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ICYMI: After a busy year, we’re looking back on the events of 2022 and looking forward with hope to the year ahead. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-news/whistleblowers-warnings-what-you-can-do

JANUARY: On January 5, 2022, @the_ACNA Provincial Response Team (PRT) presented certain Rivera survivors with two pre-selected investigation firms. The PRT invited these survivors to vote on which of these firms should conduct a third-party investigation into @midwestanglican.

This invitation came after six months of fruitless communication between @the_ACNA COO (now Bishop) Alan Hawkins and ACNAtoo advocates, beginning around the time of our July 15, 2021 open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-blog/openletter

During these 6 months, we attempted to educate @The_ACNA on the essential components of a trauma-informed, survivor-centered investigation. Multiple Rivera survivors declined to participate in the investigation firm selection process (and ultimately the investigation itself).

Why? They were being asked to cast a vote while simultaneously being denied the most critical information about the investigation: the contract specifying the processes and parameters of the investigation. acnatoo.org/2022-0106-joanna-prt-letter

These survivors instead added their signatures, along with almost 700 other signatories, to our January 2022 Petition to the Province. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-blog/a-petition-to-the-province

The petition called upon @the_ACNA to honor the ACNAtoo survivors’ wishes and hire an investigation firm that would comprehensively investigate allegations of mishandling, following the best practices of an independent and survivor-centric investigation.

Despite these public survivor requests, the PRT selected @HuschBlackwell to investigate @MidwestAnglican sexual abuse mishandling allegations and refused to waive attorney-client privilege or publish the investigation contract.

The PRT also hired @TeliosLaw to separately investigate other abuse of power allegations in the UMD, again declining to waive privilege or publish the contract, as well as declining even to publish a final investigation report.

On January 17, 2022, three of the eight PRT members resigned publicly. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-news/prt-resignation-011722

In an April 25 open letter to fellow clergy, @the_ACNA Deacon and former PRT Victim Advocate Gina Roes (@artofbreathing) recounted why: acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/clergy-letter

This realization and other serious irregularities in the PRT process led these three PRT members to believe that Bp. Alan Hawkins and other @the_ACNA leaders had gravely mishandled the abuse cases in @MidwestAnglican and were not proceeding in good faith.

Concurrently, Helen Keuning, a longtime @the_ACNA parishioner and member of the @MidwestAnglican Bishop’s Council, began to identify patterns that revealed the UMD's continued choice to prioritize institutional power over survivors. On 3/18/22, she too would resign her position.

FEBRUARY: On February 21, 2022, ACNAtoo published River's Story, which details how @ChurchRez lay leader Mark Rivera groomed and abused her in plain view of Rez leaders in the early 2000s. acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest/rivers-story

River’s story corroborates Lily’s Story, published in 2021, further refuting @MidwestAnglican Bp. Stewart Ruch’s standing claim that Mark Rivera’s abuses did not take place “on church property or at a church event.” acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest/part-5-lillys-story

MARCH: On March 18, 2022, senior @MidwestAnglican Bishop’s Council member Helen Keuning resigned her position on the Council, saying she could no longer participate in the process in good conscience.

Helen was a longtime @the_ACNA member who had also served on Bp. Stewart Ruch’s 2021 @MidwestAnglican response team, which was formed to address survivor calls for an independent investigation into the Mark Rivera abuse mishandling situation.

Helen concluded: “I no longer trusted the leadership in @MidwestAnglican or in @the_ACNA to follow in the footsteps of Christ." acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/bc-resignation-reason04

APRIL: On April 25, 2022, ACNAtoo released the first installment of our Witnesses Series from @the_ACNA Deacon and former PRT member Gina Roes (@artofbreathing). acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/clergy-letter

This series would bring together key documentation and first-hand accounts from former @MidwestAnglican Bishop’s Council member Helen Keuning: acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/bc-resignation-reason01

As well as former PRT member @autumnvandehei: acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/victim-advocate-speaks-out

And @luhmannaudrey, ACNAtoo liaison to @The_ACNA: acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/a-deafening-silence

These five women demonstrated how @the_ACNA’s institutional betrayal of survivors followed strikingly similar patterns, from diocesan conference rooms up through the highest provincial offices.

