News

Dear elders and friends, 

Here is an outline of what we know about the timeline of events regarding Dean Bruer.

-After Dean’s death and funeral, Doyle accessed Dean’s computer looking for the worker list, and found inappropriate things.

-At Boring convention, an adult female victim came forward about her relationship with Dean in the last several years. She asked for the information to be kept quiet. 

-In the last several weeks, other adult victims have come forward, including one who was underage at the time they were abused by Dean. They asked that the information be made public.

-Doyle wrote a letter (included with this email) to share the information about Dean with the friends. The purpose was for the workers to personally share the information last week, via reading the letter, with all the friends in the states where Dean has labored most recently: OR, S ID, MT, WY. The friends were asked not to discuss it in an effort to have the information come from the workers first. Unfortunately, the letter was posted on the internet before those visits were completed. 

-Thursday, the WA, N ID, and AK staff was contacted with the information. At this point there are no known victims from our states. Again, we encourage anyone who has been a victim of any inappropriate behavior by Dean or anyone else to please reach out to someone you trust.

-Friday, Doyle took Dean’s computer to the police. 

-The notice circulating about the Clackamas County Sheriff asking for information appears not to be an open case. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for a visit, either with your elders or your workers. There is a lot to process and a lot of noise right now, and while we are trying to touch bases with as many people as possible, we don’t always know where the most immediate needs are. Our purpose is to shepherd our sheep with compassion and share safe pastures to feed on. 

-Karen and Amy

Dear LA, MS and AL Elders and Friends,

This is to acknowledge the report of the misconduct of Dean Bruer, a worker/overseer, now deceased, from OR, of whom you may be hearing about. The immoral conduct, that isn’t to be named even once amongst the saints, how much less of servants, is condemned. For those who are hurt by these actions, beginning with the victims, we pray that they may find the support needed from being believed and comforted in knowing that this is not tolerated amongst us.

In the aftermath of this, my thoughts go back to the time that Dean last visited in LA. If there’s anyone who had any unwelcome encounters with him at that time, I was not made aware of it. I’m keenly aware of the need to encourage everyone amongst us to be free to report to the appropriate authorities anything, such as Child Sexual Abuse, or misconduct of servant or saint.

We on the LA, MS and AL staff of workers participate in an educational resource called Ministry Safe, which instructs us to be aware of Child Sexual Abuse and how to conduct oneself and ministry to be safe.

On behalf of those of us in the ministry I offer thanks for your support and trust, and pledge to not betray that.

Your brother,

[Robert Eberhardt]

Mar. 27, 2023

Hello Friends, Family, and Loved Ones, 

With a heavy heart, we learned of the many allegations of sexual abuse by former overseer Dean Bruer. He is not the only person within the Truth who has abused their authority to commit these acts against the Friends and their children. As this case demonstrates, attempts within the institution have not been sufficient to address the pervasive problem of sexual abuse, especially child sexual abuse.

In the days since the news of Dean broke, dozens of you have stepped forward to share your stories and the names of more than 100 alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse within the Truth that span many decades and several countries. We are incredibly grateful for your bravery. You are bringing light to the darkness and helping ensure your experience is not repeated. All of us, especially our children, deserve to live free from the fear of sexual abuse.

I, Lauren Rohs, contacted Oregon overseer Doyle Smith Thursday night last week. Cynthia Liles, Sheri Autrey, and I met with him at Shari’s Cafe & Pies in South Salem for three and a half hours to suggest safe and ethical next steps to protect the Friends from future harm. Unfortunately, Ministry Safe, a program to advocate for and protect victim survivors, is not required for any worker. Therefore, to minimize future trauma and devastation to all the people we love and hold dear, a small group of volunteers has been working around the clock to collect your statements, assess the scope of the damage, and determine the next steps. Our only goal is to support victim survivors and prevent further abuse. We are working with friends, workers, former members, and nonmembers to address this massive crisis. We are also working with private investigator Cynthia Liles who grew up going to meetings. Her expertise and compassion are unparalleled. This massive crisis will require our entire community to come together, lean in, and comfort one another. Please practice self-care and visit the RAINN website (rainn.org) for resources on how to speak to one another, care for yourself, and continue during this difficult time. 

We are in communication with friends and workers who are encouraging us in these efforts. They support us in this advocacy. They recommend you contact us using the hotline below since we have the resources to determine what the next steps should be.

Please share your stories and tips by texting or calling the 24-hour confidential hotline:
(503) 386-4634 

Whatever your concern or information is, we are listening. If you are a victim survivor, we can discuss advocacy options and connect you to professional, vetted resources. After you’ve reported to the hotline, those of you inside the community are encouraged to reach out to Barry Barkley and Ray Hoffmann, the Overseers of the United States. They deserve to hear your experiences, your fears, and your hopes. You can find more information about the hotline and Dean Bruer case at advocatesforthetruth.com. 

With Love,

Lauren Rohs, Cynthia Liles, Sheri Autrey, and a group of people who care

If you feel tentative, awkward, or are unable to use the hotline, please DM me (@Lauren Rohs) on Facebook, and I will walk you through the process. 

Our Dear Friends,

It is with a very heavy heart we share the following difficult information, but we feel it is imperative that we do so. We trust you will understand and be in agreement.

We have come to the tragic conclusion that Dean Bruer had another side to his life that none of us, except victims, ever witnessed or suspected. It has come to the surface in recent months, and more so in recent weeks, that Dean was a sexual predator. We never respect or defend such totally inappropriate behavior among us. There is a very united consensus among us that the only thing to do is to be transparent with all of you for obvious reasons, though this is very difficult. We are very sorry for the hurt this will bring to the hearts of many. Thankfully, he is no longer in a position to hurt anyone.

