Mercy Ministries and Gloria Jeans are tighter than a [insert culturally relevant dirty joke here].  They are partners in Born to Fly a fundraising effort to boost Mercy's income and a schools program.

I whole heartedly support educating youth and young women in particular on positive body image what has me very concerned is that Mercy are both soliciting funds and converts and like all good religious groups are targeting those less likely to be critical of them and school system that is chronically under-funded.

You can check out the Schools program here

I have a couple of concerns

It is a free initiative that is being piloted for the first time.

Is it really free?  Hold on to your youth allowance kiddies. 

The Born to Fly Schools Program gives participating schools access to psychologists who present informally and in an entertaining style to both young women and men.

Is this the same access to psychologists that Mercy supplies, because Mercy only has one.  I'll expect Bec Loundar to be very busy, how is she going to manage this on top of her own caseload.  I suppose they could trot out their unqualified counsellors?

 

Mercy Ministries relies on fundraising and its financial partners to keep its program open and free.  By hosting a Born to Fly fundraising day at your school, you can help mend broken wings and transform the life of a young woman in need.

So they are still claiming it to be a free service when it is not.  Maybe someone should pass this on to the ACCC?

And then finally we have Bec on body image.

Interestingly she says:

Well, for the last 12 years, I’ve been supporting young women learning how to deal with a range of issues relating to their self image.  Plus, I’ve also practiced as a psychologist for the previous eight years which means I’ve spent a lot of time supporting people.

A survey of the complainants I am in contact with indicates that none of them saw a psychologist, none of them were counselled by Bec Loundar, none of them were allowed to contact their previous counsellors or psychologists while in Mercy.

The bile rises in my throat when Bec talks about positive body image and being comfortable about who you are deep down when Mercy push an anti gay agenda. 

I wonder how many Lesbians have left Mercy feeling comfortable about themselves deep down. 

Not to mention the position of women in conservative Christian organisations, how can you have a positive self image when men are the be all and end all, when women are not placed or viewed on an equal footing where the acceptable or preferred relationship is that husband and wife.

On this subject Bec leaves us this Gem

If you spent as much time as I do talking to young men, you would know that what they want most in a friend is that she is happy and comfortable with herself.That’s a positive self image.

All about pleasing us blokes again hey?

 

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Mercy Graduate writes in a comment here

I am a Mercy graduate from the Nashville home. I am astonished at what I am reading regarding the facitlity in Australia. I'm not certain what is going on, but I am sure that Nancy will handle this correctly.

...To address a few issues about the rules- it is a Christian facility. Many of these young women have been living a very difficult life and their existence if desperate. In order to combat their "issues"(ie: eating disorders, prostitution, sexual abuse struggle, unwanted pregnancy,etc...) they NEED STRUCTURE. The "modest" attire is merely to keep some civility-you can't run around in underwear around the facility as there are guests, etc....that could come in to visit at a given time.

I've never heard of an exorcism-but I think the writer is referring to part of the therapy called "sins of the fathers"(which is a biblical term) and the counselors prayed with me to be purified and begin a new life-without my past sins....

So, please don't take a few unhappy opinions on the program and certainly don't label the entire ministry as a cult!

I am glad you are astonished at what is occurring at the Australian facilities. I don't have the faith that you do in the great and powerful Nancy to rectify the problem. I think it more likely that Nancy will do what ever it takes to protect her empire...I mean ensure that she continues to provide the best client focused service she can.

Mercy to date have:

• Lied on national television
• Attempted to discredit complainants
• Offered to talk to complainants but only on Mercy's terms

They are not interested in rectifying a problem, indeed there number one priority is to get the story out of the headlines and smooth over issues.

On Mercy being a christian facility...whoa !! I never would have guessed. There is a difference between structure and pedantic,condescending and authoritarian rules. I just love Mercy's one solution fits all problems approach. Got bulimia - just pray. Been sexually abused - just pray. Got a baby on the way- just pray.

As to modest attire - yes I can imagine these women must want to run around in their knickers all the time, flashing their privates and trying to turn the staff into Lesbians. I am sure Mercies idea of modest varies significantly from the general population. Controlling what people wear is controlling the expression of that person.