Also in April 2022, a group of survivors in @ADChristOurHope issued an open letter acnatoo.org/christ-our-hope/open-letter through ACNAtoo:

They alleged serious mishandling of their allegations of spiritual abuse and pastoral misconduct against the Rev. Dan Claire at @rezchurch in Washington, DC. religionnews.com/2022/04/07/anglicans-say-leaders-botched-response-to-allegations-against-dc-priest/

This letter served as a public reminder that ecclesiastical abuse of power in @the_ACNA was not limited to the @MidwestAnglican and @pittanglicans: acnatoo.org/pittsburgh

.@ADChristOurHope Bishop-coadjutor Alan Hawkins, who had overseen the failed PRT response to the @MidwestAnglican crisis, now became involved in the investigation in his own diocese.

.@ADChristOurHope enlisted @GrandRiverSols, the firm rejected by @midwestanglican survivors just months earlier: acnatoo.org/piecing-it-all-together-part04

.@ADChristOurHope hired @GrandRiverSols not even to investigate the outstanding allegations of abuse, but only to investigate the mishandling of an earlier investigation. caef817244d5f21ecddb-92c76cb1053f4e9ea0aba27a90d8d1b2.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/g/0e15023305_1667229985_grs-executive-summary-report-103122.pdf

It remains unknown how @ADChristOurHope will address the original complaints against Rev. Claire at @rezchurch, make amends for their own mishandling, or prevent such problems from recurring in the future.

MAY: On May 16, 2022, ACNAtoo published Ursa's Story, which details how Christopher Lapeyre used his position as a high school teacher to groom and later sexually abuse her during the same time period when he was serving as a lay leader at @ChurchRez. acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest/ursas-story

Ursa’s story corroborates Clarke’s Story, published in 2021, in which Clarke, also a former student of Chris Lapeyre, alleges that Chris groomed her at both school and church while he was serving as a lay leader at Christ Our Light Anglican Church (COLA). acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest/clarkes-story

Ursa’s story prompted @ChurchRez to finally inform their congregation about Lapeyre, who was still attending Rez in 2022. churchrez.org/parishioner-update/

Throughout the spring of 2022, current and former parishioners at @ChurchRez, as well as @midwestanglican leaders, interviewed with @HuschBlackwell and @TeliosLaw as part of the two investigations into the UMD.

Many individuals — including former @MidwestAnglican Bishop’s Council member Helen Keuning — privately and publicly raised concerns about their experience with both law firms. acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/bc-resignation-reason01

Read some of those public comments from @katierouqine and @abbinye: twitter.com/katierouquine/status/1510718733915811840 twitter.com/abbinye/status/1521147521627680769

The @HuschBlackwell investigation report, released in September, would validate many of these concerns. Meanwhile, nearly a year after its launch, the status of the @TeliosLaw investigation remains unknown. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-news/re-release-of-husch-blackwell-report

The approximate cost of these two investigations to @the_ACNA parishioners is $350,000, according to the Province, yet to date there is no evidence that either investigation has led or will lead to any form of accountability in @midwestanglican.

JULY: Former @the_ACNA lay leader Mark Rivera’s criminal trial finally began on 7/12/22. Rivera was first arrested in 2019 and charged with 10 felony counts, inc. multiple counts of Predatory Crim. Sex. Assault of a Victim < 13 and Aggravated Crim. Sex. Abuse of a Victim < 13.

Since then, over a dozen survivors have come forward with accounts of abuse by Rivera, with allegations including rape, assault, child sexual abuse, indecent exposure, and grooming. religionnews.com/2021/07/28/acna-accusers-say-church-leaders-failed-to-acknowledge-their-accounts-of-abuse/

Rivera has also been charged with 2 felony counts of sexual assault of an adult victim, with that case scheduled to go to trial in May 2023. religionnews.com/2021/12/30/former-acna-lay-pastor-charged-additional-sexual-assault-felonies/

SEPTEMBER: @The_ACNA released the @HuschBlackwell report publicly on September 27, 2022, two days before the scheduled conclusion of Mark Rivera’s criminal trial. anglicanchurch.net/husch-blackwell-report-released/

The @HuschBlackwell report was improperly redacted and contained explicit alleged details about the abuse of one of Rivera’s child victims, whose parents had declined to participate in the investigation citing concerns including survivor safety.

