covenant fellowship church scandal

Covenant Fellowship Church | Glen Mills PA On a . It went, in part: I am deeply saddened to let you know that during the early years of CFC, I inappropriately touched a woman. The KCP determined that Chung had been restored to God, as well as the woman, and that that discipline instituted by CFC pastors was found to be sufficient, according to the KCP pastor. Per a New York Times opinion piece from June 13, 2016 called South Koreas Misogyny, Women made up 86 percent of all violent crime victims in 2013, according to police data (most violent crime is sexual in nature, and women suffer disproportionately from sexual crimes)., Per a June 23, 2021 article from foreignpolicy.com, sexism has been a long-standing issue in South Korea. The hope is that, moving forward, we can not just rebuild but transform how we handle those kinds of situations, she said. . A 124-page extended version of the report, containing copies of texts describing one victims assault and subsequent intimidation, was submitted to an investigative team of the Korean Central Presbytery (KCP) in November 2020, following up on a five-page allegation letter the whistleblowers sent in August. After completing his seminary studies in Pennsylvania, Chung, then in his mid-20s, returned to Urbana to start a new ministry on campus. Sometimes weve lost purpose and direction. It went terribly, according to the report. The parties involved have moved on from it; theyve worked through it, Dan Lee recalled Chung saying. After he pulled her pants down, she was able to push him off and run to the bathroom, Rhee said. It was just like, Why, why did we do this all in vain? Park said. She arrived as a freshman on the UIUC campus in 2000. Fertile Soil For Abuse: A Reckoning At Covenant Fellowship Church. Other whistleblowers said in the report that that isnt true. They said the majority of CFC members, past and present, have been blessed through the church and experienced spiritual growth during their time there. Chung helped Samuel Lee to quietly step down from FABC and move to California, telling people that he had to leave to care for his ailing mother. But it is also a story about the lifelong impact of sexual assault, the trauma experienced by survivors, and the actions they are now taking to advocate for themselves and to seek justice on behalf of others. In the 1980s, he came to prominence in Korean American Christian circles as part of a gospel band called Alpha Omega. The allegation group called for Chung to be investigated fully and stripped of his ordination, according to the document. Our hope is to provide care and oversight in whatever way is appropriate. He declined to be interviewed in order to respect the privacy of those involved and due to the ongoing nature of allegations.. Other CFC members who confronted Chung said they were told they were sinning by asking for transparency and accountability. When Anna Rhee arrived on the U of I campus in the mid-90s, she knew right away that CFC would be her church. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment sushi_sunflowers Additional comment actions. We lost our church family and community, she said. On July 13, 2021, the KCP held a special meeting to discuss and vote on a complaint filed by a group of pastors who were dissatisfied with the presbyterys April determination and sought to indefinitely suspend Chung from ministry. Theres certain things we cant talk about sexual misconduct, sexual assault, you know, this will make the church look bad., She added: Theres no consequences for [the perpetrators] sin, no consequences for their crime.. Rhee said she was sure he would have raped her if she hadnt been able to fight him off. Lin said she grew depressed and attempted suicide, which resulted in her being hospitalized. In 2009, Bishop Figueroa founded, established and is the proud Presiding Prelate of the New Life Covenant Fellowship, a cooperative, collaborative and coordinated assembly of interdenominational pastors, churches and ministries. They toured the country, mostly the Midwest and the East Coast, leading worship at churches and retreats. We acknowledge that this was wrong., Kim said the woman had forgiven Chung long ago.. Check out our new Instagram account. Tags: Covenant Fellowship Church Korean Central Presbytery Min Joshua Chung Pastor KJ Kim And those who speak out on behalf of victims, Du Mez added, are painted with a broad brush: People who are raising these issues that the church is not responding appropriately to sexual abuse, many of these people are getting defined as liberals, defined as enemies. , Du Mez added that churches often are ill-equipped to handle sexual abuse. Joshua Generation, commonly called J-Gen, a ministry for high schoolers that Chung founded, also severed ties with Chung. Sorry, the underlying pathology of people who act out this way takes more than a few of your cronies to meet at some hotel resort and call that Restoration. Furthermore, what is actually done to assist the victims and their families through this process? She said the pastor added that he and other leaders at CFC would provide the assailant with counseling and mentoring. When you have, all of a sudden, 500 [new friends], its pretty cool because you feel seen, you feel like they accept you, like you dont have to explain yourself.. The church's website says that as of July 2021, CFC is under the leadership of Reverend KJ Kim and a lay oversight board and is in the process of "particularizing" or becoming a fully organized church with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Theres definitely very, very considerable amounts in private donations going to [my father] and my family, said Josie Chung. As the church grew, so did Min Chungs influence. In 2018, Chung preached a sermon addressing the #MeToo movement in which he told victims to repent for your pain and reaction to your sin nature.. Even the pastors, I would say, do a good job at that. The victim was terrified and did whatever she was told, the report states. Fontijn, Park and others told WBEZ they are angry the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse