Poll: Perceptions about CAM

[Wade]

Since I don't have contact with CAM and have only met a couple people that work for CAM programs and don't live in Ohio or Pennsylvania most of the information I know about CAM I have found online...

I believe Mennonites are big on truth and honesty. And from my upbringing that automatically includes openness and transparency. And so I assumed CAM was very open and transparent being run by CA's living in truth and honesty.

So because I don't have much contact and it seems they are not willing to be more open and transparent, I think it would be wiser for me to find things I can support locally and have personal contact with rather than my mistake of assuming things.

[joshuabgood]

Two things would improve my perception.

1) Hire GRACE. Though the investigation is of course much harder now to do right.

2) Apologize às an institution for the culture and negligence of the leadership that sent a known pedophile to work with children.

[RZehr]

Okay Ernie, I took your advise. It’s easier to be a keyboard activist than have hard, real conversations asking hard questions, isn’t it?

Had a talk with David Troyer tonight. I feel a lot of respect for him. And by extension my respect and confidence in CAM has gone up to.
- With regard to the lack of updates, there has been so little to update that is why they haven’t. On the Haiti front, they are working with 3rd party to do what they can, but as has been mentioned the political environment is making it more difficult.
- On the internal investigation, they are working to get a 3rd party investigation.
My understanding from DT is that some of them had a bit of hesitation over GRACE because it is not an Anabaptist based organization. CAM did not feel comfortable hand picking private individuals to do the investigation, so they have asked a certain 3rd party (did not say who) individual to create a team to do it. This person has not yet been given the green light from his board to take on the investigation.
I asked if there has been feet dragging and hesitancy on the part of CAM because there are more skeletons they are afraid will come out. Such as either another leader being protected or another scandal in another country, or anything like these, and he said absolutely not.
- I asked him if he is aware of any financial impropriety of any sort domestically involving kickbacks or anything like that, and he said not at all.
- I asked if they are refraining on mailing updates on all this because they don’t want people without social media access to know the updates. The answer was emphatic no.
He thought that they did mail one update out, and seemed to see some value in ensuring that whatever was posted online, was mailed as well. Said he would check about that.
-I said in my opinion, CAM excels at communicating their needs and in organization, and that the lack of communication on this subject from them looks strange and out of character. He seemed to understand.

He said I was welcome to call him anytime, but gave me three names (James B Mullet, Bobby Miller, Weston Showalter) at CAM who are working more directly on this and might be better equipped to answer specifics. Said I’d probably need to leave a message with the folks at the office for which person I wanted to talk with, and that person would call back as soon as they could.

*** Edited name from David Weaver to David Troyer 1/26/2020

[queserasera_2]

My respect for CAM has been badly damaged.
The lack of communication and transparency being the greatest factor. Lack of obvious institutional remorse. Statements deceptive and lawyerly. The fact that Dwayne Stoltzfus is still involved after defending J Mast in court when J Mast used "consensual" as part of his defense when asking for leniency. The fact that nothing has been confirmed about whether Eli and Paul are back in the thick of it or not. The fact that nothing has been said about Harold Herr.
As soon as I can figure out how to remove my financial support, I will.

Sorry, Ernie, but this was verrrry badly handled. To quote someone from Haiti... "The gospel has been crapped on in so many ways."

[joshuabgood]

My understanding from DT is that some of them had a bit of hesitation over GRACE because it is not an Anabaptist based organization.

While I am unapologetically willing to challenge faith traditions outside of the CA tradition, this sentiment, simply as stated, assuming it is quoted more or less accurately, is problematic in my view. And, it's a short link between thinking "only our tradition can bring appropriate value," and the arrogance needed to "know better" than the law concerning how to report or deal with sexual predators. The underlying arrogance (that bolsters the fear of other traditions) of our "CA circles" (as I've written about elsewhere), weakens our culture and tradition rather than strengthening them. We need not fear other traditions. We can challenge them. Perhaps there should be room for embracing the humility that an organization like GRACE, Christian though not CA, can actually help bring value and restitution to a CA institution is not so far fetched.

We, as CA's, don't have it all right and, given enough humility, could learn from GRACE or some other similar organization even if they aren't CA. The objectivity and "outside the sphere's of influence," that GRACE would bring, would do much to re-establish the sincerity of CAM with regard to addressing this tragedy and the institutional culture/practices that permitted it.

And I can't help but point this out yet, one wonders if the teams of lawyers that are advising CAM (and helping them write statements), from DC are also conservative Anabaptist? (But judging from the names quoted and the fact the firm was from DC it seems unlikely) So it seems that there aren't specially objections about hiring attorney's that aren't CA to protect their interests. But when it comes to hiring a investigatory agency, the hesitations come out. I think reasonable people would want to know why...what underlying beliefs and assumptions drive that distinction? Why?

