| Revision as of 13:11, 6 January 2010 view source81.138.10.158 (talk) →England← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:12, 6 January 2010 view source 81.138.10.158 (talk) →ConnecticutTag: section blankingNext edit → | ||
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| In 2009, church pastor Christopher Jenkinson, along with his wife Jennifer, planned to climb ] in order to raise funding for poor children in ].<ref name="pastortoscale">{{cite news | last =Schofield | first =Jonathan | title =Pastor to scale Snowdon for Zambia Kids | work =Mansfield Chad | publisher =Johnston Press | date =September 14, 2009 | url =http://www.chad.co.uk/news/Pastor-to-scale-Snowdon-for.5646067.jp | accessdate = 2009-09-14 }}</ref> The church sent individuals to Zambia in July 2009 to assist in construction work for a missionary-led school.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> "I can't do much to help, but I can walk, so if people would like to sponsor me, every pound counts," said pastor Jenkinson.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> The school in Zambia serves as a location for 300 children to receive free education – the children also receive food free of charge each school day.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> | In 2009, church pastor Christopher Jenkinson, along with his wife Jennifer, planned to climb ] in order to raise funding for poor children in ].<ref name="pastortoscale">{{cite news | last =Schofield | first =Jonathan | title =Pastor to scale Snowdon for Zambia Kids | work =Mansfield Chad | publisher =Johnston Press | date =September 14, 2009 | url =http://www.chad.co.uk/news/Pastor-to-scale-Snowdon-for.5646067.jp | accessdate = 2009-09-14 }}</ref> The church sent individuals to Zambia in July 2009 to assist in construction work for a missionary-led school.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> "I can't do much to help, but I can walk, so if people would like to sponsor me, every pound counts," said pastor Jenkinson.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> The school in Zambia serves as a location for 300 children to receive free education – the children also receive food free of charge each school day.<ref name="pastortoscale" /> | ||
| ==Connecticut== | |||
| As of 1999, one of the three pastors at King's Chapel in Norwich, Connecticut was Sam J. Wibberley,<ref name="tolson">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | coauthors =Paul Choiniere | title = Lives Crippled in God’s Name: Ex-members of King's Chapel tell of control, devastation | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> who also owned a business called "Sam Wibberley Tire",<ref name="critical">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first = Paul | title =Critical thinking restored after break with church | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999}}</ref> and lived in ].<ref name="dynamic">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | coauthors = Paul Choiniere | title =Dynamic Church Leader Seen As Both Shepherd and Demagogue | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> Wibberley graduated from ] in 1973.<ref name="dynamic" /> In the 1980s, Wibberley's organization the ] became affiliated with the Bethel Church.<ref name="churchleaders">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | coauthors =Paul Choiniere | title = Church Leaders Strive For Holy Ways: They say anyone is free to leave | work =] | date =May 30, 1999|publisher=Shore Publishing }}</ref> King's Chapel has ], which was originally granted to Dayspring Church of God in 1981.<ref name="followers">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | coauthors = Paul Choiniere | title = Former Followers Felt Hard Pressure To Give: They tell of donating thousands, making loans | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> Wibberley and his wife Cynthia often travel to Bethel Church in England to visit church members there.<ref name="pastorsson">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first = Kyn | title =Pastor’s son experienced guilt and violence | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999}}</ref> As of 1999, Wibberley's son Christopher was married and was employed as an ].<ref name="pastorsson" /> John V. Monahan Jr. served as a pastor of the church in 1999,<ref name="helost">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first = Paul | title =He lost his family but not his hope | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date = May 30, 1999}}</ref><ref name="couple">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | title =Couple’s reconciliation not condoned | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> along with James Oakley,<ref name="prophet" /> and Kevin F. Hamel served as youth minister.<ref name="critical" /><ref name="teen">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first = Paul | title =As a teen, she felt set up | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> | |||
