Pixaby at Pixels
Prayer of St Benedict of Nursia link
O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen
Prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi link
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
where there is injury, pardon
where there is doubt, faith
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
and where there is sadness, joy
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console
to be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love
for it is in giving that we receive
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen
Prayer of St Francis of Assisi link
Most High
and glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me
truer faith,
more certain hope,
and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge
of you,
so that I may carry out
your holy and true command
for my life.
Amen
Benediction: Prayer of St Theresa of Avila link
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world;
Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which He is to bless others now.
Amen
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The testimonies of survivors inform us about the WW2 Holocaust. Terrence Des Pres of Colgate University documented an understanding of the Holocaust through 4,000 case studies in “The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps.”
The testimonies of survivors of clergy are informing us about predators among church leadership and among church participants.
“In qualitative phenomenological research, lived experience refers to the first-hand involvement or direct experiences and choices of a given person, as in a case study. It is qualitative research based on case studies, instead of quantitative research based on numbers and statistics.
“In phenomenological research or case studies, lived experiences are the main object of study, but the goal of such research is not to solely understand individual experiences but to understand deeply from a case study and apply that understanding broadly.”
Christa Brown, thank you for sharing your experiences. God bless.
We all need to understand the dynamics of church leadership.
Surely a teacher socializing with students would be considered a liability and a red flag. Everyone gets this nowadays.
What are the liabilities and red flags that expose a predatory church leader? Church folk need to face facts. For the safety of us all.
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The Holocaust has been extremely well-documented.
Is there anyone who can collate a similar central archive of documentation?
Something like a Simon Wiesenthal Foundation for Church Abuse?
Here’s a short video that showed up in my YouTube feed over the weekend that might be good as a starting point:
SPIRITUAL NARCISSISM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDO_0iKkE_o
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Thank you, Dee.
John Michael Talbot singing a Bob Dufford composition — a double treat!
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I find it deeply encouraging that Christa was able to parent well in spite of the terrible harms inflicted on her during her childhood.
I hope that God grants her many more years in the land of the living.
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In Romans 1 Paul writes of Divine wrath poured out against unrighteous people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The concealment of grievous misconduct by church officers is a form of suppression of truth. Perhaps JR’s expressed sense that wrath is coming is justified biblically as well as on a priori grounds of God’s justice.
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Unfortunately, all anyone remembers of that chapter-long Decline Narrative is the “GAWD H8S FAGS” verse.
And it doesn’t help that the punch line/Shymalan Twist ending of that Decline Narrative is a verse or two into Romans 2.
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Just got done reading her book. Oh my, I am at a loss for words of all she went through with the church and the family abuse. Thank you Crista. That book was so well written and gives me so much to be aware of in my own church. I am so sorry for what you went through.