Some very interesting posts of recent.
I was about to submit this that follows **
when I read RedRoad’s post.
Wow and yes! I possibly went the other way as a parent, giving a lot of elasticity to rules and allowing more than perhaps I would’ve done if I hadn’t experienced Struthers.
So much unnecessary drama, trauma and exhaustion caused by the Struthers lifestyle imposed on young folks.
Again, maybe because I wasn’t brought up in Struthers and didn’t suffer what has been recently documented and so carefully written & shared by RedRoad,I could see both sides.

Here follows what I was about to post:

**Phoebe2 we will miss you. I particularly enjoyed your last but one post.

Yes, Lesley I remember hearing of these social outings from someone, being amazed that you were getting away with them and wondering what they were like.
At that point, due to the separation and death to self preaching, I was feeling I had to isolate myself in a horrendous, tiny bedsit in Kersland Street, Glasgow, the cheapest I could find. I’m not of a depressive disposition but living like that sure pushed me quite close to it!!. No socialising of any sort whatsoever, working full-time and going out to meetings every night then returning alone, to a dark hovel-but I’ve said that in earlier posts. That year of living in Kersland Street was surely my bleakest and was so unnecessary.
I’m certainly not blaming my mother (to whom I would not have listened at the time) but I would definitely try to disrupt
my own children if they thought they had to live like this.
Listening to recent accounts, I’m even more glad we got them out.

Welcome everyone! This forum has helped me lots. Thanks all for sharing. I am so sorry for all those who have been through horrific times.

Whilst I do understand that this feels like a safe place to share (and so it should be!) please remember that this is a public forum. Anyone can read it. And whilst most usernames are anonymous, where there is a will there is a way and your identity could be found - as sadly I know. The BBC may still do a documentary. Papers can quote what we say. So whilst sharing and venting can help us all massively please do remember that if your identity was to be revealed please make sure that you are comfortable with that being known. I’m sure many are. I say this from a place of care. This is my personal opinion.

This was posted in under a new subject line (I think by mistake) so I have copied it in here for completion

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Alison Spiers Horror minister
Posted by: Esmespiers ()
Date: March 29, 2025 06:40AM


ALISON Spiers_ Horror minister or waa she, a minister? THE Greek what shoukdca true minister be like l really don't know?
Should they be bullies l think not.

Life in Cedars:

1: Toilet DUTY- " Scrub them clean Esme!".
2: Wash all the dishes duty.
3: Servitude season where you did all that
Spiers told you to and it was endless.
Described as Character building.
4: 6 meetingva week.
5: No MOD music, no make up as she said it
was filthy, filthy fiLthy!".
6: No groups or activities allowed.
7: Hours of silence in my room as l was a
rebel that's because l was and young or
meant to be.
8: l had to read that madame Guionne trash l
mean who asks for pox because they are so
beautiful?
9: Unless you have been brought up in Cedars commune, attended meeting after meeting had no right to a choice, va voice or been able to autonomy then it is hard to understand.

10. I dint mean this to be boring but this is my time to share and l appreeatev you being supportive. It has taken me years to share what it was like for us as young people having Piers as a, so called minister. The other name we thought of for her was ", Rash", like all over you and that was what she was.

11: My generation have found it hard to share here because we were so afraid of " touching the the Lords anointed".
But, because we love God he anoints us all and in being his we can speak out.

12: Maybe me and the kids will pop in to Largs and shake the web!

This is likely to be my last post.
God bless you all.
Esme

Why should AlsingvandcHyde strutvaroubdca new church to harass other people. She wasn't called spiders for nothing. She is already preaching, vdeputising at the church of Nazareen Largs.

Thanks for sharing the Greek. I have reached out x

Thank you The Greek.

Lesley, l have many happy stories and will share 1 just for you.

The lesson in Servitude, make lunch for many people. Well l had to mait extra special for Spiders. Her roll had Jalepenosca double portion ( extra hot small chillies) and just a wee bit of extra Senokot! In her soup!!! She was irate, beetroot red when she bit into the rolls. The Senokot was less obiviuo! Hyde got 2 fools! She always went on about a double portion!
We did laugh for ages about that. Last time l got that lesson in making lunch!

Of course there was no senokot, just extra PEPPER IN Spiers bowl but as l SAY my kitchen days ended fast!