| Church services include singing accompanied by guitar music.<ref name="prophet">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | title =Prophet wouldn’t let her failed relationship die | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999}}</ref> A church member described the preaching in the service as "energized and forceful".<ref name="prophet" /> Church values include cleanliness of one's home, and that an individual's property was seen as shared ownership with other members of the church.<ref name="coupleshome">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first = Kyn | title =Couple’s home was not their own | work =]|publisher=Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999}}</ref> Church members are often quoted the Bible verse "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he", Proverbs 23:7.<ref name="wife">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first =Paul | title =Wife says she was thrown out for impure thoughts | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> Sinful thoughts are seen by some as being equated with the sin itself.<ref name="wife" /> | |||
| Both Wibberley, and his counterpart Hibbert in England, believe that Jean Spademan has the "gift of prophecy".<ref name="churchleaders" /> Members of the King's Chapel community share possessions including money, houses, and cars.<ref name="tolson" /> They work at the church for free, and this is seen as a sign of their faith in the movement.<ref name="tolson" /> One of the church's mottos was "You can’t outgive God".<ref name="tolson" /> Members of the organization live in ]; church pastors encourage their followers to live there.<ref name="tolson" /> Spademan believed that the Lord thought Jewett City was "the Jewel City", and the chosen city of God.<ref name="critical" /> | |||
| On December 19, 1987, a member of King's Chapel, 29-year-old Ron Allen, committed ] shortly after being persuaded by members of the church to sell his house.<ref name="mothertells">{{cite news | last =Tolson | first =Kyn | title =Mother tells of her son’s disappointment, last days | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> "Selling that house was not what Ronald wanted. He said he was brainwashed," said his mother Edith Bolles.<ref name="mothertells" /> "They told him his house was evil because it was materialism. He was submitting himself to materialism, and he needed to get rid of that materialism. ... And by the same token, they wanted the money," said his sister Caron Wunderlich.<ref name="mothertells" /> | |||
| In December 1994, church member Martha Davis attempted to commit suicide by ingesting painkillers.<ref name="shefound">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first =Paul | title =She found rearranged life not worth living | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date = May 30, 1999 }}</ref> She had been instructed by church pastor Kevin F. Hamel that "the Lord had informed prophet Jean Spademan" that a couple and their three daughters had to move into Davis's apartment to live with her and her son.<ref name="shefound" /> Davis cared for the daughters for years, but felt she was neglecting her own son.<ref name="shefound" /> "I can’t tell you how devastated I was. It was such a heartbreak for me. But I was told it was God’s perfect will. We were told over and over we have to surrender to Him," she said.<ref name="shefound" /> Her son moved to England in 1994, and when Davis asked for time off from caring for the couple's daughters, Pastor Sam J. Wibberley instead instructed her to apologize to the girls.<ref name="shefound" /> She requested that her son return from England, but Pastor John Hibbert said he would stay there because her attempt to kill herself "had ruined much of what they had accomplished with him".<ref name="shefound" /> | |||
| Sallie Bowen, a church member with her husband from 1980 to 1998, told '']'' that the organization's pastors and leader Syro held a large amount of influence over their followers.<ref name="afollower">{{cite news | last =Choiniere | first =Paul | title =A Follower’s Confession | work =] | publisher =Shore Publishing | date =May 30, 1999 }}</ref> Bowen said that Sam Wibberley instructed her "the Lord had told Syro I wanted to have an affair with Syro’s granddaughter’s husband".<ref name="afollower" /> Bowen denied these thoughts, but Wibberley insisted: "You’re trying to fool us, but you can’t fool God."<ref name="afollower" /> Bowen ended up telling her husband about the incident after being told to do so by Wibberley: "It hurt him. They hurt people’s marriages. They cause divisions. We had been married several years at that point. I loved him. I never had any inclination not to be faithful to my husband. But here they are making me confess that I did," said Bowen.<ref name="afollower" /> | |||
| ==British MP calls for group to be placed on register== | ==British MP calls for group to be placed on register== | ||
Revision as of 13:12, 6 January 2010
 King's Chapel in Norwich, Connecticut (2009) | |
| Type | Religious organization |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Region served | Mansfield, England; Connecticut, USA |
| Official language | English |
| Key individuals | John Hibbert, Jean Spademan, Sam J. Wibberley |
| Affiliations | Christianity |
Bethel Church, also called Bethel Interdenominational Church, is a Christian religious organization based in Mansfield Woodhouse, England, founded by John Hibbert and Jean Spademan. It has a sister church, King's Chapel, in Norwich, Connecticut. Within the movement, Spademan was known by the name "Syro" - "an obscure Biblical reference to a Syro-Phoenician woman who appeals to Jesus to save her daughter from a demon".
