Thank you Rensil, FB and corboy.
My phone and the phone of Esme was hacked and we are sure we know who did it. Let's just say it was in response to the mention of she who shall not be named. Her son is an lT specialist.
We now use old burner phones! If this has not happened to you then we are pleased for you.
Have a good week everyone.
Mirmac

Cedars incestuous relative/ best pals list:

Head teacher--AS.
Had teacher FS ( took over when she went).
LS- daughter of AS very poor teacher.
CS- school librarian - daughter in law of AS.
EMc K S-school bursar bestie of AS
D A. Lamb chops best pal!- Teacher.
EW not qualified at the time - taught math.
AC relative of AS
RC relative of AS

And on and on the list goes. This school environment was toxic for pupils but also seemed that way for 1 or 2 of the better teachers.
Dr R
J O were very kind as was CB but we could see how hard it was for them against the AS gang! As stated by my brilliant cuz Esme Cross one and life was made very toastie hot.
There was ritual humiliation too painful to discuss. I almost broached the inspectors but Hyde and lambchops seemed to realise that l was happy to take a stand. I was sent to lambchops for supervision then Vestry treatment on Sunday. The whole school situation was grinding.
Let's hope transparency and accountability are priorities now.
Hope that doesn't sound too farcical.
Thank you Mulberry for previous support.
Mirmac

Mr Ross Syder hunterhas sent an offence PM. They have suggested l post it. I would not stoop so low. Can they be prevented from doing this.?

Many years ago I posted my concerns of " nepotism" in the " school " . I also posted concerns about " unqualified " and " unregistered " people ... teaching .
Am not certain that those " teaching " the secondary subjects were even qualified to do so .

How they got away with it for so long I will never comprehend . It was wrong from the beginning .

The treatment of people ... wrong .

Finances ... wrong

Nepotism ... wrong .

Totally accurate couldn't agree more, well said lintar. Spder hunter is going ape in the background on PMs so we are hitting sore points!

Hello. I've flitted in and out checking this forum. I will likely not contribute aside from this post and maybe reply to some responses. I have not seen the full forum and so am not fully familiar with all that has been said. Do bear with me however as I would like to give my two cents on my thoughts on Struthers.

Struthers is a very poorly managed church. The leaders either can't preach from a bible to save themselves, believe they have been given divine power to manipulate others to gain power or are too complicit in leading with people who share the previous two traits. Not to mention, none are qualified and only become a leader if the previous one liked them well enough. There is an attitude which puts the word of the leaders far too close to the word of God. Should I pray about it? No. I'll see what X has to say on the matter. I didn't agree with Y's sermon so should I question it? No, they know better, even if the bible seems to contradict their view. Ridiculous manipulation like that. This authority leaders had very easily influenced those who did not know church outside struthers. In struthers, the church isn't the worldwide collection of those who believe in the love of Christ. It's other churches where the leader happens to be friendly (or pretends to be) with your own leader. Such a focus on flawed human individuals obviously meant issues involving the leaders were swept under the rug. However, the straw that broke the camel's back was when a certain leader left in 2023.

Some left at this point, either due to loyalty to this leader or simply seeing it as a reason to abandon a system they resented. However, some stayed. Some were indoctrinated to be forever loyal to this church but others saw it as a chance for change. Now that issues are evident to all, there was scope for worthwhile change to create a healthy church. However, little change was made with preaching or leadership. No accountability system. No using the bible as a reference for a sermon. Realising no substantial change would come into effect, those who were hopeful left. This spurred others to leave as well. Apparently many of these leavers have settled nicely into other churches. Glasgow has especially gone through this. There is not a single young person left there as some left because their friends did or others went to Greenock instead. And in a few years most of these children will leave when they get old enough for university. The church only has around a couple of students in attendance anyway. The glasgow church's days are thankfully numbered and hopefully many will realise the amount of other options in the city.

