seek the Lord for your assurance and bread.

Your servants for Christ’s sake,

Dean Dykstra
Marla Freesemann
Lyle Schober
John Simons
Shari Stamps