Sorry but this may be a long post!
To
Esmespiers
Welcome to the forum and for your courage to be so open about your experiences re- Alison Spiers and her daughter.
I say this because I’ve wanted the younger generation to come forward to the forum to really describe the horrors which was AS.
Just to say I sat under AS ministry for 20+ years. I saw her as a fairly new Christian (age doesn’t matter) being handed ‘power’ that she should have never been given. I remember saying to friends that Mary was training Alison to take over the Glasgow Church, long before she became minister. What I didn’t realise at the time was Alison had her eye on the ‘whole kingdom’ which was SMC. I watched her (and eventually her unsuitable daughter at about 15 years)groom young people to be under her control and eventually under the control of her daughter. Where was the ‘safeguarding’ re children….where was the responsible parent! I remember thinking (I was in my early 20’s) that if I ever have children in the future neither AS or her daughter will ever get anywhere near them. I didn’t see Christianity in them I saw mental, emotional and spiritual abuse of children to young adults.
But as redroad described I didn't (thank you for your openness and description of what it was like being brought up as a child in SMC) realise that this was actually symptomatic of the whole of SMC
But unfortunately I was deluded because I kept thinking it will change ….but it never did! So I wasted my young adulthood and well into my late 40’s aspiring to the ‘lie’ but all I did was go round in circles downwards - not in the wilderness because that’s the garden of Eden compared to where my mindset was.
I think the difference between my generation (now late 50’s +)and yours esme was that the majority of my generation who had been mainly taught under MB ministry were seen as ‘not her people’. Why? Because we read the Bible and knew that breaking to a woman’s (or mans will) was not only unscriptural but completely ‘cultish’ and appalling for any leader to think far less demand from the platform or one to one. The fact that this was done to children via her daughter is even more disturbing. I actually saw it in action by the daughter….to a child of about 7 years ….my face would have read a mixture of deep concern for the child and absolute disgust at LS. Why do I describe my face? Well while I was watching LS belittling this child her mother AS was watching me! Of course when AS and I met eye to eye in this moment I just shook my head. At this point I was on my way out the church.
So my generation which stayed for years were made to feel like absolute failures, not spiritual (I was told this face to face) and became a subculture in SMC Glasgow. A church is supposed to be the ‘body’ with Christ as head. No, we were completely severed and AS became the ‘head’ of her groomed spiritual children where they were expected to obey and break to her..and of course her daughter.

Esme you mentioned the word narcissist re AS and I’ve thought that for a while. Something I looked into.
It says ‘ Spiritual narcissism is one of the most confusing and insidious forms of narcissism encountered’
Other comments are
‘Just as narcissists believe that they are better than everyone else, spiritual narcissists believe that their spiritual wisdom and development is superior to others’
‘ Spiritual narcissists construct a barrier between those who “know the way” and those who refuse to “follow the path’
‘ Just like any narcissist, they are consistently working to set themselves apart from everyone else and see themselves as existing on a level that no one else can easily attain.’
‘ Spiritual narcissists genuinely believe that their level of spiritual development makes them holy and special.’
And lastly
Some additional defining traits of a spiritual narcissist include:
Preoccupied by fantasies of spiritual greatness
Lack of empathy
Sense of entitlement
Grandiose perceptions of spirituality
Extreme sensitivity to criticism regarding spiritualism
Need for spiritual admiration
Exploitative and manipulative of others’

In my dealings with AS I would tick all of the above.
But I also think that the SMC environment I.e. the way they practise Christianity is a hot house for narcissistic behaviour.

