My husband and I both joined the Worldwide Church of God during extremely emotionally unsteady and traumatic times in our lives. We were members for about 12 years and I raised three children in this "church.^"1 They also always paid for us to go to the Feast and different members gave us food and clothing.

Now, on the flip side so to speak: I met my second husband in the WCG (we're Baptist now; the religion he was raised in, but I may go to all different churches yet before I decide just "what I am"!) He very much regrets now that he left the Air Force because of WCG teachings. He could have retired by now with a very good pension. 

When we were first married we had a farm in Ohio and were continually given "looks" at church and were questioned about how we "dealt" with "working on the Sabbath." ("Your animals have got to eat!" I'd think and "surely Abraham and anyone else would had to have fed their animals on the Sabbath"!) We continued to tithe, of course. (One of your articles reminded me that there were indeed three tithes!) He and his brother started a meat exporting cooperative, but the farmers took it away from them because they weren't getting their profits soon enough and we lost that and our farm. We moved into the city and my husband got a job delivering potato chips and I started to baby-sit; this was just before we left the WCG. 

We feel like finally, now we are just starting to get our lives back. My three children now say that they did feel different in school being put in the hallway when there was a Valentine's party, or Christmas party etc. and you know, at the time I just thought, "Well, this will teach them about being persecuted." Now I can't believe that I really didn't see their side of it. When they came home once after visiting my X-in-laws for Easter, I remember taking them down the street to a public garbage can to throw away their bunny and chick animal cookies their grandparents had given them, because it was during the days of unleavened bread. Now that seems so mean. They were only 5 and 7 years old. I remember also the spankings I used to administer. I am not against spanking in extreme cases of danger or rebellion, but I am convinced that because of the teachings in the WCG I did a lot more of it than was necessary.

My children were very troubled in high school. One attempted suicide three times and he was on drugs. We left the WCG just before they went into high school, and my husband had to take a second job and I had to go to work full time. My point is that the tithing didn't help; it didn't open the heavens with blessings--for us anyway; it exacerbated our situation.²  The guilt trips didn't help either. And the advice about spanking didn't help my children. One of them, I thought, was a "strong willed and rebellious child" and when I did take him to services we always ended up in "the spanking room" (a broom closet). Now when I think of the pain he suffered, I just cry. He still has some problems to work on and struggles with his emotions, as do I.

Thank you for this website in which to vent; it's the first time I've told anyone this, or had anyone to tell this to, except for my wonderful husband. One last note; it was two years after I left the WCG before I could both pray or call God "Father" at all. It was very disillusioning and painful. I am still recovering. 

By Tracy
2003

Footnotes by ESN:

¹ Details have been changed.

² Read: We Put the "Give Way" to the Test

It's Hard to Get Close to God After Being in Philadelphia Church of God (this article is also helpful for any raised in Worldwide Church of God)

Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused 

Back to Stories & Testimonies by Former Members of WCG and Offshoots