.@The_ACNA took down the report after several days of public outcry and private emails demanding proper redaction. anglicanchurch.net/husch-blackwell-report-update/

After a month of waiting for @the_ACNA to issue a properly redacted report, the ACNAtoo team combed through the 58 pp, redacted personal and identifying survivor information per survivor specifications, and published this redacted version of the report. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-news/re-release-of-husch-blackwell-report.

Almost three months later, the ACNA has not re-released the Husch Blackwell report and has not issued any updates on when they plan to do so.

Starting in 2021, ACNAtoo survivors and their advocates consistently requested a demonstrably independent third-party investigation: acnatoo.org/acnatoo-blog/investigations-101-waiving-privilege.

In early 2022 we identified concerns about @the_ACNA’s contract with @HuschBlackwell. HB’s public report provides ample evidence that those concerns were justified. acnatoo.org/acna-witnesses/victim-advocate-speaks-out

Despite survivor calls for a thorough investigation, @The_ACNA limited the scope of what @HuschBlackwell could investigate and specifically prohibited them from analyzing or evaluating the data they collected.

By preventing @HuschBlackwell from delivering evaluative assessments, guidance, or professional judgments, @the_ACNA failed to address @midwestanglican’s documented patterns of abuse and mishandling. acnatoo.org/acnatoo-blog/umd-abuse-mishandling-summary

OCTOBER: Despite the evidence of sexual abuse mishandling detailed in the @HuschBlackwell report, and despite the ongoing @TeliosLaw investigation into abuse of power in @midwestanglican, Abp. Foley Beach announced on 10/21/22... anglicanchurch.net/an-update-regarding-the-upper-midwest-october-21-2022/

...that Bp. Stewart Ruch would return from his 16-month leave of absence. religionnews.com/2022/10/21/acna-bishop-stewart-ruch-accused-of-spiritual-abuse-ends-voluntary-leave/

Bp. Ruch resumed his role as acting Bishop of @MidwestAnglican under the supervision of Bp. Martyn Minns, who is alleged to have mishandled a separate recent abuse situation in @pittanglicans. acnatoo.org/pittsburgh

NOVEMBER: On November 10, 2022, Church of the Resurrection (Rez) held a “church family only” meeting in which leaders spoke to approximately 800 attendees about the abuse situation. religionnews.com/2022/11/17/returning-from-self-imposed-hiatus-acna-bishop-stewart-ruch-works-to-regain-trust/

Citing “safety of the church family,” @Church_Rez leaders, w/ hired, armed police, targeted certain people for removal from the church building, inc. a Rivera victim’s mother and 2 recent Rez members who had written publicly in support of UMD survivors. youtube.com/watch?v=keC88TRhXkc

Attendees reported to ACNAtoo that in the closed-door meeting, @MidwestAnglican lawyers defended multiple leaders’ failure to report child abuse to the authorities back in 2019 and maintained that clergy had done nothing wrong by not reporting the abuse. religionnews.com/2022/11/17/returning-from-self-imposed-hiatus-acna-bishop-stewart-ruch-works-to-regain-trust/

DECEMBER: The UMD’s failure to learn from its mistakes was thrown into further relief in December. We published the news that @ChurchRez had failed to notify the congregation... acnatoo.org/acnatoo-blog/rez-fails-to-notify-parents-of-sexual-predator

...that @ChurchRez leaders had made arrangements for serial child sexual abuser and registered sex offender John Hays to secretly attend in their midst since 2019. chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/chi-river-forest-sex-abuse-20141010-story.html

In response, @ChurchRez issued an announcement about Hays’ attendance, then shortly afterward published their policy on registered sex offenders attending the church. churchrez.org/publicly-named-parishioner/ churchrez.org/child-safety-and-rso-questions/

Closing out the main events of 2022, Mark Rivera’s bench trial finally culminated in a verdict on December 15. religionnews.com/2022/12/15/mark-rivera-a-former-anglican-lay-pastor-found-guilty-of-felony-child-sexual-assault/

Rivera was found guilty on 2 counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Victim under 13 (Class X felonies) and 3 counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Victim under 13 (Class 2 felonies). The sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 10, 2023.

Although @the_ACNA Provincial leaders and @MidwestAnglican have not prioritized a trauma-informed or survivor-centered response — nor indicated that they recognize their failure to do so — we are grateful for the grassroots movement we see at the parish level around the ACNA.

It is these courageous souls who will help steer @the_ACNA towards a healthier future. We are encouraged by the people who have reached out to us asking, “What can I do to prevent abuse in my local church?”