who came forward to be interviewed by GRACE will not be heard. Former members say Covenant Fellowship Church has reneged on its vows to investigate allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse. Further Revelations of Lies, Abuse and Cover-Up at SGM JT Park said he could not agree to that, and he and his wife left his church of 18 years. Allegation group members who spoke to WBEZ said Kim often quoted the same two Bible passages as Chung, and did not take steps toward accountability and transparency until the fallout from the @letters_from_rahab Instagram account brought unwanted attention to CFC. WBEZ first reported the allegations against Chung and the crisis unfolding at CFC as the victims of sexual and spiritual abuse shared their stories online. At that time, I deeply regret as a pastor, I did not confess to the appropriate people. Eight days in, the account creator announced in a post that she had created a Google form for stories from survivors. In the summer of 2019, after nearly three decades of growth and stability at CFC, a number of longstanding members and lay leaders began to leave the church. There are Walmart runs. Lin said the area pastor was sympathetic and that he suggested she speak to Chung. Why do you think youre staying for so long? . Since then, Pastor Min Chung has stepped down, has been acc. These women didnt receive the justice that they deserve; they didnt receive the healing and professional help that they require.. K.J. Chung preached messages urging congregants to submit to leaders and forgive them and calling victims to forgive their abusers. Pastor KJ Kim acknowledged that Chung has been accused of a pattern of abusing his authority. He later confessed to sexual abuse charges and both his Ministry License and Ordination were permanently revoked under Christian and Missionary Alliance Formal Discipline process in 2003.. That night, I had trouble sleeping.. The KCP which consists of several pastors who were close with Chung had determined that he had been restored to God, as well as the woman. The regional presbytery also determined no additional disciplinary steps were needed for Chung other than what the church had already instituted. READ MORE. Those steps included meeting with the CFC pastoral staff regularly for mutual encouragement and care, receiving pastoral care and counseling from outside sources, notifying boards on which he sat about his misconduct, and preventing him from preaching at CFC unless invited by the pastoral staff, with the earliest date being January 2021. WBEZ reached out to those three leaders, as well as former associate pastor Sean Lee. 500K PCA and other conservative denominations. Sermons | Covenant Fellowship | Church in Glen Mills, PA The presbyterys membership is around 60, according to one KCP pastor. Smith said she agreed to report the incident and received help from the University of Illinois Womens Resources Center. Covenant Fellowship Church Greenville, TX. After Kims September 2019 announcement, more longtime members and leaders, many of whom had called CFC home for decades, left the church. Last summer, amid the outcry that resulted from the revelations by an Instagram account called @letters_from_rahab, CFC said it would cut financial ties to the pastor and hire a third-party group to do a full investigation. It contracted with an organization called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) to assess the church and its response to allegations of abuse. Around 1980, he officially co-founded Covenant Life Church with his friend, Larry Tomczak, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Nine teaching elders protested the KCPs ruling, saying they didnt think Chung was truly repentant, and called for indefinite suspension. It also alleges that Chung urged a woman not to go to police when she sought his counsel after being sexually assaulted by another church member. How women didnt have a voice, how men were revered, specifically pastors, and you couldnt question anything that they would say. One summer day, while her roommates were out, he came over and the two started kissing. One mistake that I make all the time is assuming that someone else has probably done the work that needs to be, The Rev. Stressed about student debt? You'll always stay up to date on the go or wherever . In January 2020, at a CFC leaders retreat, former CFC associate pastor Sean Lee, who stepped down this past April, said they had reached out to the victim to ask if she had any other concerns or any other disagreements toward Pastor Min. Thats according to a second secret recording obtained anonymously by WBEZ. The church, well known among Asian Christians in the Chicago area, particularly Korean Americans, also attracts students from all over the country and the world. His influence extends beyond the church walls. She bangs on his door all hours of the night until he finally comes and gives her justice, LeCroy explained. Park said when she confronted Chung, he said had a dream in which God showed him that he was a lampstand for his generation, and that he should keep preaching as part of his healing. The decision to return Chung to ministry may be appealed to the Standing Judicial Commission of the PCAs General Assembly. In its statement to WBEZ, the Oversight Board wrote: As the leaders of CFC, we are deeply grieved and saddened by the pain that people may have experienced through the ministry of CFC. According to the allegation document, which was obtained by WBEZ, the first charge alleged that Chung had touched a female congregant inappropriately in 2001. WBEZ had not received a response as of Aug. 2. But he said the church had recently decided to hire an outside group to investigate in order to work towards rebuilding trust and create a healthier culture that better reflects Jesus.. And I have no further grievances on how the matter was handled. Sean Lee also said the woman wrote: The narrative that it was more than a touch is false.. WBEZ reached out to the KCP via email in June. While WBEZ offers anonymity to victims of sexual abuse or assault, Smith wanted to be named