Women are always the victims: Bethlehem Baptist Church P/7

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I will share the final statements on the abuse of Ann Elizabeth Mekala at Baptist Bethlehem Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, previously pastored by John Piper.

Ann: "I was also told that because the main leader of the organisation did not see my co-worker as abusive and because of their close friendship he wasn't a good judge whether he was abusive or not. This was after he had served as one of "the neutral mediators" for several gruelling meetings between us."

Ann: "I suffered an emotional breakdown because I truly felt I was being abused but was told by the highest leadership that wasn't true. I felt so confused and full of self-doubt that it has taken two years to untwist all of the shame, gaslighting, manipulation and victim blaming."

Ann: "The story that was told to the staff when I left was that I had moved to start my own business and although that is what I did when I left that was certainly not the reason for my leaving."
 

Ann: "I feel the clarity now to say that what I experienced was actually double abuse. Abuse from a male co-worker but also abuse from leadership and a system that believes men over women and perpetrators with power over victims with no power." 

This is my final post on Bethlehem Baptist Church.