How could they do such a thing?
by Gloria Swartzendruber, Pigeon, Mich.
I appreciated Marilyn Miller’s column "Blemished Lambs at the Altar,"(January). It was concise and well-written.
Although I read the column the day The Mennonite came, I didn’t write until today because of my pain. For I was one of those, "How could they do such a thing." Along with many other young girls, I was abused by a man in my home church in Pennsylvania. For many decades, he abused young girls and women. How could this be allowed? It took many of us brave women to stop this abuse.
Now I am in my 60s. I remember a terrible encounter when I was nine. Although spoken to several times over the years, this man was just disciplined several years ago. My pastor, here in Pigeon, Mich., Scot Wilson, and his wife, Sharon, have been a great help. Before Pastor Scot came, pastor Jay Miiller helped me start talking about my broken past.
Like Marilyn Miller says, we need to stop being quiet when treated unjustly.
Associated Issue: New director begins - January, 2010
Associated Article: Blemished lambs at the altar
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