Thanks Rensil. They very much got a lot of attention from Mr Black and it also meant so did we and our lives as children growing up in SMC. The phrase “under his [and her] eye” from Margaret Attwoods Handmaids Tale comes to mind as a good description for the level of scrutiny / surveillance and spiritual abuse we were subject to in SMC and at home.

I’m happy if anyone wants to reach out to me on message if they need or want a chat.

Michele Lunan



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2026 01:26AM by Wise Piglet.

Hi Everyone

I thought I’d share some links that someone kindly shared with me. They provide a well needed vocalisation of spiritual abuse / coercion and its impact. So for anyone who is working on their recovery / healing journey or curious to understand more about the impact on their life, I hope it offers some help to understand these issues as a result of this abuse and trauma from SMC.


Elise Heerde

[www.instagram.com]

[www.eliseheerde.com]

There are also YouTube videos of Elise Heerde speaking about these issues.

Thepearlperspective

[www.instagram.com]

~ Michele Lunan

Hi again, just thought I’d share this. There is a Religious Trauma Collective Online event 19-21 June with themed talks. It’s completely free and you get access to all live recordings for 2 days afterwards. If you want longer access then there is a fee. Thought it might be of interest.


[www.thereligioustraumacollective.com]

I have been thinking about my earlier post explaining why I think that there will at some point be answers and apologies, and would like to add in one further perspective, which is perhaps the most important one of all.

That is “the God’s perspective” so to speak. I appreciate this is not the place to promote one particular world view, but it seems to me that is a reasonable thing to talk about in this context as this thread is about an organisation that claims to be a church and claims the Bible has some sort of value to them. Admittedly they frequently use the Bible to confirm their own rather unbiblical views, but they do in theory acknowledge it as a source of wisdom. I think it is therefore appropriate to reference the Bible and the accepted teachings of Christianity and to ask how Struthers fits within these teachings.

I think the answer is pretty clear. The Bible is full of the message that when people turn away from God, He brings all sorts of difficulties into their lives in the hope they will see that things are not working and they need to turn to Him. These trials that are sent are basically to help them break away from the trap Einstein noted that, “the definition of madness is to keep doing the same things over and over and expect a different result.”

God disrupting things to break the auto-repeat pattern is evident throughout the Bible. Abraham’s nephew Lot, Joseph’s brothers, the people of Ninevah that Jonah preached to and the entire history of the people of Israel is packed full of the key message “the reason you are in this mess is that you have turned to idols instead of me”. That is exactly what is happening in Struthers. They have turned to the idol of Mr Black’s and their own omnipotence and are unwilling to take mistakes seriously. Instead, they make bigger and bigger offerings to the gods they have created in their own image.

The difficulties will continue until they realise God is sending these trials because they continue to travel in the wrong direction.

I am aware of a number of specific incidents that have escalated over the years. These incidents could have been dealt with easily at the time but SMC decided they best approach was to hide their head in the sand. The result was of course that things escalated. At a human level, that escalation was largely because of the reasons I suggested in my earlier post.

It was also however because God is at work here. He needs the leaders to repent and turn away from their arrogance and idolatry. Until they do so, things will continue to get worse. Maybe it will be a critical illness, maybe a building falling down, maybe a disagreement between people, maybe a feature on the BBC, maybe people finding their unprofessional behaviour has career implications. I don’t know what it will be, but I know the leaders will continue to be beset by troubles until they realise that God is trying to get them to listen to His voice telling them they are going in the wrong direction.

That is why the human level “divide and conquer” approach will not work. They still think that they can manage the situation by picking off individuals and trying to appease them. That is not ever going to be enough. That is like the Post Office offering individuals compensation and asking them to keep it confidential. What is needed is a public acknowledgement that something went wrong. In every case in the Bible, that is what was needed, why should it be different for the Struthers leaders?

In my view, that admission is almost all that is needed. It is in many ways a big thing – an admission that this has not been handled well - but it is in another way quite a small thing: a simple acknowledgment that things have not been handled well and a plan to involve some sort of outside agency in dealing with issues. They could pull that together in an hour. The ONLY thing that stops them is their arrogant commitment to the unbiblical belief in their own infallibility. Sure, it would be embarrassing to admit they got it wrong and need outside help. So what? Does that really matter in the great scheme of things?