However, after said leader left some positive changes were made. The youth work improved dramatically. From reading previous posts, i get the impression struthers put many restrictions on young people regarding small issues like piercings, cinemas etc. This is essentially gone. The youth teaching has also improved due to a lack of those teaching due to nepotism. There was genuine bible teaching. The youth are able to have more involvement in the greater church as a whole. Some have attended SU events as groups and were even driven in the minibus to an event at the tron sometimes. I also get the impression those who left struthers had contact cut with them. The young people still keep in contact with their friends who have left. This is also the case with those who are a bit older. Granted some youth leaders have left so these positive changes may have taken a turn.

near the end of its lifetime, some of the staff at cedars school were still able to teach there, despite the fact some had left the church. One staff member even had nothing to do with struthers or any church and was given the same treatment as others. It is worth noting they joined when a certain person was no longer head teacher.

To be frank, it is difficult to believe what is said about the school on this forum. There is no intention to undermine the accounts of others but it doesn't align with how the school was in recent years so i assume it has changed from how it was in the past, perhaps under a different head teacher. Near the end of its life, its connection with the church was loose due to reasons stated previously and others. The church was only used for prizegivings and concerts. Christian doctrine was taught directly from the bible in assemblies, sometimes by those who did not attend struthers. It accomdated people of all backgrounds. Struthers attendees, other christians, seikhs and non christians. It provided a safe environment for those with difficulties who would be eaten alive in most schools and provided many with an education that prepared them well for university and gave them the oppurtunity to excel. Every teacher who taught an exam level subject was qualified. Some were exceptional. Granted, the connection it had to struthers was its downfall financially. Thankfully all students have found schools. Unfortunately not all the staff have found jobs but some have and hopefully the rest will too. This was genuine mission work that wasn't roping people into one small cluster of churches.

With the school gone, struthers isn't benefitting people by being open. It has many exceptional people in attendance who would greatly benefit from a healthy church of which there are plenty. Hopefully it closes soon. relationships will be damaged but no more than would be damaged if it remains open. I hope this post doesn't come across as a defence of struthers. It has caused too much damage to remain open and much of its good elements are gone now aside from a good number of compassionate individuals who attend but have no power. But clearing up some misconceptions did seem in order although no attempt is being made to undermine what others have been through.

This post hasn't named anyone directly. The person who posted will not disclose who they are although it is unlikely anyone will know. What is metioned in this post comes from the experience of several people and all of it is truthful. Granted, it would be appreciated if there is less naming people who have nothing to do with struthers's issues on this forum. call out those causing problems but no innocent people who have been caught in the crossfire. Many of these people who had no involvement do not attend anymore and shouldn't be bundled in a past that's behind them. I would like to confirm this poster has not been named before and I can't imagine anyone on here is aware of them. no one who posts here is being called out directly and there is not an assumption that they do this with malicious intent. We just need to be better than the false leaders who called us out from the pulpit. Struthers has damaged all of us and there is no use in making recovery for some more difficult. However, i do not assume anyone on this forum is attempting to cause difficulty. I assume many here say what they do for the right reasons.

God bless you all.

Don't agree with the last posted message. That really does make the school sound like each day was Kum bye Ya! Some of us actually attended the dump that our poor parents paid for! Did we get an education well that Really is up for debate, but let's just put the following out there:

AS approved humiiiating pupils she did not like.
We were expected to have no individuality.
We were expected to confirm and break to her will not my words hers.
We were expected to put church before family not my words hers.
We were made to grovel to her and lamb chops not to mention her bestie, no need for names we know who that is.
She also openly discussed pupils in the Glasgow church as well as at Conferences!
So was Cedars a great or nurturing place? The answer is a resounding no and let all the people say, Amen.

Amen.

