From: JIM GRADY <jgradysr@shaw.ca>
Date: 2004
To: Ron Berg NABC
Copy: Kevin Phillips SCCC
Subject: Abuse at South Calgary Community Church
Ron,
I believe that South Calgary Community Church is now in a leadership crisis. The Elders, having admitted to unethical behavior in their treatment of Barry and Jennifer Pendergast, are compromised. This has left the church with no one to whom concerns can be aired with the confidence that they will be handled in a fair and ethical manner.
In January I was made aware of a rumor that had circulated among people both inside and outside SCCC that alleged that the Pendergasts had taken legal action against churches in the past. After thoroughly investigating the story I was able to establish absolutely conclusively that Barry and Jennifer have never taken legal action against any church. During the course of my investigation I discovered that one of the sources of this rumor was Jim Wallace. I emailed Jim asking him for his source of information so that I could track where the rumor had originated. His reply was to refer me to two of SCCC&Mac250;s Elected Elders. I then emailed the elders and have not heard from them since.
In late March I tried to set up a meeting with Laurie Robinson, chairperson of SCCC&Mac250;s Human Resources Committee, telling her that I and a member of the church wanted to discuss with her an incident involving Jim Wallace to get her advice on what, if anything, could be done to address the concerns it raised. She ended up telling me that she was accountable to the Elected Elders and could not meet with us without their consent. I told her that I and the member in question could not possibly meet with her under those conditions since, given the situation with the Pendergasts, we were unsure about the relationship between Jim Wallace and the Elected Elders and that there may be a conflict of interest.
Dr. xxxxxxx whose office is just blocks from SCCC, attended the church until March of last year when he had a very disturbing experience with Jim Wallace and Marg Cumberlin. I have talked at length with Dr. xxxx about his experience and found him to be an intelligent and articulate man who warrants being taken seriously. He has forwarded to me letters written by him and addressed to Jim Wallace and Marg Cumberlin in which he outlines his complaints and asks them to explain their actions related to the concerns he raises. He also included a letter from Jim Wallace in which Jim dismissed Dr. xxxx&Mac250;s allegations and claims as "unfounded&Mac255; With his permission I am attaching those letters to this email.
The thing that makes Dr. xxxx's story so credible to me is that it is so consistent with other stories that have been shared with me by those whose experiences they are about. Common elements include:
• Counseling sessions with Jim Wallace and Marg Cumberlin that seem more like interrogation.
• The gathering of information in order to achieve a position of power.
• Breaches of confidentiality.
• Threats and intimidation.
• Unrealistic demands.
• Questioning that is leading and serves a hidden agenda.
• Planting false ideas and information to create confusion.
I cannot believe that Dr. xxxx&Mac250;s case was the first time that the Elders had ever heard anyone raise similar concerns. Certainly the Pendergasts, whose situation came to the attention of the Elders just months after Dr. xxxx registered his complaints, have claimed that many of these things were part of their experience.
There are serious issues at SCCC that need to be addressed. I am writing to ask for your advice. Where do I and others go from here? Should we insist that our concerns become part of the mediation process that the Pendergasts have worked so hard to put in place to deal with their situation? Taking these issues to the membership requires the Elders consent which again constitutes a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, would it be appropriate to appeal to the membership through less formal channels?
I and others are growing in our frustration to deal with matters that we feel are very serious and threaten the well being of the church. In previous emails I have suggested the possibility that the denomination enter into a process with SCCC but it seems that the hands of the NAB Conference are tied.
Please note that I have copied this email to the Elected Elders of SCCC. My reason for doing so is to avoid any appearance that I am acting in secrecy. I think that I can reasonably assume that they are very aware of all of the information that I have shared with you including the correspondence from Dr.xxxxx
As always, I look forward to your reply.
Jim Grady