In 2008, Susan Grotte, a Hephzibah House alum, led some 60 survivors in campaigning for its closure; they wrote to newspapers and picketed outside the county courthouse in Warsaw, Indiana, near where the school is located. Indeed, a lot of the kids who were forced to regale churchgoers with phony addiction stories turned to drinking and drugs to help them cope with what happened at the schools. This boarding school for girls is located in Winona Lake, Indiana called, Hephzibah House. Hephzibah House tells 16 News Now there are currently four girls enrolled at the reform school. "I am begging you from my heart, please don't send your daughter to this Hephzibah House, because it is not a good place. I put Joe and the lady from CPS in a room and closed the door. Patterson insists that the abuse allegations were bogus and denies using any corporal punishment or isolation tactics. Lesbianism among teenagers is common and routine. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Cerritos Junior College in Los Angeles in 1971 and a certificate in radio broadcasting in 1972. I was very unsubmissive and I grew worse as the day progressed. Thank god!. Eighteen-year-old Olivia Lambright just left the school last June. Some of these very critics were there when I was here, and I counseled them. Explore rentals by neighborhoods, schools, local guides and more on Trulia! Thank you so much for posting this! It is hard to imagine now but she was a real tomboy. I figured this was Gods plan.. Authorities in the state are barred from inspecting the homes or even keeping track of them. Officials with Hephzibah House say they're still praying for former students in a statement that reads in full: While Ben, Mary, and countless others plan to continue working together. I know this will step on toes literally, but these new sandals with three and four inch heels are not simple. The Lord has done a marvelous work in our lives. I began documenting clergy sex abuse of children in Christian Fundamentalism in 2001. Ladies it was and is hard for me to change. We have noticed that after a few weeks their outward appearance changes. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. It's us but for your ears. He has 41 living grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. The mission headquarters has been located in Winona Lake, Indiana, since 1971, the year of its organization. This four-part series is an interview that I did with Pat and Dennis Cassell, former members and church staff at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, the home church of the infamous child molester, Pastor Bob Gray, and the morally bankrupt deacon board that allowed him to feed his appetites on the children of the church for two decades. This five-part, 75 minute series explores the brutal cult of ignorance promoted by Ron and the late Pattie Williams. A billing dispute with New Beginnings staff didnt make things any easier. This comes after a 16 news now investigation just over a month ago. Ford operated a separate New Bethany home for boys in Longstreet, Louisiana. He and his wife Wenda reside in Warsaw, Indiana, and have 10 children and 10 grandchildren. Williams died several years ago, but her husband still continues to operate Hephzibah House. But dozens of. After Word had been there for almost seven months, his watch escaped. Thank you both so much for taking time to read this and comment. The role she played was not and is not the role of a woman who is a keeper at home. He taught us that when a young girl began menstruating it was God's sign to the papa that she was ready to be married. While jogging earlier that year, the 17-year-old (whom Ill call Roxy) had been pulled into a vehicle and assaulted by a group of men. One last pointmany of the former HH girls have been asked to write statements in support of Ron Williams & HH he actually gave examples of what to write (and guess whatit sounded just like the stories he has on his page now). Mary Kumar's Story. If you have any information please send it to prettykitty1964@live.com, This is a great ministry and the Williams are very kind people. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Pastor Don Williams graduated from Hyles-Anderson College in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Theology. Quote of the Day: Are Militant Secularists Trying to Take Over the United States? She told me of her upbringing in North Carolina, where an IFB preacher named Mack Ford occasionally visited her church. Yes of course he does. That some of these Evangelical churches have even the barest shreds of a good society within them is happening in spite of, rather than because of, the teachings of the religion; and those teachings have a terrible effect on young people, on women, and on the rest of us when those people get political power in our government. She had posted her phone number for anyone wanting to talk, drawing a cautious but earnest call from Word. Believers Baptist is pastored by Don Williams, the son of Ron and Patti Williams. I felt like they stole whatever was inside me that allowed