Our blog contains ACNAtoo statements and updates, community resources written by the ACNAtoo team, articles on abuse-related topics by outside experts, and more.
Loose Canons: The Trouble with Title IV
Title IV of the proposed Canons deserves close attention, as it concerns church discipline and how the Diocese investigates and responds to misconduct. We’re analyzing this Title on its own because of the weight it carries for all future discipline, abuse investigation, and pursuit of justice among clergy and laity in the Diocese.
Loose Canons: The Devil in the Details
The central question is this: do the numerous proposed changes address the longstanding governance problems in the UMD — problems which contributed directly to the 2019 abuse allegations mishandling that ultimately led to the launch of ACNAtoo in 2021?
How to participate in your diocesean governance
As the Diocese of the Upper Midwest (UMD) prepares to deliberate on the new Constitution and Canons, it is essential that lay people in the diocese participate in the process. Yesterday was the first day of the UMD’s scheduled two-week window (November 13-27) for collecting public feedback about the proposed Canons.
Loose Canons: Unsure Foundations
Keeping an eye on the laws of our church is part of our duty to the most vulnerable in our midst. It is never enough to rely on church leaders’ good intentions or verbal assurances regarding the church’s procedures. It’s not just for canon lawyers – church governance concerns everyone.
Community Grooming in the Church
How can pastors and other church leaders, tasked with roles that require discernment, character, and spiritual care, be so incapable of identifying abusers, safeguarding the vulnerable, and responding appropriately to disclosures? How can entire communities that are in many ways safe havens for hurting people fall in lockstep behind these leaders, ostracizing victims who rallied the courage to come forward, seek help, and try to prevent their abuser from harming others?
UMD Abuse Mishandling Summary
Given the recent conclusion of the Husch Blackwell investigation, we feel this is an important time to revisit the evidence previously documented by ACNAtoo, much of which has been corroborated by Husch Blackwell and the testimony of Upper Midwest Diocese employees.
For her
The joy of seeing children being children, seemingly uninterrupted by the darkness of which we adults were more than aware, reminded me of Jesus telling us that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. It is to children that God has revealed the message of the gospel, as opposed to the wise and sonorous Religious Guys ™.
Organizational Impression Management in the Church
When churches face a crisis, they are presented with two choices in their public response. They may choose truth and transparency, even if it negatively impacts them, or they may opt for impression management tactics that portray a positive status or image.
Loving the abused with the love of Christ
I learned that a place where I had felt safe was in reality incredibly dangerous, particularly to abuse survivors willing to seek justice and care, and I lost all the connections and support systems there at a very vulnerable time in my life. I imagine that dying of cancer is never easy, but dying of cancer while retreading a mental health crisis related to abuse trauma is a one-two punch I dearly hope no one else in the UMD is currently experiencing. And yet, though I personally avoided becoming the target of any abuse while attending Church of the Resurrection, I could do nothing other than leave that support and community behind.
FAQs about the UMD Investigation and GRACE
We recently learned that there is some confusion around ACNAtoo’s position regarding the investigative firm GRACE and the upcoming investigation into the mishandling of sexual abuse allegations in the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest. The following FAQs are designed to answer some of the questions we’ve received.
Investigations 101: Public Contract & Scope
ACNAtoo has cited several major concerns with the Province's announcement of an investigation firm, which we will explore in this 3-part series. In Part Twp, we focus on the public contract and scope of an investigation.
Investigations 101: Waiving Attorney-Client Privilege
ACNAtoo has cited several major concerns with the Province's announcement of an investigation firm, which we will explore in this 3-part series. In Part One, we focus on the Province’s refusal to waive attorney-client privilege.
A Petition to the Province
Of the two firms chosen by the PRT, it is our opinion that neither one meets even the basic criteria for trauma-informed and survivor-centered investigations. Not only do these firms fail to meet minimum standards, but their own words stand in blatant disregard of survivors' carefully stated requests to the Upper Midwest Diocese and the Province to make the investigation safe for survivors to participate in.
Dear Jane: Why We Do What We Do
A number of weeks ago our team received a thoughtful, charitable, yet concerned email from an ACNA member who, while deeply committed to supporting victims of abuse in the church, expressed concern about the methods our team has utilized in our advocacy work. This piece is an adaptation of our response and we hope it can be helpful and illuminating to any who share the letter writer’s concerns.
Fr. Keith and the Case of the Missing Correction
The Province alerted ACNAtoo that Fr. Keith Hartsell would issue a public correction on October 31 regarding his misleading comments from September 5. However, the audio of the 10/31/21 livestream goes silent for 5:54 during the announcements. If any correction was issued, it was masked by this silence.
D.A.R.V.O. in Action
DARVO is an acronym that describes a manipulation strategy used by perpetrators in response to being held accountable for their actions. DARVO stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender. In this post, we provide an educational breakdown of a public statement about one of our survivor stories showing DARVO in action.
An open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach
We invite you to read this open letter from #ACNAtoo abuse survivors and advocates in response to Archbishop Foley’s July 10, 2021 letter to the Anglican Church in North America concerning the Diocese of the Upper Midwest.