Mirmac, you frequently mention AS in response to this and I would like to clarify that I 100% agree with what you have to say about her. Defense of the school is rooted in the period after she retired (i believe 2017). I can well imagine there being name dropping in church and whilst unsurprising is still unacceptable. The quotes you drop also register as very likely. I have nothing good to say about any of the leadership past and present. They either caused suffering or let it happen. Please don't jump to the conclusion i support it in any way because that is far from the truth.

The purpose of the previous post was not to defend struthers. Now you could argue around half of it is praising aspects of the church. To be honest there's an infinite amount of negative things for me to say about it but there have been over 1000 posts on this forum so I believe there's nothing new to bring to the table. The church's main issues are
-Manipulation from leaders
-Superiority complex from leaders.
-Manipulation and villainising of innocent attendees.
-Lack of bible teaching
-Nepotism and biases
-An emphasis on second salvation
-Lack of leader qualification
-Lack of accountability system
- A system drenched in secrets and lies
-Spouting nonsense about the larger church as a whole.
-An environment that made questioning leadership unusual.


I say what I say to clear up misconceptions. I don't want participants of this forum to have a wrong idea of what is going on. I also don't want the wrong picture to be painted of specific individuals who have nothing to do with the leaders but have had their name thrown around when their current situations are their own to disclose. It makes the forum a less welcoming place. That's why young people aren't posting. When those they are close to are being mentioned it does create fear even if intent isn't malicious. I have seen an earlier instance when someone left the forum because their name was thrown around even when they had not done anything wrong and people were gossiping about their circumstances. Everyone here has been through struggles at the hand of this church. It just took some longer to escape it. Let's not be struthers. Let's not single out individuals unless they had heavy involvement with the church's issues. Lets not be struthers and allow some things to be questioned regarding the church and the forum.

In regards to the school, it sounds like most criticism comes from when AS was head. Correct me if im wrong. it would be helpful if you let me know what time period you refer to when discussing the school. All defence of it comes post AS and for the staff who taught after this time. These teachers allowed many students to excel and provided proper education. It wasn't perfect in this time but it was one of the few great things to come from struthers. It was a happy place then and I do have the stories from some non Christian contacts who attended in this time to back this up although i understand the nature of a forum doesn't really make this claim something that can be proven. One of the words these people did use to describe the school was nurturing so it seems the school that closed last year is very different to the one you attended. I'm not saying you are lying.

I do not wish to interfere with the forum's purpose and undermine anyone's experiences. They all are personal and shouldn't be shut down. I believe this enforces the argument for setting out the truth without targeting those who weren't responsible for the suffering caused by struthers. I am very open to any criticism of my posts and may reply further for the time being if i believe it provides any value.

God bless.

Welcome Anonanon, it is good to have you join us. I hope you will hang about and keep up to date with all that is happening even if you do not particularly engage in ongoing commentary.

As for your comments on the school, a slightly bizarre thought struck me. We all know that Struthers is largely based on bullying, whether it be from the pulpit, in private conversations, in the school or even in youth interactions which are modelled on how they see their parents behave. For example, London’s calling says on p234:

Quote
London’s Calling p234
There was a huge bully culture in struthers camps, often defended by those ‘middle leaders’. The men older than I, those in their early 20s, were big bullies.

And

Quote
London’s Calling p234
These older boys basically waterboarded us ‘in the name of the lord’. They were speaking in tongues and one had Andrew Jewell singing a song from his iPod touch 4th generation as put a wet towel on our faces - this was i think to trigger him - and held us down. Afterwords they hit me in my goolies and ran off. When I told the elder they scolded me for making up this story, even though we had a witness! It was maybe because their son was part of this group.

Now put that together with the school where there was by all accounts a bullying culture under a particular Head Teacher. Was this perhaps what they wanted? A place where people were taught that bullying was the way life worked instead of being taught, “the kingdom of God is like…” and to grow into that?

Bullying Head Teacher: School is kept open in spite of finances and other issues
New HT who does not implement a bullying culture: school is closed down.

I don’t know, just speculation, but who knows? The one thing we do know is that decisions are not open and transparent.