You have never heard of an exorcism - well then it musn't be true. Did you think that maybe your experience might have been different from others. What problems were you in for? Maybe this determined your treatment or the lengths that the staff would go to.

Interestingly you do admit that you underwent "Sins of the Fathers" Therapy which is noted as part of deliverance ministry, which is renowned for its exorcisms.

Please don't take a few happy opinions....

There are somewhere in the vicinity of 12-15 girls who have made contact. Comparing this to Mercy Australia's figure of 90 clients that's 14-16.6% of your clients not just a few bad apples trying to ruin the strudel.

I will label Mercy any way I want. They use treatments that are biblically based, they promote a very narrow version of christianity. If it walks, talks and smells like a cult well...

I suggest that you maybe open your eyes a little, if you can break the conditioning they indoctrinated you with.

Mercy have to get their house in order which means addressing the issue not trying to bury it like you seem to suggest.

You see everything is slanted in Mercies favour. You have women who are depressed, victims of abuse, who have been cast aside by Mercy. That this many women have come forward leads me to believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are women out there who a simply not strong enough to come forward.

HOW DARE YOU!

suggest trying to silence these women.

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Oh the irony of the title...Deliverance Ministry.

Cue the duelling banjo's because only inbred, uneducated mutants could think up a  a sick twisted idea like Deliverance Ministry.

Wikipedia on Deliverance Ministry:

In charismatic Christianity, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by individuals or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession. Leaders of and adherents to these ministries emphasize the activities of evil spirits in many physical, psychological, or emotional maladies that people experience. The practices and many of the underlying beliefs of these ministries are not accepted by all Christians.

Methods

Deliverance ministries focus on casting out the spirit or spirits believed to cause an affliction. The method of casting out varies. Some adherents directly recite Biblical examples in prayer intended to command a demon to depart an afflicted person, and do not believe an ordained clergy is required perform the deliverance. Though many people confuse deliverance with exorcism, they are not the same. Exorcisms use the "holy" water as the main expulsion technique, while deliverance uses the authority Jesus Christ gave His church through his victory on the cross with his spilled blood.^{[citation needed]}

Ministries also organize the removal from homes of items that are believed to harbor demons, including fantasy or horrornovels, and artworks / artifacts depicting pagan gods or frogs.

Popularity

The rise of deliverance ministries in the United States appears to have occurred almost immediately following the release of the film The Exorcist in 1973, and the film has been credited with creating interest in casting out demons, even though the practices of deliverance ministries differ widely from the highly ritualized exorcisms carried out by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The same year, a Baptist minister named Frank D. Hammond and his wife Ida Mae Hammond published a book entitled Pigs in the Parlor which was a 'hit' book on the subject. Derek Prince was also viewed as an authority on deliverance during his lifetime.

In the United States, the best-known current practitioner is Bob Larson.

See also

• Demonic possession
• Exorcism

A simple search on google will return hundreds of books,websites and organisations that believe in, promote and carryout this stone age rubbish. 

Unfortunately it seems the Australian government isn't concerned that Mercy Ministries Australia is a big fan of using deliverance ministry to treat anxiety disorders or anorexia.  Indeed half the politicians in the Senate actively tried to block any investigation into Mercy Ministries.

You would think that living in the 21st century and in the West we would be free of this rubbish, but it seems that the US is is perhaps its biggest promoter.

Its all harmless though right?  No one really believes?  Its just a few wacko's here and there.

Wake up and smell the bacon people.  Here's a few links to scare you:

Ten Steps to Deliverance from Satan

Six Entries of Evil

They offer courses on the crap:

Deliverance ministry 2

Unfortunately this rubbish has made it to Australian shores, below are listed Ministries that include deliverance as part of their ministry:

Elijah House Ministries

Hope Ministries Australia

 

What happens when no body says anything about these fringe groups?   They become accepted and you get a situation where you have deluded and potentially unstable people giving mental health advice and treatment to people with very serious problems.

Come on now Sean none of the mainstream churches believe in that crap?

Ehem...