I was right about AS being the future Glasgow Minister stepping over others ….but what I didn’t realise at a young age was that she wanted it all! Eventually I saw her kingdom become bigger …through the youth work…through the school etc her influence growing ever wider. How did this happen? Did the leaders not see the abuse and the fact she was literally taking more territory. Maybe the answer was possibly no…because she manipulated and gaslighted her way towards the top. She put her daughter in charge of youth work at a very young age…her son became the headteacher of Cedars without any appropriate proven skills or certification re teaching. My understanding of the school system whether private or state schooling is that before a person becomes a headteacher they have proven themselves over years and years in the teaching environment and undertaken additional professional qualifications before they are even considered for an interview! Yes Fraser may have had academic qualifications…he may even be highly intelligent. But does that make him suitable to walk into a headteachers post? The obvious answer is no.
That’s like someone saying ‘oh I have a PhD in particle physics I think I’ll just take over as director of social work in the Greenock area…..mean after all my mother is in charge of the whole of Inverclyde! That’s not reality…
I remembered the day I walked away…think I might have mentioned it before…it was the day that AS proudly stated her children and her children children’s would inherit the kingdom. What she meant was that LS would take over Glasgow eventually …and that did it for me. The very thought that LS the spiritual image of her mother on steroids would actually be a minister was enough for me to see the light. And esme like yourself I found LS to be one of the rudest young people ever to encounter. The fact she actually smiled at you when she was exceptionally rude made it worse. Because in that smile she was telling you…I’m the chosen one….your nothing….(regardless of my age - years older) my mother is handing the kingdom to me and you can do absolutely nothing about it.
And do you know she was actually at that time displaying a truth. Because I had (like others of my generation) went to other leaders to talk about the abuse but I was basically gaslighted by AS and I became the one that was in the wrong.
I obviously wasn’t in the Church when she left but still knew people who were.
There was a lot of the congregants that were very happy to see her go…especially of my generation…however the leadership did want her to stay even though they knew there were problems with her.
But AS left threatening to destroy the Glasgow Church etc a typical narcissistic response.
With regards to Diana and Alison I did know years ago that they didn’t ‘get’ on’. This was told to me by someone close to AS.
But when I was in the church I did think that the only person who could stop AS from taking over the whole ‘kingdom’ I.e SMC was Diana. I believed she was the only one who couldn’t be manipulated and gaslighted by AS. She had the backbone to stand up to her. So part of me at that time had hoped Diana would influence Grace and help her see the truth of what was happening with AS and her daughter but that didn’t happen. (Please remember I’m talking about a time when I still hoped there was a future in SMC. My thoughts and feelings about SMC as a whole have changed as explained in previous posts…it ceased to be about AS and became about the structure of SMC as a whole.)
But to be fair the light within had went out years before this as I waited for Mary to do something or Grace and then finally Diana. But the abuse continued.
Can I also say esme your way of writing …using humour to help portray deep hurt is a skill that not many have. You do have a talent for creative writing because although you used humour it did not take away from the seriousness of what you wanted to say. So please consider sharing more if it is helping you to heal and helping you realise that you’re not isolated that there are many others who can understand what you’ve went through because they have experienced it too.

Can I say esme and please don’t see this as a negative…I knew Janice and the circumstances she went through all these years ago…around the 90’s. What she went through was horrendous, absolutely heartbreaking but it’s her testimony to tell.

I do still care for Janice although we have been estranged because of AS for a very, very long time.
I believe that Janice is also a victim of the narcissist personality of Alison Spiers….she was caught in the web of ‘spiders’ as you call her a long time ago.
If what you said is true that Janice is beginning to see that AS is not all what she makes out to be, then I rejoice in that.
I hope your testimony will help Janice and others see the truth…it is a powerful testimony to truth ….as many other testimonies on this forum are.
Please be encouraged in your journey in healing.
Amazing Grace.

Esme .

I am deeply sorry for what you experienced.

The damage they have inflicted to SO many is truly awful .

I hope you find a way forward to recover .

Amazing grace,

your response to Esmespiers is heart-rending - to me especially this...

"Because I had (like others of my generation) went to other leaders to talk about the abuse but I was basically gaslighted by AS and I became the one that was in the wrong."

...surely this is why there is now no review, because you are telling us that other leaders were approached about this years ago, and as we know now, no effective action was taken, no matter what may or may not have been said between them privately.

Incidentally this concept of 'broken' - I have heard from MB's lips to me many years ago 'you are not broken'. I could never understand what was meant by this, I suppose due to not recognising it from the Bible - and not having it effectively explained. Where did this concept come from ? MB must have said that very early 1990s I think. It is not something I have heard in other churches. Is it somehow linked to psychological theories ?

There was a story HB used to repeat about a child having to 'obey' the parent because they were the parent rather than because they understood the instruction, and that in this the parent was modeling to the child what the relationship between God and an adult - that the human should always obey God whether they understood or not. And that it was necessary to train obedience. HB also had a story about a dog being taught to 'sit', and one day the 'sit' command being used to stop it from running across a road and getting run over. - both of these make some level of sense to me, but where does this 'broken' concept come from outside the parent/child ? The broken concept seems to be more than obedience, and surely its one thing for a child to be obedient because they are young and have not yet developed full judgement (or capacity for judgement) and totally another to expect an adult to be obedient to another adult (rather than to God).