Post by Admin on Jun 20, 2023 19:23:47 GMT -5
Dear Merlin,
This letter is also addressed to Reid, Paul and Joshua.
It has come to our attention that you are spreading the word that we are speaking to people to gather support for us having lost our Sunday meeting and asking them to speak up on our behalf. THIS IS NOT TRUE. We have NOT requested of ONE single person to reach out to any one of you with respect to our meeting being “taken away”. We encourage you to ask anyone that have written you about the removal of our meeting whether we had asked them to do so.
We continue with our Sunday meeting. Nothing to take away. We enjoy it when others attend our Sunday meeting on an ad-hoc basis to add to our number.
Note the following for the record:
With respect to our Sunday meeting, we have not gone looking for support from any person whatsoever.
Many people have however heard of the decision regarding our meeting and have reached out to US. Many of those people we have never even met before. Most of those people have shared with us their frustrations with the workers in BC and the mishandling of issues (see 3 below).
We have communicated the following concerns to you (as have many others):
Handling of CSA issues and suppression of transparency. (Why is there still no general notification of current CSA investigations in BC in order that victims be made aware. Also there has been no notification of members stepping down from Merlin’s CSA committee, why not?);
The unacceptable treatment, silencing and bullying of sister workers;
Overseers and workers’ abuse of power;
Suggested changes to restore trust and a healthy foundation for our fellowship.
We have communicated with friends regarding the manner in which you, as ministers in a position of trust have been conducting yourselves. One such issue is bold faced lying and below is a recent example:
Reid and Joshua, you have spoken to people this past week suggesting that you have been trying to arrange to meet with us and that we have not accepted this - HOW do you manage to lie so blatantly? You know that after Gospel meeting when we greeted you at the door that we INVITED you to come to our place. Specifically, you Joshua. We were genuinely pleased to see you when you took Paul’s place with Reid and we specifically said to you after your first Gospel meeting “thank you for a Gospel message today and please come and visit us anytime”. You know that we invited you directly more than once and you, Reid, know and heard that invitation after Gospel meeting. You have our cell phone numbers and email addresses and we have not received a single request to meet.
If anyone of you did send requests to meet with us and if we declined or if you did not receive a reply from us: please forward the time-stamped communication to us and everyone on this letter.
There have been meetings with concerned friends in BC where you are KNOWN to have LIED and be very clear: several people present in those meetings KNOW the truth. How do you expect the friends in our fellowship to have any trust in the ministry when you yourselves don’t follow the most basic Doctrine?
Merlin, we understand that communication was sent to elders recently regarding baptism arrangements. While we had heard of it, we never received any details. We then contacted Reid by text to ask if there were recent communications and were told there was communication about baptism, but without any details. We still have not received details from Reid or anyone else. This does beg the question whether you, Merlin, Paul, Joshua and Reid consider our children as unworthy of baptism? Interestingly, our text to Reid was recent and further evidence of how there has been ample opportunity for Reid and Joshua to make contact to meet with us.
Kind regards
Jeremy and Leonie Tomlinson
This letter is also addressed to Reid, Paul and Joshua.
It has come to our attention that you are spreading the word that we are speaking to people to gather support for us having lost our Sunday meeting and asking them to speak up on our behalf. THIS IS NOT TRUE. We have NOT requested of ONE single person to reach out to any one of you with respect to our meeting being “taken away”. We encourage you to ask anyone that have written you about the removal of our meeting whether we had asked them to do so.
We continue with our Sunday meeting. Nothing to take away. We enjoy it when others attend our Sunday meeting on an ad-hoc basis to add to our number.
Note the following for the record:
With respect to our Sunday meeting, we have not gone looking for support from any person whatsoever.
Many people have however heard of the decision regarding our meeting and have reached out to US. Many of those people we have never even met before. Most of those people have shared with us their frustrations with the workers in BC and the mishandling of issues (see 3 below).
We have communicated the following concerns to you (as have many others):
Handling of CSA issues and suppression of transparency. (Why is there still no general notification of current CSA investigations in BC in order that victims be made aware. Also there has been no notification of members stepping down from Merlin’s CSA committee, why not?);
The unacceptable treatment, silencing and bullying of sister workers;
Overseers and workers’ abuse of power;
Suggested changes to restore trust and a healthy foundation for our fellowship.
We have communicated with friends regarding the manner in which you, as ministers in a position of trust have been conducting yourselves. One such issue is bold faced lying and below is a recent example:
Reid and Joshua, you have spoken to people this past week suggesting that you have been trying to arrange to meet with us and that we have not accepted this - HOW do you manage to lie so blatantly? You know that after Gospel meeting when we greeted you at the door that we INVITED you to come to our place. Specifically, you Joshua. We were genuinely pleased to see you when you took Paul’s place with Reid and we specifically said to you after your first Gospel meeting “thank you for a Gospel message today and please come and visit us anytime”. You know that we invited you directly more than once and you, Reid, know and heard that invitation after Gospel meeting. You have our cell phone numbers and email addresses and we have not received a single request to meet.
If anyone of you did send requests to meet with us and if we declined or if you did not receive a reply from us: please forward the time-stamped communication to us and everyone on this letter.
There have been meetings with concerned friends in BC where you are KNOWN to have LIED and be very clear: several people present in those meetings KNOW the truth. How do you expect the friends in our fellowship to have any trust in the ministry when you yourselves don’t follow the most basic Doctrine?
Merlin, we understand that communication was sent to elders recently regarding baptism arrangements. While we had heard of it, we never received any details. We then contacted Reid by text to ask if there were recent communications and were told there was communication about baptism, but without any details. We still have not received details from Reid or anyone else. This does beg the question whether you, Merlin, Paul, Joshua and Reid consider our children as unworthy of baptism? Interestingly, our text to Reid was recent and further evidence of how there has been ample opportunity for Reid and Joshua to make contact to meet with us.
Kind regards
Jeremy and Leonie Tomlinson