Leaders, but especially Diana, things will continue to get worse. You cannot stand against God. You are being King Canute trying to hold back the tide, Saul “kicking against the pricks” or Pharoh not wanting to let God’s people go. Greater and greater plagues will come upon you. You have already seen the next generation of leaders leaving, buildings needing repair, the closure of the coffee shops and schools, the continued development of this forum, legal questions, and interest from the mainstream media. What will it take to let you see that God is trying to break you out of your little bubble of assurance? Bankruptcy? Some sort of public scandal? A leader losing their job? Being thrown out of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches? Someone going to prison?

Stop this madness! See concerns and complaints as a resource – something that can give insight into how things are really going. Talk to people. Learn to swim, not to foolishly tell the tide to turn back. Sure it will be hard but, unlike your current path, it is possible and it can actually resolve the problem. God will humble you one way or the other. It would be better to turn to Him now, not to "feel His presence" but to do His will: show humility, care, compassion, empathy. Follow the example of Christ and be a servant rather than lording it over people.

I’ve just found some private messages here, as has someone else. Apologies for missing them. It’s quite a clunky platform to use!

The other person being me! Apologies to the people involved: I've now replied pro tem. Re online C S Lewis reading group. Anyone one else interested? Don't be scared that I'm an "intellectual". I'm nothing.

More importantly, does anyone have the final full figures for how much of the church's wealth was diverted - without wide consent? - to the failing businesses, particularly the Speir school?

The reason I ask is that I know people in the church are still adamantly denying the scale of the losses. I want to put them right.

I'd also like to see much more pressure being put on the guilty parties.

Does anyone here know how to delete private messages in this forum? I’m told mine is 100% full but there is no clear way to sort this.

You might have got this by the time I reply, but my method for deleting is: click on either Inbox or Sent box. You get your mail box with square tick box capability down the left hand side. Tick what you want to delete. Then scroll down to the bottom of page and there is a delete button which has probably been out of sight.

Peter and Nicola.

Any structural issues and responses to structural issues sounding familiar this week?

This Forum has referred folk before to Companies House website: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC335480/officers][/url]
There it lists Mrs Diana Rutherford as the Person with Significant Control with Nature of control stated to be: Has significant influence or control over the trustees of a trust

Reading the latest accounts lodged at Companies House,
First I notice that the Trustee who signed off the accounts on page 10 is Mr G Rutherford.

Then I notice a lot of detail re personnel on the preceding page:

Quote

The Charity operates a Finance Committee, which meets at regular intervals to discuss and agree on matters relating to the finance and administration of the churches. The Committee then passes its proposals to the Trustees for their consideration and decision. This Committee currently comprises two members of the Board of Trustees and the Central Treasurer:

Mr Neil MacFarlane
Mr Graham Offord (Central Treasurer)
Mr Kyle Robinson
Mr Graham Rutherford (Director)
Mr Scott Rutherford
Mr Gareth Watkins (Director)

As of March 2025, none of the Trustees, members of the Board of Management or the ministers and leaders of our churches receive remuneration for their roles within the Charity.

The Trustees, who are also the Directors for the purposes of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

Mr Stephen Beath
Mr Mark Kirk
Miss Elaine MacDonald
Mrs Jennifer Offord
Mrs Diana Rutherford
Mr Graham Rutherford
Mr Gareth Watkins

Here's some journalism from the last week of May:

Hannah Brown of The Herald 31st May 2026

Quote

John Swinney has admitted there was a "fundamental flaw" in having Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell occupying the two most senior positions in the SNP as the former party leader admits she should have heeded Alex Salmond's warning

Mr Swinney also said he has not been in contact with those who raised concerns with the party's finances ahead of the police investigation Operation Branchform.

and again from same Herald article, which is quoting BBC Sunday Show in turn

Quote

Asked by the BBC Sunday show if he had ever raised concerns that a husband and wife were simultaneously serving as party leader and chief executive, Mr Swinney said he had not.

Mr Swinney said he never raised concerns as he said he thought those arrangements were “well managed” through a business convener. The then-business convenor was Kirsten Oswald who is now an MSP and a minister for Victims and Community Safety.

However, he added: "But it's very clear from the experience that we're all having to come to terms with this week that there was a fundamental flaw in those arrangements and we have to confront that."

Asked if he had been in contact with Joanna Cherry and Douglas Chapman who resigned from the SNP's National Executive Committee in 2021 due to concerns around transparency, Mr Swinney said he had not.

"I haven't done that, no, because what I've got to do is serve my party and make sure I take forward the improvements in the governance that are taking place so that we have the highest standards of governance," he said.

Mr Swinney added: "We've got effective mechanisms in place in which people can complain about issues they're concerned about."

Nothing to see here.