Read the full story: The Christian Century
After I began writing about abuse within faith communities, a clergywoman I’ll call Stephanie Green reached out to me with her story. She was the associate pastor of a large congregational church in the Chicago suburbs. One morning she noticed her church’s name in the local newspaper. The snippet was posted in the police blotter section, the exposed underbelly of suburban life: “Man Banned from Church.” Even before she read it, Stephanie knew what the item would say. Her heart sank.