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Post by Persona non grata on Aug 13, 2023 5:49:56 GMT -5
Reposting this letter, which was shared with me:
Aug. 12, 2023
Dear Friends,
We are sorry to announce Clever Convention will not take place this year.
As many of you know, we have been in conversations with Craig Winquist to make sure the grounds are safe for all during convention time. Craig and the two of us have made progress and agreed on a number of protocols.
We (Lecil and Gaby) feel moved to protect our Friends from those, including workers, who have knowingly allowed predators to continue to cause harm. We can only open our home to these people once they have taken actionable steps to right their wrongs and have re-earned the trust of our fellowship and those they harmed. Craig wants to make exceptions for some people. As such, this year’s convention will not proceed.
Instead of convention and preps, we have offered Craig our home as a gathering place for workers to discuss the ongoing SA and CSA crisis. We urge the ministry to use this as an opportunity to develop and implement solutions that atone for the decades of abuse in the Truth.
Our commitment to our faith and our fellowship remains strong, and we are hopeful Craig and other workers will take the necessary steps in time for Clever Special Meeting in April and next year’s convention. We will continue working with them to find solutions that do not compromise the safety or well-being of the fold.
We encourage those whose have knowingly allowed a predator to continue to cause harm to step forward, apologize both publicly and privately, and join the effort to find safety, justice, and peace in the Truth. There is still a chance for you to be a part of the solution.
In solidarity,
The Townsends
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Post by chuck on Aug 13, 2023 7:17:07 GMT -5
Well what do you know, nothing's changed..........Good people who know what's right and then there is the head honchos who need training and they still have no idea......some head honchos need to start facing prison time!
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Post by mountain on Aug 13, 2023 8:37:20 GMT -5
Well what do you know, nothing's changed..........Good people who know what's right and then there is the head honchos who need training and they still have no idea...... some head honchos need to start facing prison time!Far too kind I'm afraid. In prison they will have their daily needs met and once released will be able to return to the fold and probably their former positions. No, just boot them out as no longer being worthy to fill their place, meaning they would have to fend for themselves. I'm sure that's a bigger fear for some of them, rather than prison time? Do that and watch the changes being made!
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patsy
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by patsy on Aug 13, 2023 9:07:37 GMT -5
Thank you, Persona. You all and Widels are brave to stand up to corrupted leadership. I feel like these two families have single-handedly shifted the balance of power away from the Workers and their Overseers, which is much needed for the morale of the church laity. Coraggio!
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Post by cheryl8787 on Aug 13, 2023 9:13:14 GMT -5
Thank you, Persona. You all and Widels are brave to stand up to corrupted leadership. I feel like these two families have single-handedly shifted the balance of power away from the Workers and their Overseers, which is much needed for the morale of the church laity. Coraggio!
If I owned a 'convention ground', I would cancel the conventions until there is a legal waiver that transfers legal liability from the convention grounds owners to Two-By-Twos Incorporated. The reason is that if a CSA happens on the convention grounds, the legal owner of the property can be sued.
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Post by Persona non grata on Aug 13, 2023 10:54:20 GMT -5
Thank you, Persona. You all and Widels are brave to stand up to corrupted leadership. I feel like these two families have single-handedly shifted the balance of power away from the Workers and their Overseers, which is much needed for the morale of the church laity. Coraggio! I’m not deserving of your thanks (I’ve just reposted the letter), but you’re right; these convention ground owners who are standing up to corrupt and morally bankrupt overseers, are exactly what the church needs. And for there to be any positive changes made, the balance of power will have to shift away from the workers and overseers. They’ve shown by their actions over the last several decades, that their priority is maintaining the charade.
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Post by Persona non grata on Aug 18, 2023 20:12:29 GMT -5
A new letter from the owners of Clever, MO convention grounds. In keeping with Proboards policy, the names of the offenders have been redacted. Due to it's length, it is posted in two parts:
Part 1:
Aug 17, 2023
Dear friends,
How do we begin to say sorry to people we’ve loved and hurt? We hope this letter can be the first step.
We would like to make an apology for our part in allowing SA and CSA to continue in our fellowship. Whether out of ignorance or denial, we did not act on what we were being told.
