ACNAtoo

@acnatoo.bsky.social

190 Followers 54 Following

Survivors of ACNA-related abuse & their supporters seeking justice, repentance, healing & a healthier Anglican Church in North America. #ACNAtoo https://www.acnatoo.org/

Ruch made no effort to reach out to at-risk youth who had been in close contact with Rivera despite the repeated concerns also raised by Val McIntyre, Ruch's deacon and the Director of Pastoral Care, who was worried about those girls. "She said she raised concerns that there were teenagers at Big Rock who may have been abused, and specifically mentioned [redacted] and [redacted but felt her concerns were dismissed in 2019."[11]
After Mark Rivera was accused of sexual abuse, Ruch was aware that Rivera had previously been around minors at Church of the Resurrection and yet Ruch did not take appropriate steps to address possible harm to others. Ruch evidenced concern about Rivera's behavior in that he and his wife spoke with their own daughter to see if she had been abused by Mark Rivera, but Ruch did not show similar concern by informing other parents of the abuse. Thus, he failed to show appropriate pastoral concern for other minors and parents in the Resurrection/Christ Our Light orbit, neglecting his duty to the flock. At this time, Ruch was not only bishop, but still the Dean of Resurrection, the diocesan Cathedral.
a. Chris Lapeyre i. When interviewed by Husch Blackwell, Bishop Ruch admitted that in 2015, when he was both Dean of Church of the Resurrection and Bishop of the Diocese of the Upper Midwest, he learned that one of his lay leaders, Chris Lapeyre, had been fired from his teaching job at a high school for 'boundary crossing' with a female high school student. [8] Despite this knowledge, Lapeyre was able to serve on the launch team for the Christ Our Light Anglican Church plant and then as its Senior Warden without appropriate notification, oversight, and accountability. Lapeyre also preached at Christ Our Light. Lapeyre admitted to Husch Blackwell that his firing from the high school had "no impact" on what he was able to do at either Church of the Resurrection or Christ Our Light Anglican. [2] Ruch neglected his duty to protect the flock by allowing a person known to have engaged in inappropriate behavior with a minor to have a leadership position with little accountability or monitoring.
7. Ruch himself failed to have a proper understanding of abuse and grooming behaviors of abusers: a. In August of 2021, Ruch admitted to Grand River Solutions that he and his wife, Katherine, had not had training on grooming behaviors and "just did not understand grooming we did not realize what it was about, how those interactions worked."[7] Viewing of pornography with others present is a form of grooming and is abusive itself, yet Ruch was dismissive of Rivera's viewing of pornography with minors by describing it to Husch Blackwell, the law firm conducting an investigation on behalf of the Province, as "immature." 8]
a. Brenda Dumper, who joined the Church of the Resurrection staff in 2009 and now serves primarily as UMW Lay Canon to the Ordinary though also splits time with the Church, told GRS in 2021, " just did a mandated reporter training for the first time. I was shocked to find out our volunteer and childcare workers would have to report." [4] b. Deacon Valerie McIntyre, who joined the Church of the Resurrection staff in 2011 as Pastoral Care manager then became a pastor then a deacon and now serves as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation, told GRS on or about July 12, 2021, ...we never had any training on 'here is what to look for, here is what to do.' I do not feel well trained."[5] c. Meghan Robins, Pastoral Care Manager at Church of the Resurrection, told GRS on or about June 29, 2021, "Grooming training was really missing. We get training on signs of physical abuse, we need more training on what predatory behavior looks like, and also how to report, when to report."[6]
6. Grand River Solutions (GRS), the investigative firm hired by the Diocese of the Upper Midwest in the Spring of 2021, concluded in its Transition Report that there was a widespread lack of training of Diocesan and church leaders: "In reviewing the stories and narratives gathered, three themes become clear. First is the lack of training or education for key Resurrection or COLA staff on child abuse, grooming behaviors, boundaries, and the identification of at-risk individuals (those with a history of trauma or abuse, for example). Second is the lack of consistent, effective, and repeated training on mandated reporting requirements for any of those who were tasked with working with those under 18 years of age.... Had there been better training and education for church leadership and staff, it is possible that the signs would have been noted years before the first vulnerable person fell prey to Rivera's misconduct."[3] These conclusions are supported by statements made to GRS by key Diocesan, Church of the Resurrection, and Christ Our Light Anglican leaders, including without
4. Ruch and the Diocese of the Upper Midwest did not initiate an investigation into the allegations of abuse made against Lay Catechist Mark Rivera and the subsequent handling of those claims by the Diocese until April 2021, nearly 2 years after the first report. 5. Ruch claimed that as late as January of 2021 he did not realize a third-party investigation "was an option" until an alleged victim suggested it, [2] this despite all that had transpired in or around the summer of 2019, the constant reminders from the College of Bishops, and the highly publicized Dudley Report in or around the fall of 2019 (Gulf Atlantic Diocese).
2. On August 27, 2018, Brenda Dumper, Lay Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of the Upper Midwest, emailed the Archbishop via his then-assistant Betty Shanks, with Bishop Stewart Ruch co'd, admitting that the Diocese did not have a written child protection policy and claiming that they did not know until that previous spring (2018) that they needed one. 3. In 2022, Bishop Ruch explained in his interviews with Husch Blackwell regarding the sexual abuse allegations made against a Lay Catechist in the Diocese in 2019, "that the larger church (UMW Diocese) did not have a protocol in place at the time regarding a bishop's response to sexual misconduct allegations."[!]
Charge 1: Habitual Neglect of the Duties of the Bishop's Office in Violation of Canon IV.2.10 There is reasonable cause to conclude that Bishop Ruch repeatedly failed at his duty to be an "administrator of godly discipline and governance" (ACNA Canon III.8.2) in his diocese: by ignoring the repeated advice that his diocese have a child protection policy; by allowing for inadequately vetted, trained, and/or supervised Lay Catechists to function in leadership positions in his diocese, including leading congregations; by not providing sufficient vetting, training, and/or supervision of his clergy and the Greenhouse deanery and its Lay Catechists, resulting in various serious acts of sexual misconduct and other immorality by multiple leaders and the failure of other leaders to respond appropriately to accusations of such misconduct. This was in contradiction of his duty to "take care" that his clergy (and, arguably, such congregational leaders as Lay Catechists) "be a wholesome example and pattern to the entire flock of Christ" (ACNA Canon ||I.2.1).