The Church of England’s Deliverance Ministry, which was set up in 1974 after an “unfortunate” exorcism in Yorkshire, has teams of clergy and psychiatrists in each diocese and investigates dozens of claims of haunting, poltergeists and demonic possession very year. No exorcism is sanctioned without the consent of the local bishop and a psychiatric assessment.

[source]

But note the difference is the use of proper medical advice in the form of psychiatric assessment. So the big boys pay lip service to the old ways while recognising the medical advancements of science.  Unfortunately it means they can' really be critical of the evangelical nut bags.

Pete writes:

I've been reading your blog for a while (I found it via planetatheism.com) and I was wondering if you could blog about Atheist Meetups.

Australia (and other countries) has active atheist meetup groups and message boards to discuss issues. It is a great way to meet up with like minded people, but not many people know about it.

Sydney meetups get up to thirty people these days and many of us are also members of the meetup groups of the other Australian cities just to be able to read the their message boards.

 

It is interesting that you write Pete.  I have been considering this very topic and see Atheist meetups as possibly the best way forward for Atheism in Australia.  I am actually a member of the Brisbane board( I live 2000km away) and know a few other members from other boards through my activities with the Atheist Foundation of Australia.

The advantage of meetup groups is of course the ability to start some grass roots activism.  Other forums are good for finding likeminded people, but there's really nothing as good as meeting people face to face.

Links to Australian Atheist Meetups:

Adelaide Atheists

Sydney Atheists

Perth Atheists

Brisbane Atheists

Melbourne Atheists

 

 

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Or

“The hidden danger of narrow faith based mental health provision.”

 

Faith Based Organisations (FBO’s) are a fact of life(unfortunately woven into the fabric of our society).  Many of these organizations –the salvation army, for example have a long history of working on social justice issues.

Governments seem more and more inclined to abrogate their responsibilities in regard to mental health service provision and direct responsibility for these services to the Religious Sector.

There is, I think an over stated belief that because these services are faith based (the majority being Christian) that they are by default a good choice in the provision of health care.

There seems to be unwritten, or unspoken understanding that anything Christian is both homogenous in the way it will handle social justice and mental health situations and by default have the clients best interests as a priority.

Hence this quote from the former Australian PM John Howard

“Whenever you see the marginalised, whenever you see the vulnerable, whenever you see those in our society that are in want or in need of companionship or friendship or support, you normally find an agency or some members of various denominations of the Christian church. There is almost an automatic assumption … that whenever there's a problem of that kind, there'll be somebody from the church or one of its agencies there to help.” source

This assumption leads us as a society, into some very scary territory.

Imagine this terrible scenario:

You are an intelligent young woman struggling with anorexia or bullemia, you have no private health cover, there are no government funded clinics . You search online for a service you might be able to afford. As luck would have it you find a service its free, its religiously based, but that’s okay you were raised Christian, you can stomach the platitudes and the grace before evening meals, maybe even going to church on Sunday – what you are in need of is help, help with a disorder that may well kill you. It’s on the other side of the country away from anything familiar but you are desperate. You make a decision that will hopefully change your life forever…for the better. The reality is that when you arrive you are told what to where, how to act, when to bath, when and what to read and how to think, you are not allowed to discuss with other residents why you are there, you are not allowed to maintain close relationships with other residents lest you turn into a lesbian, you are told that your mental issues are either a result of you not trying hard enough or the influence of demons – you are given a list of passages that “Demons hate” oh and its not free. You eventually begin to believe what they are saying.

Only this is not a hypothetical, this is Naomi’s Story [link] and it is repeated with many other women that have attended Mercy Ministries in Australia and the US.

Search x-mercy in the field above to find related stories.

Click below to view the

Mercy Ministries Handbook

Below - Passages Demons Hate

*Both documents are handed to clients after they have been admitted.

 

The testimony of x-mercy women suggests that mercy ministries

• are fervently Anti gay, going so far as to prevent relationships between straight women
• go beyond proselytising and into the realm of indoctrination and mind control

So while many FBO’s may not proselytise there is nothing to stop them from doing so. There are no guidelines stipulating that they must use qualified counsellors, no government monitoring to ensure that they do. We rely on them to have the clients best interest at heart.