[Judas Maccabeus]

My understanding from DT is that some of them had a bit of hesitation over GRACE because it is not an Anabaptist based organization.

While I am unapologetically willing to challenge faith traditions outside of the CA tradition, this sentiment, simply as stated, assuming it is quoted more or less accurately, is problematic in my view. And, it's a short link between thinking "only our tradition can bring appropriate value," and the arrogance needed to "know better" than the law concerning how to report or deal with sexual predators. The underlying arrogance (that bolsters the fear of other traditions) of our "CA circles" (as I've written about elsewhere), weakens our culture and tradition rather than strengthening them. We need not fear other traditions. We can challenge them. Perhaps there should be room for embracing the humility that an organization like GRACE, Christian though not CA, can actually help bring value and restitution to a CA institution is not so far fetched.

We, as CA's, don't have it all right and, given enough humility, could learn from GRACE or some other similar organization even if they aren't CA. The objectivity and "outside the sphere's of influence," that GRACE would bring, would do much to re-establish the sincerity of CAM with regard to addressing this tragedy and the institutional culture/practices that permitted it.

And I can't help but point this out yet, one wonders if the teams of lawyers that are advising CAM (and helping them write statements), from DC are also conservative Anabaptist? (But judging from the names quoted and the fact the firm was from DC it seems unlikely) So it seems that there aren't specially objections about hiring attorney's that aren't CA to protect their interests. But when it comes to hiring a investigatory agency, the hesitations come out. I think reasonable people would want to know why...what underlying beliefs and assumptions drive that distinction? Why?

It is clear they do not have the experience to handle thin.

GRACE does. So what is the holdup?

J.M.

[Elbee]

...given that the one thing CAM excels at in my opinion is communication (specifically when there is an urgent need), and how they also excel at organization (in my opinion), their lack of clear communication and apparent inaction were red flags. Were these red flags justified, or not? Only time would tell. Well, now we have this other HH case come to light and it really looks to me that something is rotten in Denmark, or in this case Berlin.

This quote summarizes my feelings right now. I look around the world and see the many and varied good things CAM is doing and it makes me sad to see them stumble and fumble and bring reproach on the Gospel of Jesus through their handling of the Jeriah Mast case in the last year(s).

IMO one indicator of a company's/organization's health is employee retention and reasons people do leave. During 2019 four people left CAM's 9-10 person accounting team. Most of them gave the response to the JM case as part (but only part) of the reason for leaving and said it was indicative of issues they had been seeing among upper management. One of those who left had been with the accounting team for over 10 years and one for a couple months.

CAM is involved with much good and it nearly makes me cry to realize how much more good they could be doing with a name that is above reproach. I voted for 3,7,8,10

[appleman2006]

...given that the one thing CAM excels at in my opinion is communication (specifically when there is an urgent need), and how they also excel at organization (in my opinion), their lack of clear communication and apparent inaction were red flags. Were these red flags justified, or not? Only time would tell. Well, now we have this other HH case come to light and it really looks to me that something is rotten in Denmark, or in this case Berlin.

This quote summarizes my feelings right now. I look around the world and see the many and varied good things CAM is doing and it makes me sad to see them stumble and fumble and bring reproach on the Gospel of Jesus through their handling of the Jeriah Mast case in the last year(s).

IMO one indicator of a company's/organization's health is employee retention and reasons people do leave. During 2019 four people left CAM's 9-10 person accounting team. Most of them gave the response to the JM case as part (but only part) of the reason for leaving and said it was indicative of issues they had been seeing among upper management. One of those who left had been with the accounting team for over 10 years and one for a couple months.

CAM is involved with much good and it nearly makes me cry to realize how much more good they could be doing with a name that is above reproach. I voted for 3,7,8,10

My feelings almost exactly. (Minus the remarks on the accounting department as I know nothing about that.)

[Josh]

It’s possible to like CAM and have confidence in CAM but to observe that the upper management is inept or corrupt.

[steve-in-kville]

IMO one indicator of a company's/organization's health is employee retention and reasons people do leave. During 2019 four people left CAM's 9-10 person accounting team. Most of them gave the response to the JM case as part (but only part) of the reason for leaving and said it was indicative of issues they had been seeing among upper management. One of those who left had been with the accounting team for over 10 years and one for a couple months.

That half a department!

Turnover is something I always look at in any organization. Another is if people are being promoted and used to their skills utilized.