How Do We Move Forward?
How do we move forward when you’re no longer here How do we move forward when we can’t feel you near, How do we move forward when we miss you every day We know it’s a part of life, but our hearts want you to stay… How do we go forward when we can’t hear your voice Our hearts cry for you daily And, in this circumstance we didn’t even get a choice… No one, I mean no one wants a child to go this way...so we wish...I wish… We knew the words to say… You see my heart exploded when I first laid eyes on you my wonderful child It was love at first sight I would stare at you for hours…morning, noon and night… You took my breath away when I first heard you say… "I love you mommy"... "I love you daddy" Oh how we wish to hear your voice again...so tell us how... How do we move forward…without you When we heard we would be a grandparent…brother, sister, and auntie too we all imagined the wonderful things that we would do... Oh, and all your c
Great article. Yes, you're right...ladies MUST beware. But they must also be AWARE as well.
ReplyDelete(1) Any lady (woman) who attends church, whether helping in ministry or not, is at risk--predators are merely looking for anyone they can attack and will try to gain the victim's confidence, looking for weaknesses (sometimes using their power and authority as a pastor to create weaknesses);
(2) In most states there are no laws against pastors assaulting ladies over the age of 18. This means there is no protection from our society to help if a lady is victimized. Don't count on the church to help--the church--generally as a whole-- historically blames the victim and exonerates the predator, even in churches that supposedly have a plan to handle these cases (such as Presbyterian Church USA).
(3) If a lady is assaulted it's because she was victimized by a predator who was in authority over her--much like incest in a family. It takes YEARS to get over the damage done, and some victims never get over what happened. Many leave the faith altogether, finding it too difficult to separate the "love of God" from what the evil pastor predator did to them.
(4) Victims are never at fault for the "crime" but they are generally blamed for what happened.
So, thanks for your article! I hope all ladies (and women), and even men, become aware that there is a need to beware of pastor predators in church. Statistically, any church with more than 3 pastors has at least one pastor predator on staff--another bit of information to be aware of.
Name withheld to protect myself
Thanks for sharing! What you have said is so true!!! The best thing we can do is keep sharing information and bring light to this disturbing issue!
ReplyDelete