And this is where the lines blur, evangelical Christianity assumes their way, is the best way. The client is best served by serving Jesus or rather his representatives on earth.

Why does the government offload these services? Is there evidence that they can provide a better service? One could argue that when the church has been given this brief before (ie Ireland) that it has failed miserably, resulting in abuse scandal after abuse scandal.

See Magdelene Asylums as one example.

I am sure that with little government oversight there comes a great degree of flexibility that may enable services to offer a more holistic service - just not possible under regular government operating frameworks. But we can’t just rely on the various organizations to be marching to the same tune. Southern Baptists sing a very different song to the Salvation army.

Why are non-government, secular programs relatively scarce in comparison? No money to be made? Have the religious services got the sector sewn up to the point where a non-religious service is not feasible, or counter productive, i.e. competition for government funds and funds required for organizational structure outweighing the benefits of supposed increased efficiency.

Why do the FBO’s carry out the work if there is precious little money in it (with the exception MM who seem to receive reasonable donations thanks Gloria Jeans and are able to purchase land, while still insisting that residents handover their Centrelink cheques – Mercy made of 1.365 million in 2006)?

“They are called by God”, I am sure most would answer but there is another reason, one applicable to any FBO – quite simply there are souls involved or rather people with pocketbooks. But its not just money its power and influence. The greater your number the greater your voice

Some FBO’s can keep this in check bringing people to Jesus through demonstrating good actions. While the more nefarious schemes ensure that when you are healthy, if you ever get there, your friends, your support network and you beliefs are all found in the same place – a narrow fundamentalist church community.

Mercy Ministries women are paraded at Hillsong services in Australia. They have a special section reserved from them. They are held up as an example of women healed through Jesus. That some of these women suffer social disorders doesn’t seem to factor in this. They are required to read aloud from fundamentalist texts repeatedly, to learn the passages by rote and are disciplined when they fail to do so. They are prohibited from listening to outside radio or media. If you refuse to break you are kicked out often in a mental state worse than when you went in. If you break or find Jesus you lose yourself.

So the hidden danger is that with these services you do not know what you are getting. There is no common code of conduct, no charter, no overarching body to ensure best practice.

A service like Mercy Ministries can hide under the coattails of the broader FBO’s trading, on the good name of those services that have proven themselves to be client focused rather than Jesus focused.

I am seriously considering writing a post for Carnival of the Godless.  For non-Atheist readers COTG is a biweekly collection of blog posts on atheism.

The submissions are open to anyone regardless of philosophical/religious leanings with the proviso that the topic written about have something to do with Atheism.  Its coming up to its 91st edition and is a good round up for current atheist blogging.

Now I find myself somewhat struck with a bit of stage fright?  What should I talk about?  Lots of people will read what I have to say?  What am I going to write about? 

 

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Destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE[source: Ex-Cult Resource Centre]:

I. Behavior Control

II. Information Control

III.Thought Control

IV.Emotional Control

 

What I would like you to do is read each of the hyper linked entries above.   Then in addition to previous correspondence by Hope, read the following although, it could apply equally to Mercy's operations anywhere:

Hope's Memories of Mercy Ministries in US

In the US, we also had an additional daily reading of this book: God's Creative Power for Healing. It is a small booklet of Bible verses paraphrased.

(Note: If you go through the Amazon link you can look inside at the random page to get an idea.)

We had to sign a sheet each morning before "class" that stated we had read it and were disciplined if we missed reading it. I recall that we were supposed to read it at least once each, and we were encouraged to read it more than once a day.

Often girls in the program (I'm sure I said this as well.) and graduates who would visit, would remark on how they didn't "truly believe" the truth of those verses, but eventually began to believe them as they continued reading.

Mercy presented us with a very strict schedule and it was always a relief for me to get some time to myself, but they discouraged this even on weekends and got suspicious if you spent too much time to yourself on weekends.

I got to be very close friends with one of the girls there. She was 16 and there for an unplanned pregnancy and I was 24, so she was sort of like a little sister. I was her labor coach; each girl could choose one resident to stay with her at the hospital (this had to be approved and for some reason they were reluctant to let her choose me at first).