in this story to advocate for other survivors. Its time that we simply say enough is enough and no -longer co-sign this terrible plight that impacts people generationally. Covenant Fellowship Church - IL - Our History They will hear news about Dave and their pastors that is extremely painful, disappointing, and disillusioning. It appears there was an out of court settlement for damages. Sermons - Covenant Fellowship Church Covenant Fellowship Church A member church of the Presbytery of Northern Illinois of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) In-Person Worship Service | 2:00PM Weekly Meetings Lord's Day Service Sunday | 2:00pm Location: All Souls Presbyterian Church 202 W. Illinois Street in Urbana Chung continued to speak elsewhere during this time. On its face, it is an exploration of Asian American Christianity, a small subset of an American religious subculture. Rumors began swirling that their reason for leaving had to do with an incident of sexual misconduct by Chung. She said, Often, these churches are also kind of unified around the pastor and supporting the pastor. She added victims are often told it is unbiblical or un-Christian to take any problems to people outside the church. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. Theres just such a different way of respecting elders and saving face, and I think it would actually be in a lot of ways culturally inappropriate to challenge people in authority, Wong-Heffter said. Zimmerman didnt answer calls or emails to comment on his relationship with Chung. JT Park said Chung told them that they had to promise to tell other congregants that they had made amends with CFCs leadership and to support the churchs handling of his misconduct. Diane Langberg, a prominent psychologist and leading voice on abuse within church communities, said CFCs termination of the GRACE assessment is yet another move to silence the individuals the church has hurt. 646 were here. The covenant encompasses any promises which a reasonable person in the . I personally do it for the survivors. Theres certain things we cant talk about sexual misconduct, sexual assault, you know, this will make the church look bad.. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history at Calvin College and author of The New York Times bestselling book Jesus and John Wayne, is familiar with this practice of using scripture to control victims. In August 2019, Chung stopped preaching at CFC, but said it was to facilitate a transition to a team leadership model. As of Aug. 2, WBEZ had not received a response. Damian Lay attended CFC for 14 years and was an officer in the church for six years. I talked to him about it. If you think that is bad, consider this; We have a PCA pastor, Kiernan Stringer in Toronto, Canada who admits in writing a letter to us and his congregation to breaking the 7th commandment ( You shall not commit murder) and the 9th commandment ( You shall not bear witness against your neighbour), refuses to repent and everyone in the PCA hierarchy refuses to anything about it. As a whistleblower, its traumatic as well, because there are so many places of pain and injustice along the way, Park said. Especially in the Korean community, to call out a pastor, youre going against God-given authority.. Another woman reported to Chung that she had been raped repeatedly. Later renamed Covenant Fellowship Church, the group would function as a church but also as a campus organization. At no point in time did Jesus hide abuse; in fact, he was one to bring it into the open, she said. Covenant Fellowship Church changes little after scandal - WBEZ Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang. Scott Sauls, an influential evangelical Christian pastor and author, has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence from the, On Monday, The Presbyterian Church (USA) reporteda decline of 53,105 members in 2022, dropping the mainline Protestant denomination down to 1,140,665 active. LeCroy said the procedures and laws of the PCAs Book of Church Order by which churches, presbyteries and pastors abide dictates that the lower court, [the presbyterys] decision is to be respected, and that the SJC often does decide things along procedural grounds, and not the merits of the original case. In one instance, Chung assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car in 2001, the report alleges. Fellowship Covenant Church - YouTube Weve lost our reputations. -CFC survivor.. Reverend Kanyere Eaton, Senior Pastor Address: 720 Castle Hill Avenue, Bronx, New York 10473 Office: 718 - 829 - 2116 http://www.fellowshipcovenant.church . Learn how your comment data is processed. One of the issues to be addressed concerns Dave's abusive treatment of former CFC pastors, Don Shorey and Joe McMullin. I would be interested to know how much of the loss of members comes from the PCA and how much comes from the-once much larger-PCUSA(not PSUSA). They may get along with that for a long time but somewhere along the way, the rot will show, and it will end up destroying them.. Former CFC member Janet Park said that when she confronted Chung in 2009, he told her that he kept the matter a secret because the victim had insisted on doing so. Illustration by Andjela Padejski, Photo by Manuel Martinez / WBEZ News, Fertile Soil For Abuse: A Reckoning At Covenant Fellowship Church, CPS knew for years about sexual misconduct claims against staff at a city high school, but promoted principal anyway, records show, Inside the sexual misconduct scandal involving workers at Evanstons beaches, How Covenant Fellowship Church Is Dealing With Old Sexual Abuse Allegations. We sent a list of questions and asked if Nam would point us to someone who could comment on the case. In September 2019, two other whistleblowers met with Kim as a final step to urge leadership to take proper steps, the report states. Some people said, Only the devil is rejoicing that all this is coming out now. I said, No, I dont think thats true I think Jesus is rejoicing. , Were trying to solve a problem and make churches a safer place for women..
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