This is part one in what will be a series of posts published over the next few weeks by Kathy Wiens, a sexual violence survivor, and her husband, Tim, who has been her strong ally. Kathy has previously written and published a book that powerfully tells the story of the abuse she survived. But this series of posts focuses on her experience of advocating for people vulnerable to abuse in her Mennonite church home where she struggled to resist retraumatization as the community of faith she trusted prioritized the needs of a perpetrator and his family over the wellbeing of survivors and those vulnerable to abuse in the congregation. Kathy speaks with truth, pain, and wisdom that many survivors know. Her courage to speak, even as there is mounting pressure to stay quiet, is an inspiration in itself. We have something to learn from Kathy’s experience, from her determination to protect the vulnerable, and from her knowledge about what it takes for a community of faith to understand sexualized violence, respect survivors, and become a space committed to resisting abuse and holding perpetrators accountable. I hope you will follow her story over these next weeks and allow her voice to affect you. Thank […]
The post When the Church Walks Away: Part One appeared first on Our Stories Untold.