I have never been a member of Struthers Memorial Church and have not posted here before, but know people who have and have seen the impact on their lives.
I will not really be posting anything about myself or my opinions though, I have just set up this account as I have been asked to pass on some info. I have set up the account so that the info is not associated with any of the other people who post here.
The info I am passing on is a complaint that was submitted to Struthers. I enclose a copy of that complaint below. A response has been received and I will post that in about a week.
The complaint was:
This is a formal complaint that we would like to be addressed in line with your published Complaints Handling Policy and Procedure and Safeguarding Policy. Having read these policies we have noted that you will take seriously complaints from anonymous sources, so look forward to your response on this matter, which we believe is of the utmost seriousness and importance.
The background to this complaint is that a number of people have commented online upon their experience when involved in Struthers Memorial Church or upon leaving SMC. While a few of these comments have been recorded on other websites, the vast majority have been made on the message thread about SMC which can be found on the Cult Education Institute website at
[
forum.culteducation.com]
SMC defines a complaint as a written or verbal expression of dissatisfaction. The vast majority of the comments on the forum clearly fall within this definition. We are aware that SMC has known of the forum for some time but, for the avoidance of doubt, we now raise the content of the forum as a complaint (or as multiple complaints).
SMC should now, in line with its own policy, view these complaints as “an opportunity to learn...” and “an opportunity to put things right for the individual or organisation.”
This is our overarching complaint: that, being aware of the content of the forum, SMC is failing to implement its own policy by, amongst other things, failing to take this opportunity to seek to make things right for the individuals concerned.
This complaint is from a number of people who have contributed to the forum. The authors have also, through anonymous direct messages and other means, had some contact with others on the forum who have not directly assisted in drafting this complaint, and with people still in SMC.
According to your Complaint Handling Policy and Procedure, all these “written or verbal expression of dissatisfaction” ought to be treated with respect and should be addressed “openly and honestly” as former leader Grace Gault confirmed (see her sermon quoted on latigo214.info).
We further note that your policy does not prohibit or in any way discriminate against complaints on grounds of religious belief, the emotional wellbeing of the complainant, or any other grounds, and can find no provision for treating both a complaint and a complainant with anything other than this respect.
We however understand that, rather than being treated with due regard, contributors to the forum (who in our experience are genuine, honest individuals; and who are in many cases committed Christians, or seekers who wish to better understand the Christian faith) have been degraded and demonised by the leadership of SMC, with public and private state- ments being made that suggest the contributors are lying, motivated by bitterness, or part of a satanic attack.
This raises a number of question such as whether SMC is in possession of any evidence to support these assertions and whether SMC regards such allegations being spoken of publicly in SMC meetings as compatible with the spirit and intent of the complaints policy.
As well as asking SMC to examine and respond to each of the individual matters raised on the forum, we therefore raise specific questions regarding any such statements made by those in positions of authority within SMC, and directed at those who contribute to the forum.
In addressing this complaint, the points we would like addressed by SMC are:
1. Each of the individual issues and complaints mentioned on the forum. While we understand that the response to some of these matters may be taken up directly with the people concerned through a Private Message on the forum or some other means, we would ask to be informed on an ongoing basis of the steps SMC is taking, or planning to take, to address these issues.
2. Whether any statements critical of the contributors to the forum have been made (for example, that they are insincere, motivated by bitterness, mentally ill, lying, or inspired by some form of evil). If so:
• to whom on the forum do any such statements apply?
• was any sort of investigation carried out prior to making these statements?
• are any of these statement based on any sort of evidence that would be acceptable
in secular courts - for example direct quotes from a person, a professional psycho-
logical examination etc.?
• are any of these statements based on any sort of direct revelation from God, such
as a vision, dream or prophetic utterance?
• do SMC stand by any or all of these statements? If so, will your policy be amended
to show that one possible result of raising a concern is not to be treated with re- spect, but instead to be branded a liar and an emissary of the devil, or subject to some other derogatory comment by a SMC leader, either privately or publicly?
• are there any statements that have been made along this line that SMC would con- demn as inaccurate or inappropriate?
• are there any such statements that SMC neither endorses nor condemns? If so, what position do they take in regard to these statements?
3. Do SMC believe that individuals who have been hurt should remain silent so as to pro- tect the reputation of an organisation?
We look forward to clarification of these important matters in your response to this com- plaint.
Please note that, while the complaint is anonymous, the response can be forwarded by replying to this email address.