‘”If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. CS Lewis.

---

I plan to cover the Burk Parsons situation on Monday.

---

This is a two-part post. However, part 2 will be found in this post, updated on Sunday. So check back here. I will add the word “Update” to the title when I add Sunday’s portion.

---

How will Eastminster Church respond?

Some of the victims of Bodie Weiss when he was at Eastminster have banded together to respond to the church. A church is obligated to respond to abuse within its institution when abuse has been discovered, even if it is decades in the past. In my first post on this matter, I said that the victims might not respond in the way the church may hope. The victims are experts on their abuse and have lived with the pain while considering what sort of response they believe is justified. I think that a church in this circumstance should go to the victims and ask them what they believe might be a just and considerate response by the church. My guess, sadly, is that the church lawyers might disagree.

So the victims will react, and that should come as no surprise to the church. This is when a church can demonstrate its compassion for the victims by listening and attempting to understand the victims who have borne this pain for a long time. I will never forget an elder’s (in my former SBC church) remark when I mentioned that the many victims were going to have difficulties in their lives due to the abuse. He said, “They’ll get over it.”  They didn’t, and neither will the victims of Eastminster’s past oversight failures regarding Weiss. Can a church, seeking to do the right thing, persevere with the victims for however long it may take and however difficult it may be?

The victims have formed eastminstertruth.org

Here is a link to their new website. The information is compelling. There is information on:

• How to report abuse safely
• The inadequacies of Kansas state reporting laws.
• A call to change the laws in Kansas
• Timeline of the events surrounding the abuse of victims.
• Survivors statements
• Church response
• Media coverage.

I had no idea of the extent of the victims’ response and was impressed when I viewed the website.

Press release

They asked that the following be posted.

Press Release: Call for Full Cooperation with Law Enforcement

Demand for Transparency and Accountability

For Immediate Release

Wichita, KS, 06/18/2025

In the interest of transparency and justice, we are calling upon Eastminster Presbyterian Church to immediately turn over the entirety of their internal investigation to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. As an institution that stands as a pillar of faith and trust, Eastminster has a moral and civic responsibility to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of truth and accountability.

Recent events have raised significant concerns, and it is imperative that this matter be handled with the utmost seriousness and professionalism. Law enforcement agencies are equipped with the resources and expertise to conduct comprehensive inquiries, ensuring that due process is followed and that any wrongdoing is appropriately addressed under the rule of law.

The days of the church cosplaying as detective, jury and judge need to be over. Their continued mishandling of this case can only be resolved by letting the appropriate professionals do their job.

We victims and the public at large deserve complete transparency, and any delay in transferring the investigation to law enforcement undermines the integrity of the process. We ask for immediate action and await confirmation that this critical step has been taken.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Eastminster Truth

contact@EastminsterTruth.org

Announcing a press conference outside of Eastminster Church at the time of the Service of Lamentation.

Media Advisory

Press Conference Invitation

What:

A press conference will be held to address important updates and announcements related to the serial sexual abuse of children at Eastminster Presbyterian Church from 1990–2006.

Who:

Representatives from Eastminster Truth will be present to provide details and answer questions. Media representatives will have the opportunity to engage directly with the speakers.

When:

Sunday, June 22nd, 4:00 PM

Where:

Outside of Eastminster Church

1958 N Webb Rd, Wichita, KS 67206

Why:

This press conference serves as an opportunity to share critical information and updates with the community through the media.

Contact Information:

For further inquiries or confirmations, please contact:

Tyson Stuart – Eastminster Truth

contact@EastminsterTruth.org

214-236-2850

We look forward to welcoming members of the press to this important event.

Part 2: Check back on Sunday. The following will be read at the press conference today by Eastminster victims.

I continue to be moved by victims of sexual abuse as they make a bold stand to go forward with their identities. Even more stirring is their wish to pursue truth and justice for those harmed by Bodie Weiss. I call attention to their concern that an NDA for one victim was neither requested nor wanted by the family or the victims. It is high time for churches that follow the One who calls Himself the truth to reject the use of NDAs.

Finally, and this one pains me the most, the church has stopped communicating with these victims. It is just another example of churches acting in direct opposition to the life exhibited by Him whom they claim to follow. Yes, Eastminster Church, this is difficult. Hang in there and seek to first understand as opposed to wishing to be understood.

A protest will be held outside the church.

Dee highlighted portions of the following:

Thank you for being here with us today. Our mission is simple – to protect victims of childhood sexual assault past, present and future. You, the media continue to help us so much in trying to meet this mission. We’re grateful to have it.

Earlier this week we made the demand for Eastminster to turn over the entire, unredacted report to law enforcement. We did so for two reasons – aside from it being the right thing to do.

One, their statement released last Saturday claimed that the non-disclosure agreement on the victim and his family from 2008 was initiated by the family. That account directly contradicts the account of both the victim and his parents – who claim that the church initiated that as well as the payment.

And two, one of the investigators for Fact Finding Ministries, Randy Coffman, is a parishioner of Eastminster. This is a clear conflict of interest. I have also heard from some that gave their accounts to the investigation that she did not disclose that information – which to us victims, renders their investigation as non-credible. As a former law enforcement officer, she should have known better.

After raising concerns with her about the disparity in accounts of the origin of the NDA, all communications with the representative of the church assigned to speak with us stopped. Which only leads us to believe that once again, the church is listening to their lawyers not the victims.

A true third party, law enforcement, is the only entity that can conduct the investigation that this case needs. And their non-credible report needs to be turned over to the authorities as evidence.

We also demand that Eastminster do the right thing by that 2008 victim and his family and publicly release them from the NDA.

And finally, the last conversation I had with Brian Roberts, the aforementioned representative, he stated to me that they were doing this so future predators would see this organization as an unsafe space for them – that they would know they are not welcome there and that this never be allowed to happen again. We are willing to help you do so.

We demand that you change your bylaws to direct all future allegations of a crime against a child directly to law enforcement. Eastminster has and continues show itself as wildly incapable of handling such serious allegations in an appropriate manner.

We demand that you change your bylaws to forbid the use of non-disclosure agreements into perpetuity. Silencing truth has no place in any church.

We demand that you publicly call for the passage of HB 2300 – which would make ordained ministers of religion Mandatory Reporters of abuse and neglect of children. Not only would this signal to a predator that they are not welcome at Eastminster but the greater church at-large.

We demand that you publicly request the Kansas State Legislature to introduce a bill that would remove the statute of limitations altogether on the civil recourse for victims of childhood abuse – not just for future cases but also retroactively. The average age a victim comes forward with their story is 52. Under current law, the majority of victims are barred from pursuing civil justice after their 31^st birthday. This law solely exists to protect institutions and the powerful. It is of zero service to victims.

By meeting these demands, Eastminster will be on its way to accomplishing what it says it wants to. It will finally do what is right, not just by all of us victims, but also their current congregation, ensuring to them that their children and their families are truly safe from the threat of any child abuse.

We look forward to that day.