Many years ago our oldest child was a victim of CSA by a member of our fellowship. At the time, they were four years old and didn’t have the words to express what happened. We continued our relationship with that family and unfortunately another violation occurred. It was many years later before that violation was brought to our attention. We still remained in denial. Immediately after the Dean Breur news broke, this child contacted a close friend to discuss a need for a website for victim-survivors to go to for support. They developed https://voicesforthetruth.org . We are so thankful for the many selfless hours of work given by our oldest child in support of victim-survivors all while also being a victim-survivor. We are terribly sorry that they had to suffer alone in silence for so many years.
In 2013, our next oldest child became aware of the extent of CSA in our fellowship. Since that time, she has been actively trying to make us more aware of the CSA issues. Due to her persistence, we finally began to see the gravity of (Redacted)’ involvement in CSA and the mishandlings of the Ministry’s leadership in dealing with predators. In September 2019, just five months after (Redacted) raped our dear sister worker (which we were unaware of at the time), and prior to Clever Convention, we asked to speak to our overseer (who was aware of the violation). Although this daughter was no longer in the fellowship, she remained intent on being a child advocate. With tears in her eyes she sat down with us and the overseer. We pleaded that the overseer would not allow (Redacted) to gather with young children and asked that he please ban (Redacted) from coming to Clever Convention. We were told we alone could say who could and couldn’t come on our property. She helped us to write a letter to (Redacted) stating that fact. We want to thank her for the persistence in being a child advocate and continuing to be involved in making us aware and educating us on the dangers of CSA and coverup. We also want to apologize to her that for so long her voice fell on deaf ears. The following is our letter to (Redacted) along with his response.
09/01/2019
Mr. (Redacted)
I am contacting you concerning the conventions at Clever. As you know, hundreds of our fellow Christians both young and old gather together here once a year to celebrate the life of Christ. We will have a phone number set up to listen in for those that cannot attend convention in person. I strongly urge you to utilize the option to call in to each of the 3 meetings that will be held daily.
This year as in future years, attending in person or staying on the grounds during the week of convention is not an option that will be available to you. It is not our place to judge or convict only to walk with God and open our home as a safe place of worship. We have not addressed any safety concerns in the past as we felt moved to allow the workers to handle the situation. We have been advised that only we have the authority to make a decision about who can and cannot attend the convention at our home. We also feel that this would be best for your own protection against any future accusations that you not be present.
We have made the call-in option available because through Christ is our salvation and we want anyone who can to participate and enjoy the spirit of convention. This has troubled our hearts for some time now. Therefore workers were contacted and they have consented to, and are in agreement with this request. We ask that you respect our decision and respond to let us know that you have received this communication.
Sincerely,
The Townsend Family
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Post by Persona non grata on Aug 18, 2023 20:23:24 GMT -5
Part 2: 09/07/2019 Dear Lecil, God is witness of the grief caused by your strange and questionable judgment. Even though we had hoped to get to Clever convention this year, considering our current major health issues, it is not even feasible to physically attend any convention next week. We love the fellowship and quickening meetings, and hope to share at least some of the meetings by conference call, if that is provided. Sincerely, (Redacted) ———————————————————– In 2013, our youngest daughter, who had 3 small children, also became acutely aware of the horrific acts of CSA committed by (Redacted). She vowed at that time to take action. She contacted as many people as possible via email to sign a petition pleading for our Overseers to take action to rid the fellowship of CSA. Sadly, only 86 people signed that petition, fifteen signed ‘Anonymous’. Due to our refusal to open our eyes and see there was a problem from within our fellowship, she felt she was fighting alone without the support of her parents. For that we want to apologize to her. We also want to thank her for doing what she felt necessary at the time to protect her own family and our grandchildren. Back in 2013, it may have seemed extreme, but we are grateful for her insight and that she felt strong enough to make a stand. The following is a link to the petition written by our youngest daughter 10 years ago. www.gopetition.com/petitions/create-publish-and-implement-a-child-sexual-abuse-education-and- response-plan.html Our youngest child, our son, is presently very active and involved in assisting us in this fight to rid our fellowship of SA and CSA. We want to thank him for volunteering his time, along with our oldest in helping victims-survivors through Voices for the Truth. We want to apologize that he did not see his parents take a more active stance against SA and CSA in the past. We realize what a disappointment this must be to him as well as to his siblings. We want to thank our son for always