CAM Molestation Issue

[joshuabgood]

https://splash4ripples.com/2019/06/10/h ... 5nzPt5zvXs

CAM obviously needs to issue some sort of statement. If it is/were a mischaracterization, they need to clear that up, if it is true, some-one needs to pony up and represent in Haiti as so requested and they need to publicly acknowledge what happened and conduct an investigation into how their power structures allowed it.

I have emailed them asking for statement.

[steve-in-kville]

I was hearing rumblings of this on Facebook but didn't realize how extensive the damage was. My heart goes out to all involved.

[mike]

I would also like to see a statement from CAM about this. I didn't know about this situation before. For something that apparently has the potential to have an impact on their effectiveness (or even possibly their ability to operate in Haiti) and their donor base it seems it would be in their best interest to do so.

I also think it is good for bad behavior to be exposed so that others may fear. I am sometimes ambivalent about third parties getting involved in an attempt to blow open cases to the public, but the light of day is not a bad thing. Let the sinners beware.

[appleman2006]

I hesitate to speak as well knowing that it is easy to be an armchair quarterback in these situations but from the little I know and have read this morning I am going to say that CAM must issue a response to their constituency as quickly as possible and I mean like today. Perhaps in not saying anything till now the damage has already been done and cannot be repaired but the fact is that they need to issue one quickly and it needs to be believable. If I were advising them I would be suggesting they invest in a professional publicist to deal with this.
Anything issued must include a strong desire to do all that can be done to help the victims directly involved. If this is not a classic example of why hiding this stuff rather than dealing with it right away is a very bad idea than I do not know what is.

I pray and hope that this is some terrible misunderstanding but I am fearful it is not. Again the sooner they issue a statement the better IMO.

[Josh]

Since I became a Christian just shy of 5 years ago, I have been dealing with the ongoing nightmare of this issue and people and things related to it. My awareness started about 4 1/2 years ago. I tried to bury my head in the sand and remain uninvolved.

Eventually, I left my church. My conviction became too strong that it was wrong to speak nothing and pretend I saw nothing. I spent a while wanting nothing to do with plain people at all. After that time ended, I ended up joining the Holdemans, who don't seem to be involved with this at all.

For my trouble of speaking out against this kind of thing, I've been accused (including on MennoNet by some currently-active posters here) of a litany of evil things. I've been told I have "personal problems" or that I have an "unforgiving spirit". I've been told I need to stay out of business that's not my own. I've been told that, as a divorced man, I have no business ever speaking up about this unless my ex-wife decides to reconcile with me. (And I fully expect some of these people to show up here on MennoNet and attack me for saying this.)

I have begged and pleaded with people in positions of authority, ministers, board members, to please, please take this stuff seriously. The most "action" I ever got was that one resigned being a minister and he and his family quit attending church at all. I don't judge him for that, because for approximately half a year, I did exactly the same thing. Just quit attending a plain church at all.

The rest slandered my name, cancelled attending meetings that once they found out I would show up at them, and treated me like I was the problem.

But much worse than how I was treated was how the victims were treated. Nothing I went through can compare to the horrible things said about them and done to them. Young women and young men - much younger than I - told they are the problem - told it's their fault they "seduced" a much older man. Told that they need to be quiet lest they damage a "wonderful ministry". Told they are unforgiving.

Victims have been told by both perpetrators involved, and ministers and board members in positions of authority, that if they "forgive", they won't press charges. That if they are "forgiving", they won't speak to the police about the truth of what happened. And all of this is quite convenient for the perpetrators who get to escape justice.

Oh, and for the record, my ex-wife is on record and completely willing to talk to anyone involved to let them know she and I are on good terms, and she will also be happy to tell them how she feels about this kind of ongoing abuse and cover-ups happening right where she lives. Whilst she and I don't live the same kind of Christian lives, I do feel at peace that there is this level of reconciliation between us.

I thank God every day for bringing me to the church of God, and into a setting where this kind of thing gets dealt with. I hope that the witness of our church can be inspiration to the rest of you that these issues can be dealt with effectively and out in the open and there is a possibility of reconciliation and healing, but for the unrepentant sinner, judgment by earthly courts is just a foretaste of the eternal damnation that awaits.

[steve-in-kville]

I have emailed them asking for statement.

I'd like to know how that turns out. I also can't see why this hasn't made the paper locally, as they are based in Lancaster County.

[Neto]

I have emailed them asking for statement.

I'd like to know how that turns out. I also can't see why this hasn't made the paper locally, as they are based in Lancaster County.

Unless this refers to some other "CAM", it's my understanding that the home office in here in Berlin. (I know there is another organization based in Indiana, also known as CAM, but that's some sort of health sharing organization.)

[joshuabgood]

I have emailed them asking for statement.

I'd like to know how that turns out. I also can't see why this hasn't made the paper locally, as they are based in Lancaster County.

The headquarters is in Berlin OH. There is a warehouse locally.

Josh

[steve-in-kville]

The headquarters is in Berlin OH. There is a warehouse locally.

Josh

That would be right... the corporate office is in Ohio. The company I work for used to donate a lot of product to them (like semi-trailers full). I do remember dealing with someone in Ohio now.

[Ernie]

A statement from CAM is coming.