This was a personal letter written
by a child survivor of
Worldwide Church of God. It was written for all child survivors that
have been hurt by the Worldwide Church of God. A copy was forwarded to ESN
and the following message was sent along with it:
This child survivor's first letter to ESN:
----- Original Message -----
From:
To: ESN
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2001 5:25 PM
Subject: Fwd: Do You Care?
I thought you might be
interested in this letter. I actually had written it before I got your
reply that writing a letter can be good. There is only one problem, I
sent this one. BUT, I certainly felt much better afterwards. It took me
four hours to write it, and I honestly could not have done so without
knowing that there are others out there who hurt as well. I kept
thinking about the letters on your web site from people who are hurting
as much as I am, and I wanted to write it for all of us. I tried to be
kind, like you said we need to forgive those that have abused us. I
thank you for keeping in touch. I will write again soon.
Surviving
Letter to Joseph Tkach Jr.:
----- Original Message -----
From:
To: PastorGeneral@wcg.org
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2001 8:53 PM
Subject: Do You Care?
I have just finished reading
several of your articles on your home page. I was raised in the WCG and
am no longer a member. I am glad that you seem to think you are getting
it all together. Unfortunately, there are many people that have been
left wounded, hurt and spiritually destitute by the WCG. In reading your
articles, it appeared you are, and were, more concerned about the drop
in income over the years of your changes, than you were in the hurting
hearts of those that had been mislead by the teachings. When will it get
to the point where income becomes secondary to the people? Maybe that
has been the problem all along, the people were only a means to an end.
Once their income was no longer coming in, they lost their value to you
as a "church." As any group of people, you have your loyalist,
as well as those who find your organization disturbing. I realize that
this letter will mean nothing to you and you have probably already hit
the delete button. But, I am going to try and plead to your humanitarian
side - if you have every cared about your congregation (and that
includes those that are hurt, angry, bitter, disillusioned, and have
left your organization), please, please never hurt anyone that way
again. Not everyone was able to get over what WCG did - the hurt and
pain that was caused by breaking up families, turning family members
against one another when one or more where ex-communicated from the
church, this is horrific. I now know that our God does not, nor has He
ever supported such actions. I believe with all my heart that God loves
each and every one of us - that He does and has forgiven us of our sins
as we ask Him into our lives and ask for forgiveness. But, many people
do not have that vision of God, and it has to do with the teachings of
the WCG. (This would refer to those who were in the WCG)
I do not know you personally, although I have seen and heard you speak
on several occasions - but I want to believe that you do care, that you
do feel a responsibility to these people. You may not be able to make
everyone believe that you care, but if you could show even just one
person that you do care - that someone understands their hurt and anger.
Who better for that to come from than you. No - you did not start the
wrong teachings, but maybe you could do some healing. If you have
changed as you say, show us. As I mentioned in the beginning of this
letter, I no longer attend and I am not going to blame WCG for
everything, but I do think that WCG needs to take responsibility for the
wrong teachings, and in being responsible, this means helping those that
have been spiritually hurt. If you say you have tried, then keep trying
- do more. How hard would you work to save a person's life? How hard are
the rescue workers in NYC working to help those hurt? Are they giving up
after a week, two weeks, even a month? How hard will you work to help
save a person spiritually? These are members of the body of Christ - we
are all God's children. When we have hurt or even been part of something
that has hurt others, we have a responsibility to help them. If we do
not help, we are no better than the terrorist. I hope that you will give
consideration to this issue. Prayer is the number one factor in all of
the above. Prayer is the key to all - but a human demonstration of
kindness is also necessary. Don't be afraid to put your heart out there
- God will watch over it.
If you have gotten this far I thank you very much for reading this. Let
us see God's love - reach out to those hurting, please.
From Someone who cares
Read:
Hard to Believe That
God Loves Me (from this same child survivor; includes several of her email updates to ESN at bottom
of story)
NOTE: No reply was ever
received back from Joseph Tkach, Jr. (nor from anyone else at WCG
headquarters). This certainly says it all. It also contradicts the
following:
| "Joseph W. Tkach, Jr. -
Ex-cultic Apostle of Grace -- BrotherWatch proudly presents this
award to Joseph W. Tkach, Jr. for his unquenchable commitment to the
Truth and the Light embodied in Christ ... Joe Tkach has become a
dearly-loved friend, in large part due to his loving and gracious
attitude towards others." -
BrotherWatch,
Alamo Award, 1997 |
Child survivors who have exited, or
were thrown out of Worldwide Church of God (along with former members), have been completely ignored.
However, they do not need HQ's acknowledgement in order to know they are
accepted and loved by Jesus.
Also read:
June 2006 letters to ESN: "Joseph W. Tkach, Jr. and His Alamo Award
Propaganda" and also following: "Joseph Tkach Jr. Sidesteps Issues in
the Alamo Award Interview."
An Open
Letter to Joseph Tkach Jr. (Forthright letter
which boldly confronts Tkach with the double messages, half-truths and guilt placed
on members during the changes; mentions Earl Williams.)
Lamb With Wolf-Like Jaws!
(An amazing letter exposing the deceit,
abuse and hypocrisy of the Worldwide Church of God. Written during the new
doctrinal changes; mailed to ESN, David Covington, counter-cult apologetic
ministries and local members.)
Read this part on
our site which covers headquarters' "apologies."
Comforting Words About the True God
(true statements that show how God really sees
His children)
How to Recover After Exiting a Deceptive, Abusive Group
Research Information on Worldwide Church of God
(history revision and exposé
articles including reasons behind WCG's new
changes)
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