Neither she nor I were there for "issues" with our sexual orientation. We often played cards in the an open area, alone during the weekend, so they threatened us with a "separation contract" . 

Separation contracts were used to discipline  you for spending any time alone in a room with the another resident or eating at the same table during meals time.

You could also get a discipline merely for sitting at a table "out of order"  because you were supposed to sit in the order you'd lined up (There were 4 chairs to a table, so if you came in and there was a table with three in it, you had to go to that one. Then the fifth person would start a new table.)

X-Mercy International... Hope's story Part 3

X- Mercy International  Hope's Story... part 2

X-Mercy International... Hope's Story

 

Do you see what I am hinting at here?

 

Are you an x-mercy survivor.  Feel free to email Sean at sbwright at gmail.com with your thoughts, stories.  Please put x-Mercy in the Subject line.

What is x-mercy stories? [answer]

Want to read more type "x-mercy" in the search field in the top right hand corner

Want to reach out to other x-mercy women?  See www.mercysurvivors.com

 

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Thanks to one of our brave x-mercy women I have for your reading pleasure a copy of the Mercy Ministries Resident Handbook. Just right click on the picture to download or try here

They have carefully omitted references to any deliverance ministry (code for exorcism) but it should make interesting reading for those of you with a background in Mental Health service provision.

 

 

 

 

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For a while there it was al guns blazin' commenting on Mercy Ministries and then I had to go and have holidays, followed by work in some very remote places - so this post as the title suggests, will be a round up of Mercy related in formation occurring over the past 3-4 weeks.

First of all the good news that the ACCC(Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) will be investigating Mercy Ministries for misleading behaviour in relation to its advertising a free service that was not actually free.

This was achieved largely be the bravery of the three women who came forward, the efforts of Ruth Pollard of the SMH, and Senator Lynn Allison.

The Office of Fair trading will also be involved in the matter. 

Now while I think this is absolutely wonderful and could result it charges (yes!!) or at least a change in Mercy's marketing practices, it does not get at the crux of the matter - which was the treatment of mentally ill people with prayer and exorcism.

My sources tell  me that more women have come forward both here and in the United States, unfortunately for some they still live in fear or the wounds caused by Mercy are still too raw for them to make comment.

 

What has Mercy been up to? 

Well it seems that they still have their corporate sponsors listed on the Australian webpage.  Funny?  I thought Bunnings, and Rebel sport had withdrawn their support.  Maybe someone should drop them a line?

Mercy in the US has claimed that :

In February of 2008, an independent survey of former Mercy Ministries' residents was conducted. A preliminary review of the top line data shows that well over 90% of the respondents indicated that their experience at Mercy Ministries transformed their lives and restored their hope. [source]

Well call me cynical but:

1. Why is this being released piecemeal?
2. Why is the company conducting the survey not being identified?
3. Why not just present the Survey as is?

Any idiot can conduct a half baked survey, I am sure even a bible college student could manage one.

 

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I was at the Adelaide Zoo yesterday with Alison and the mother in Law. As small zoo's go it was quite good. I got some pictures of parots and orangutans as well as some historical zoo buildings.

The highlight, or perhaps lowlight was the Masturbating Monkey who decided that he would put on a show for the kiddies.

I was attracted to the commotion as a mother turned to her husband saying " I think he likes you.." and a young girl yelling "Watchout dad I think he's going to spurt"(where the kid picked up this kind of language, I don't know?)

Only to be greated by the sight of a monkey engaged in vigorous self enjoyment and then tasting the product of his efforts.

So check out the Adelaide Zoo, home of the world famous Masterbating Monkey...

Lets hope that's the last surprise on this holiday.

(and no I didn't get pictures)

I will be away from the computer for about a week.

If you are interested in the Mercy Ministries Stories or a survivor I urge you to check out www.mercysurvivors.com as some of the women who have been mistreated by the program have begun putting together a website.

This letter was posted to the father of one mercy girl who kicked up a stink about the treatment of his daughter.  The letter was intended then to be circulated to other Mercy Girls and it is through one of them that the lett