Some things have come to light from Dean’s own records. Dean had his own Best Western Hotel preferred customer account and spent a considerable amount of time and money in motels. As we all know, when he died last June, it was in a motel in Government Camp, OR; a place that he frequented. The receipts often included “two guests”. Victims have come forward, and there was very confirming and incriminating evidence found on his computer and phone.

His actions include rape and abuse of underage victims. He totally abused his authority as an overseer in order to control, manipulate and threaten his victims. We are strongly recommending our staff look at the Ministry Safe Program and possibly other venues that help understand, recognize, and prevent such problems.

Overwhelmingly, our greatest concern in all of this is the victims, known and unknown. We do hope and pray this message somehow reaches the ears of every unknown victim if there are more. We feel very anxious to assure them that we are anxious to do everything possible to be a support. We understand that people like this are dangerously equipped to twist what has happened in such a way that the victim feels it’s their fault, and thereby the predator’s criminal behavior is hidden from others. We assure you, there is no possibility anyone will lay blame. except at the feet of the ONE very wrong man who has caused your pain. We are sorry! We hope you will have courage to reach out to any of us, or anyone that you feel you can talk to. We understand your need for privacy as well as support working through this, and we all intend to respect that.

None of us had any idea that such terrible things were happening until several weeks after his death. There is no possible way that this would not have been immediately reported had we known. Some of us very much regret that we didn’t somehow discover his actions and prevent more pain. We all feel betrayed naturally. We have come to the conclusion that the very dangerous thing about people like him is that they do what they do without conscience, thus it’s much easier for them to pretend to be something that they aren’t. We cannot live a lie when we love truth, and honestly live before God, respecting His approval as the scripture teaches us.

We sang recently, “All through the storm I see thy face beaming with love and with saving grace.” Our desperate prayer for you all, especially anyone that has been hurt, is that G. will show Himself very strong. In Mark 4, the disciples found themselves in the worst storm of their life which caused a lot of distress. But at the conclusion of the storm there was a greater appreciation than ever for the miracle capacity Jesus had to deliver perfect peace despite storms. Our hearts desperately ache for the disappointment and sense of betrayal this will bring to countless hearts and again especially for the pain inflicted to victims. We pray the miracle somehow, someway, someday, will be as great as it was in Mark 4 for all.

Keep close to God dear friends. There is an immense capacity in the hand of God to help us. Thank you for all the prayers we know this will generate!

Sincerely your brother

Doyle S. [Smith]

Dear friends,

It is with a deep sadness that we send this note today regarding Dean Bruer. Some of you would have this word by now and we apologize for our delay in sending word. It’s been difficult to know what to do or say but we feel we should be in touch with you all.

Many of you would know Dean Bruer because he grew up in Minnesota. Since his death, very disappointing evidence has arisen to verify that Dean was living an immoral, double life. This has already affected many and will likely have long term effects. Dean was a sexual predator and his victims include adults and minors. This is a very serious crime and we are very, very sorry. Please find attached the letter written by the workers in Oregon.

This is devastating, hurtful, and disappointing. It’s taken us a while to process it because we are all reeling since hearing about it. We want to be transparent and open. We also want to encourage everyone to keep close to God and protect your faith. Proverbs 16.33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” None of us could have known that Dean had this problem. However, it is so and we all must face it. It is “in our lap.” The disposing of this difficult and sad experience will be of the Lord and we want to wait on him and trust him to guide us through it.

We are available to help in any way we can.

With care and love,

The Minnesota/Iowa workers

Minnesota Crisis Hotline 866-223-1111

Iowa Abuse Hotline 800-362-2178

Dear Elders, including all Friends in the Anchorage/Mat-Su area,

Sean and I and all of us workers in Alaska received some tragic news on Thursday afternoon (March 23) about Dean Bruer. Dean was among us in Alaska from his coming to Juneau in the mid 1970’s, spent his first five years in the ministry here, then five more years (1997-2002), and then was a trusted overseeing worker in Montana/Wyoming and Oregon/S. Idaho until his death in June 2022. I’m sorry and apologize to you for delaying getting this news of Dean’s dark/unacceptable secret life to each of you. In hindsight, I should have sent a memo to each of you that day. Attached is the letter (from Doyle Smith current OR/S ID overseeing worker) that tells what we heard on Thursday.

I want to be transparent and accountable here with a welcome to you to communicate. Many of you have been very helpful to me already, and thank you for your caring advice/help/patience to/with me. One thing we want to make very clear, is that if anyone has felt uncomfortable with any of the workers you’ve been around (including me/us), we want you to feel at liberty to share that with us or other workers or friends that you trust. Also, if anyone is a victim of abuse from a worker or an elder or anyone connected to our fellowship…the police should be contacted, as this is a legal issue. We don’t want to have a culture among our fellowship that is conducive for predators to work within.

Jesus said there would be wolves in sheep’s clothing, so unfortunately we can’t always trust everyone in our fellowship…but we’re very thankful that we can always trust the Spirit of God and the words of Jesus.

We realize that much communication has been ongoing since these details of Dean have been made known. One matter I’ll mention that has been found to be inaccurate, is a Memo outlined in a red border titled, “In reference to the Dean Bruer case” from the Clackamas Co Sheriff’s Dept. I’ll copy/paste what Doyle Smith found out today from the Clackamas Co Sheriff:

There is a message, going around to many “In reference to the Dean Bruer case”. A deputy at the Sheriff’s office has confirmed there is a case number, but “since the man is dead” there is NO active investigation taking place at this time. They are referring people who call to me, and no one has called me yet.

Please pardon us if this isn’t including all of what could or maybe should be said here, but please feel free to be in touch, now, or anytime in the future.

Your brothers in Christ, Sean and Dan