challenging us and opening up hard conversations. And thank him for the work he’s done to help open us up to a kinder and more loving perspective towards others, especially those who may not share our skin color, sexual orientation or gender, or faith. It is in this that we have become more aware of the needs and struggles of others. Although none of our children currently are in this fellowship, they realize our commitment and love for this fellowship and our desire to remain a part of it. We are sorry that we recently allowed an alleged perpetrator to work on our property even after we learned that there were allegations against him. On June, 9, 2023 we received a letter notifying us of allegations against (Redacted). Then on June 16, 2023 we were notified that (Redacted) would be coming to Clever Convention grounds to pick up some of his personal things, wrap up an electrical project, and drop off a vehicle. Although (Redacted) was never in our home, one week later, (Redacted) was still present on the grounds. We asked Craig Winquist if anything was being done to clear (Redacted) of the allegations and told him that if not, (Redacted) would need to leave. Craig informed us that the allegations were serious and doubted that they would be cleared. (Redacted) was told he would need to leave our property and he left on Sunday June 24, 2023. We know now that allowing (Redacted) to work on our property even after we knew there were allegations against him appeared as us supporting him. To the community and especially victim-survivors, we hope you will accept our sincere apology. To all victim-survivors of CSA and SA: we are deeply sorry for the pain you have experienced. We are sorry that we didn’t do more sooner. We see you. We hear you. We believe you. And we will do everything within our power to support you. SA and CSA have many secondary victim-survivors. It is a crime not only against an individual, but against a community. For our part in the complicity, we are so very sorry. Our lack of awareness and understanding delayed the urgency of action. We have been educating ourselves through literature, conversation, and sharing. And we plan to continue to do so. We understand that ignorance made us make wrong decisions, but that is inexcusable. We have also learned that accountability does not erase the damage done by our actions/inactions. We hope that our current stance against SA and CSA can show that we are not only sorry, but we are also committed to taking an active role in the healing of victim-survivors as well as the prevention of further harm. This letter is in no way written to justify our complicity and inaction in past years. We take full accountability. For too long, we have not considered the anguish SA and CSA has caused the victim-survivors. To those who consider our stance too radical, we hope that you will come to see there is nothing radical about supporting victim-survivors and protecting our fellowship. We know that many of you may have been personally harmed by our inaction on this in the past and you deserve a personal apology as well. Please reach out to us if you feel comfortable doing so: we would be grateful for the opportunity to apologize to you directly. With remorse, Lecil and Gaby Townsend
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Post by Persona non grata on Aug 18, 2023 20:33:45 GMT -5
Of all the qualities necessary to encourage real action, empathy, as evident in this letter, is the most important.
Thank you, Gaby and Lecil Townsend, and your incredible children, for the stance you've taken, for your love for the church, and for the love and empathy you have for victims/survivors of abuse.
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Post by Dan on Aug 19, 2023 1:07:15 GMT -5
Reposting this letter, which was shared with me: Aug. 12, 2023 Dear Friends, We are sorry to announce Clever Convention will not take place this year. As many of you know, we have been in conversations with Craig Winquist to make sure the grounds are safe for all during convention time. Craig and the two of us have made progress and agreed on a number of protocols. We (Lecil and Gaby) feel moved to protect our Friends from those, including workers, who have knowingly allowed predators to continue to cause harm. We can only open our home to these people once they have taken actionable steps to right their wrongs and have re-earned the trust of our fellowship and those they harmed. Craig wants to make exceptions for some people. As such, this year’s convention will not proceed. Instead of convention and preps, we have offered Craig our home as a gathering place for workers to discuss the ongoing SA and CSA crisis. We urge the ministry to use this as an opportunity to develop and implement solutions that atone for the decades of abuse in the Truth. Our commitment to our faith and our fellowship remains strong, and we are hopeful Craig and other workers will take the necessary steps in time for Clever Special Meeting in April and next year’s convention. We will continue working with them to find solutions that do not compromise the safety or well-being of the fold. We encourage those whose have knowingly allowed a predator to continue to cause harm to step forward, apologize both publicly and privately, and join the effort to find safety, justice, and peace in the Truth. There is still a chance for you to be a part of the solution. In solidarity, The Townsends
I doubt that will ever happen because they would be acknowledging that they may have been complicit in a crime (aiding and abetting). I'm guessing attorney's have advised them to keep silent and admit to nothing?
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