In the last year and a half, we have been informed of unresolved abuse cases in 10 of @the_ACNA’s 28 dioceses, and we maintain confidential contact with dozens of survivors and witnesses associated with these cases.

Our conversations with numerous survivors have made it clear to us that abuse and mishandling are pervasive ongoing problems within @the_ACNA, and that the Province and many diocesan leaders remain unmotivated to acknowledge or reckon with this cancer in their denomination.

In light of this, it falls to parishioners and clergy to take swift, direct action to address the abuse crisis in @the_ACNA. Individual ACNA parishes must push for policy and ecclesial reform & take personal steps to transform the culture of @the_ACNA from the bottom up.

Our Take Action page can help you get started with this. acnatoo.org/take-action

We also encourage all ACNA parishioners to take the following steps:

1) Familiarize yourself with the Constitution and Canons of your diocese, as well as those of @the_ACNA: anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CURRENT-C-and-C-2019.pdf

Be sure you understand the accountability structure, including avenues for filing formal complaints and the mechanisms in place to initiate disciplinary proceedings for accused leaders. For many dioceses, these processes are not clearly laid out or accessible online.

Ask for this to be corrected. Furthermore, if you find that your diocese’s Constitutions and Canons lack structures for accountability and discipline, bring this to the attention of your clergy, diocesan standing committees, and bishop.

2) Inquire with your local clergy about the official channels for reporting allegations of abuse or mishandling. Assess whether these channels protect and support the survivors and witnesses using them.

Enlist trauma-informed, survivor-centered, independent experts to review your reporting policy and close loopholes that can lead to silencing or further traumatizing of abuse survivors. netgrace.org/assessments

3) Transform your local parish culture by insisting your leaders provide accessible anti-abuse resources for parishioner self-education. Do ongoing trainings led by independent experts to teach clergy, lay leaders, and parishioners how to identify and prevent grooming and abuse.

Organizations offering online training include @netgrace_org and the @AllenderCenter. Many local organizations also provide training in this area. netgrace.org/online-training theallendercenter.org/offerings/

4) Explore a wide range of first-hand abuse survivor accounts, at the ACNAtoo website and elsewhere. Learn about the insidious dynamics of predatory abuse and the devastating impact it has on victims. acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest

Successful anti-abuse advocacy requires entering deeply into the stories of survivors and personally grasping the brutal reality of their experiences. A few sites to get you started: @RAINN, @RestoredVoices, @into_account, @CFCtoo.

5) If you are a parent or caretaker of children, learn how to have frank and supportive discussions with them about boundaries, consent, and bodily autonomy. themamabeareffect.org/rock-the-talk/rock-the-talk-infants-toddlers/ rainn.org/articles/talking-your-kids-about-sexual-assault

Ensure that they feel empowered to come to you or another trusted adult, knowing any concerns or questions will be taken seriously. Grooming tactics may not raise questions or concerns in children initially, so learn how to ask the right questions. themamabeareffect.org/red-flags-of-child-predators/

6) Seek qualified professional care to process your own experiences with & reactions to abuse, sexuality, relationships, boundaries, etc. The first step in helping others through fear, shame, & trauma is to tend to your own.

7) If you have reason to suspect a child is being abused, do not go to church leaders first. Contact the authorities, then seek expert help while protecting the identity of the victim. Contact information by state for reporting child abuse or neglect: childwelfare.gov/organizations/?CWIGFunctionsaction=rols:main.dspList&rolType=custom&rs_id=5

If an adult victim discloses abuse to you, believe them, keep their report confidential, and respect their autonomy by supporting them to address the abuse in the ways that are safe for them.

In short, churchgoers cannot check a few boxes and be done; anti-abuse advocacy must become a regular part of church life and culture, starting in the hearts and homes of individual parishioners.

We recognize that taking action to understand and address abuse in the ACNA will be uncomfortable. It will require people to ask hard questions of their leaders and, in some instances, may require individuals or groups to initiate disciplinary processes against these leaders.

Transforming current parish and diocesan culture into one that is safe for survivors requires challenging both ourselves and our existing power structures. Yet prioritizing the vulnerable over the powerful is what Christ calls us to do.

If we care more for our leaders’ comfort and reputations than for victims of abuse, then we have lost sight of the Gospel. In closing, we invite you to shine a bright light into the darkest and most neglected corners of your church community. This is where you will find Christ.