My son attended a Philadelphia Youth
Camp several years ago at Guthrie,
Oklahoma. It was the site of the camp
before Gerald Flurry bought the land for
his Imperial College (
now called Herbert
W. Armstrong College). I will say that the
parents were required to sign a paper promising not to sue if something
horrible happened to their child. I also felt that safety was not given a high
priority.
One year when there were multiple injuries on a dangerous bike trail,
the children were only told to "pray for protection"!! I believe it was that year
that Wayne Turgeon [Flurry's son-in-law] was badly injured on the same trail and
nearly lost his leg, if not his life. Perhaps that experience has affected the
priority put on safety. I also know that the girls received very mixed messages
from the ministers at camp. In class, they were taught to be submissive and
ladylike, but on the field they were expected to be aggressive and outplay the
boys.
Males and females of different
races at camp were not be allowed to spend time together, or even to dance together at
the dance classes. That left some of the youth with absolutely no one to
dance with. They also were taught archery and how to shoot rifles. Otherwise,
all I can say is that some years seemed to be a lot of fun, but other years were
horrible.
By Carlita (former member of PCG)
June 19, 2005
Also read:
Youth Affected by Attending Philadelphia
Youth Camp (August 8, 2006 letter to
ESN)
Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused
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