Founders
Jean Spademan
In 1999, Spademan had six children and over twelve grandchildren. She had children early in life and did not have much money. Her youngest daughter was adopted from Honduras – Spademan had the idea to begin a connection between Bethel Church and the Honduras orphanage Finca de los Niños. Spademan and the church had a goal to build a new orphanage, but they gave up on these plans in the mid-1980s.
In an interview with the Daily Express in 2000, Spademan commented on claims by others that she said she was a prophet: "I don't believe I'm a prophet"Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). Hibbert stated in an interview: "As a boy of 11, 12, and 13 they could not keep me away from it. I was in every single service soaking up the preaching, listening to these missionaries tell their stories. I can remember standing in these congregations ... and with tears streaming down my face and saying, 'Lord I want to do whatever you want me to do in this world. I want to be your servant for the rest of my life.'"
He was raised in central England, and attended a technical college where he received education as a draftsman. Hibbert served as an ordained minister in a Pentacostal church, and rose to the level of assistant minister in Rotherham, in a parish of the organization Assembly of God. Hibbert is married with three daughters and an adopted boy originally from Honduras. He met Spademan in 1972: "I saw a hesitation in her eyes. I sensed she was in need. And so that was it." Hibbert commented on claims that individuals were pressured to donate funds to his organization: "Certainly no pressure was ever put on anybody (to give)," he said. "You have never met a more selfless giving group of people than the people in this church and that includes this ministry."
England
In 2000, Spademan rarely attended services through sickness. Spademan learned of a church member's lesbian relationship in 2000, and decided to offer one of the girls to live at the church in Connecticut.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The church sent individuals to Zambia in July 2009 to assist in construction work for a missionary-led school. "I can't do much to help, but I can walk, so if people would like to sponsor me, every pound counts," said pastor Jenkinson. The school in Zambia serves as a location for 300 children to receive free education – the children also receive food free of charge each school day.
British MP calls for group to be placed on register
In 2000, after critical reporting on the organization exposed controversial practices by the group, British MP for Mansfield Alan Meale publicly requested that such religious groups and cults be placed in a register. Meale noted that if employers utilized the psychological methods used by Bethel Church management, employees would be able to request a significant amount of financial compensation.
"There needs to be a register to protect the people involved in these movements, their relatives and the communities in which they exist. Everyone, from parents, to social services and neighbours should be allowed to know what these organisations are. They are usually very secretive and impose huge pressures on the people in them. A register should also lay open the church's business dealings and its aims and objectives," said Meale.
Analysis
Dr. Martyn Percy of the Lincoln Theological Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, an authority on new religious movements, commented on the organization's nature of control: "It seems to me to be a fascinating form of religious control exercised on people. If you really think people know what you think, you just don’t dare step out of line. It becomes intolerable. What is absolutely unique about this church is a woman being not just a figurehead, but the prophetic leader of it."
Lonnie D. Kliever, chairman of the religion department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, said that he did not observe evidence of brainwashing within the church. He compared individuals devoted to strict organizations such as King's Chapel to "misguided victims", commenting: It is like getting involved in a bad marriage. Some find it preferable to stay."
Mary Alice Chrnalogar, author of the 1997 book on cults, Twisted Scriptures, said she has heard of the group, and compared it to other religious groups she has dealt with: "I’m very familiar with that group. It’s no different from any other cult I have worked with."
The director of the New England Institute of Religious Research in Middleboro, Massachusetts, Robert Pardon, analyzed statements from ex-members of the King's Chapel organization. Pardon stated that the group "fits the classic profile" of an abusive religious organization. Pardon commented on Spademan's control of the group: "If you accept the premise that she hears from God and is always right, then you have no safeguards, no accountability from abuse. This is pretty scary stuff."
References
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
tolsonwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ The Express staff (July 17, 2000). "The Express: The sect where doubt is a sin". Daily Express. Express Newspapers.
- ^ Tolson, Kyn (May 30, 1999). "Preacher, prophet founded church 'to know God'". The New London Day. Shore Publishing.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Savidge, Katherine (March 2, 2000). "A Special Chad Investigation". Mansfield Chad. Johnston Press.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
pastortoscalewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Cite error: The named reference
exposedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Tolson, Kyn (May 30, 1999). "Cults rob victims of the freedom to make decisions". The New London Day. Shore Publishing.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
External links
- Hassan, Steven Alan (2009). "Kings Chapel (Bethel Church)". Freedom of Mind Center. Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-20.