TW: Childhood sexual abuse, Church indifference to such abuse

Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. James 1:21-22

This was last Sunday's Lectionary text from James, that pesky book that reminds us that it takes more than saying the sinner’s prayer to save our souls. We must “act on what we hear” (the Message) and get rid of all that evil. 

It’s time to clean house.

Last week, I heard the story of a beautiful human. She was only a small child when she was sexually abused at church and then again while her parents were doing mission work. Through the help of a trauma therapist and many years of work, she has come back to herself. It took some time for this young human to be able to tell her story. Instead of feeling shame and hiding what happened to her, she is openly telling the truth. This comes at a steep price; she's suffered greatly. But with the help of her family and friends, she is speaking out. She's filed a lawsuit against the Christian Reformed Church (the CRC hasn't agreed to settle out of court). It's only right that this case go to court so that full measure of what happened to this young human is made known and so it doesn't happen again. 

This bold, young human is wanting justice, not only for herself, but also for all the ones who have experienced such abuse and those who are to come. She wants the Church to be safe. She wants the Church to be free of this sordid wickedness. We all do.  

We as Church don’t follow these words in the book of James. We victim-blame. We make excuses. We make statements so it sounds like it will never happen again, while still not protecting the most vulnerable ones in our midst. Will you join me in demanding that the CRC does better? Will you join me in supporting Marian Ippel? We must protect the most vulnerable among us. #Believevictims. 

In Christ, 

The Rev. Molly Bosscher