Our blog contains ACNAtoo statements and updates, community resources written by the ACNAtoo team, articles on abuse-related topics by outside experts, and more.
D.A.R.V.O. in Action
DARVO is an acronym that describes a manipulation strategy used by perpetrators in response to being held accountable for their actions. DARVO stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender. In this post, we provide an educational breakdown of a public statement about one of our survivor stories showing DARVO in action.
Time for Action: Part 03, Extreme Subsidiarity
Part 3 of our Time for Action series, detailing and explaining the requests regarding Extreme Subsidiarity in our July 15 open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach.
Time for Action: Part 02, The Bishop’s Council of the Upper Midwest
Part 2 of our Time for Action series, detailing and explaining the requests regarding the Upper Midwest’s Bishop’s Council in our July 15 open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach.
Time for Action: Part 01, Bp. Stewart Ruch
On July 15, ACNAtoo published an open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach and the Province. So far they have declined to respond in a public forum. In this Time for Action series, we’ll expand on the open letter’s action items and provide background on why they are of paramount importance and continue to deserve a public response.
The connections between sexual abuse and spiritual abuse in the Upper Midwest Diocese
Recently ACNAtoo has sought to bring to light the stories of sexual abuse survivors under the care of the Upper Midwest Diocese (UMD). This article seeks to make important connections between sexual abuse and the recent decision to investigate canonical abuse of power (spiritual abuse) by the PRT.
Diocese of the Upper Midwest Survivor’s Guide
This resource has been created in collaboration with survivors and grassroots organizers from the Upper Midwest Diocese and broader ACNA. The goal of this guide is to provide education around and highlight clear pathways to participate in the current investigation the ACNA has launched regarding ‘Canonical Abuse of Power’ or spiritual abuse in the UMD. We hope you find it clear and helpful in discerning your next steps if applicable.
VIA Survivor’s Guide
This resource has been created in collaboration with survivors and grassroots organizers from VIA Apostolica, a missionary diocese domiciled within the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest. The goal of this guide is to provide education around and highlight clear pathways to participate in the current investigation the ACNA has launched regarding VIA Apostolica and Bp. Todd Atkinson. We hope you find it clear and helpful in discerning your next steps if applicable.
Christian Witness and Abuse
Christian faith is inherently public. It is not private, insular, nor is it self-oriented. It goes out, making itself seen and heard. It is not a city in a remote forest, but set on a hill for all to see. According to Karl Barth, the reason faith is inherently public is because God Himself has acted publicly in history.
Spinning Matthew 18
In this guest post, Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer explore how “following the Bible” directives around disclosures of abuse are in fact unbiblical. From their book “A Church Called Tov.”
Bruised Reeds, Smoldering Wicks & the Peaceable Divine Transcendence: Against God as Superman
When situations of abuse come to light in churches where others have experienced growth and healing, it can be jarring and disorienting. How is this possible? How could some have grown so much, experienced God’s presence so clearly, in the very same context that also committed such grievous evil? Guest author Rev. Dr. Kirsten Guidero explores this seeming paradox.
Spiritual Abuse Syllabus
Spiritual abuse is a form of emotional and psychological abuse that is characterized by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behavior in a religious context. ACNAtoo has put together this guide designed to provide books, articles, podcasts, and other resources to help navigate the complexities of identifying, naming, and healing from spiritual abuse.
What is Spiritual Abuse?
You’ve probably been hearing the term “spiritual abuse,” but what does that term mean, and how do you identify whether it’s happened to you? Pastor John Perrine surveys recent literature to reflect on how to spot it and why it matters to ongoing investigations of abuse.
Getting Angry with Jesus
Paul assumes that anger - being angry -is part of our calling to imitate God in love (Eph 4.17-5.2). The love of God makes room for anger; we cannot imitate God, Paul indicates, unless we learn to hold our anger well. As we deal with church abuse scandals, we can learn how to be angry in love together. And we learn this the way Paul did: from Jesus.
Reckoning with Power and Responsibility
When Paul makes a call for unity in the churches he oversees (i.e. 1 Cor 11, Rom 14, etc), he places the onus on those who have privilege & power to stop misusing it so that divisions cease. Paul doesn’t cause church division by bringing attention to it; in fact, he seems to work from the assumption that to ignore a problem is itself a problem.
Jesus, Responsibility, and Sexual Violence
This guest blog by chaplain Rob Sturdy insightfully explores the intersection of Christoform witness, responsibility, and sexual abuse.
Cultivating ACNA 2.0
We would like to sketch out a vision of some things that could help move us away from needing an #ACNAtoo as we move to an ACNA 2.0 characterized by safety, health, and the continual pursuit of maturity in Christ.
An open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach
We invite you to read this open letter from #ACNAtoo abuse survivors and advocates in response to Archbishop Foley’s July 10, 2021 letter to the Anglican Church in North America concerning the Diocese of the Upper Midwest.
What is Betrayal Blindness?
Our inability to see oppressions—such as abuse, racism, and misogyny—can be caused by betrayal trauma and the resulting betrayal blindness. Our closeness to an individual or institutional source of oppression can prevent us from seeing the betrayal. And we cannot abolish what we cannot see.
A Survivor-Sensitive Approach to Allegations
A phenomenal resource by Scot McKnight examining the ways we need to shift from priest-centric, to survivor-sensitive procedures.
Loose Canons
An ACNA Priest reviews the dangerous conflict of interest in the Upper Midwest’s Governing Documents that contribute to this case.