13th September 2005

Friday Sep 26 2003, Barry went as he had for the last 5 years to Tim Hortons at Avineda at 6:30am. The reason to lead a Men's Fellowship group. It was the morning after the elders had unfairly stripped Barry & Jennifer of Ministry service for ever. To Barry's surprise Pastor Jim Wallace, Darren Jeffreys and Charles Biers (new mens group leader appointed in June 2003) walked in. Barry in a stressed state, after weeks of elder & pastor abuse would not engage with these men but did smile and shake their hands as he left. Felt their only purpose was to hurt, intimidate and humiliate him. This was the second time, in 5 years that Pastor Jim Wallace (he's the pastor in charge of Mens Ministry) had attended, and the first for Jeffreys and Biers. Barry felt very harassed, humilated at this especially cruel & deliberate act. New -(Click to read an email exchange between Barry & Charles Biers the Men's Ministry Leader.) Interestingly they didn't turn up again. We hope Charles and others who turned a blind eye to this terrible abuse of power will reflect on the words added to the home page. One reads:

The world is a dangerous place to live in not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who sit and it let it happen"

Albert Einstein

This event at Tim Hortons was also the last time that Barry spoke with Pastor Wallace (or any pastor except Pastor Wiebe) till the current date. Pastors Wallace & Cumberlin avoided any of the two meetings with the mediator and their fellow Elders or the single meeting with the Elders.

Barry's friend and long time attendee at these mornings - Ed Davis stayed behind. A few weeks later Ed kindly gave Barry a copy of Ron Susek's book "Firestorm". The first of many light bulbs went on!

Jim Wallace never seemed to enjoy this kind of men's fellowship and had always suggested this was a subversive group that caused him trouble - too many original ideas- was the group that made the highly successful Mustard Seed Ministry work in spite of Pastor Wallace's claim the proposal was a mess.

When Charles Biers was challenged later on, why he was involved in this attempt at obvious harrassment, he said if Barry couldn't follow the lead of the church elders he should leave the church . Kind of sad - especially as the Elders and pastors would later be found at fault in their dealings with the Pendergasts.

A little while later Ed Davies recounted he had met with Pastor Wallace on a number of issues - one his ideas for a school bus to collect community children and bring them to the church. Ed had passionately spoken about this idea at the Horton's mornings a number of times and received encouragement to propos ethe idea. See the notes of this project in the 14th September 2003 meeting - Pastor Wallace had said the idea had been tried some years before by Youth Pastor Perry Friesen and had failed - wouldn't be allowed again. After a forced departure from South Calgary Perry & his wife have been running a very successful ministry in Russia.

Ed Davis also tried to raise the topic of the Pendergasts. Pastor noted it was a confidential matter he could not discuss. He did however suggest that there was "something big" about Barry that when Ed knew he would understand why the Elders had taken the action they had. The "something big" has never been disclosed. Seemed like another attempt to use inuendo as a means to distroy & smear somebody's reputation and relationship with others.

While many at South Calgary maybe were persuaded by such comments, Ed was a lot more perceptive- praise God!