me to trust, says a former resident. One of the students Martin contacted was Teresa Frye, now a 43-year-old mother of four. Thread starter ALAYMAN; Start date Dec 1, 2020; ALAYMAN Well-known member. Hephzibah House describes itself as a private Christian boarding school for teenage girls. Dr. Williams is also Pastor Emeritus of Believers Baptist Church, an independent, fundamental, separated church fellowship under which Hephzibah House operates. Hephzibah Home is a residential treatment program for children ages 3 to 11 and it includes two units, The Treehouse and The Clubhouse. You have this sense of total isolation: Theres no way out of it, youre there for the rest of your life.. I was conscious of how I walked and sat. TELL DR. PHIL YOUR STORY: Are you involved in a story making headlines? Food -- The food sucked most of the time. In April, Montana state Rep. Christy Clark, who campaigned on a faith and family platform, joined 11 other Republicans in scuttling a bill that would have regulated religious teen homes; a mother of three, she cast the homes residents as unreliable witnesses who struggle with truthfulness.), When Jeannie Marie arrived at New Beginnings, she had a tense conversation with the school counselor, who insisted that Roxy wanted to stay. Standing Strong against ignorance, preconceptions, labels and excessive housework. Of course not it was for men! CPS should interview the girls who have graduated from H House, and (this is important) who are old enough to no longer be living under their parents control. New Beginnings is emblematic of an unknown number of troubled teen homes catering to the Independent Fundamental Baptist communitya web of thousands of autonomous churches linked by doctrine, overlapping leadership, and affiliations with Bible colleges like Bob Jones University. He also studied at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. The effects of a pants-wearing mother is just as devastating on a boy. Donna, spread thin with her husband on his third Iraq deployment, and fearful of a family history of substance abuse, worried that Kelsey was headed for trouble. A traveling chorus from New Bethany. A woman has an inner desire to attract men. Hephzibah. Theres still people out here that are hurt, so Im still talking. Other girls? This woman is intentionally mean, calling older women whose bodies are aging as womens bodies do disgusting slobs and those whose bodies may have held up better slutty temptresses. Doctor. Neither characteristic is a Godly one. Hephzibah House follows the state requirements for a General and or College prep diploma. Shut down Hephzibah house. No child should ever be brain washed to believe a person who inflicts harm. Schizophrenic Women should give you a good idea of how Hephzibah House was operated and how incarcerated girls were treated by the Williamses. This rating has decreased by -9% over the last 12 months. I would control his! I found it very odd that the so called testimonies of the complimenting parents and former students and staff all sounded to me overly flowery and sooooo similar in content and that not one testimony given so much as included even a first name! The call dissolved into a shouting match between Jeannie Marie and McNamarawho finally declared that he would only discuss the matter with her husband. Better a pink bottom than a black soul, Roloff famously declared at a 1973 court hearing after he was prosecuted by the state of Texas on behalf of 16 Rebekah girls. Absolutely. Follow Bruce on Facebook and Twitter. But Lucinda, another former student, is defending . But we really couldn't have done it without you guys, without the media, without family and friends helping us I mean we spoke up, but everyone else was basically holding us on their shoulders. I really really hope that government officials are looking into this evil place!!!! George W. Bush deregulated the activities of faith-based groups there. Later, Hephzibah House began to welcome missionaries and pastors and other out-of-town visitors who wanted to investigate local Christian outreach or education programs. And my lesbian friends would disagree that all girls and women are out to get attention from men. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. You do have to sign in through some type of cable provider to watch it: https://www.aetv.com//living-in-sin-inside-a-/full-special aetv.com Watch Living in Sin: Inside a Religious Reform School | A&E Help these children now The healing and long journey of recovery begins the moment a child comes through our doors. I see it as an attack on Christianity. When it comes to paddling the girls too hard, the school said they have not used corporal correction for years. My daughter Naomi has never worn pants unless under a maxi and that is rare. Our position does not win friends and influence people to love us. Whichever is true, both will give an account to the Lord. Pastor Ronald Williams and his late wife, Patti, founded Hephzibah House in 1971, a Christian boarding school for teen girls. *, In March 2010, the House passed the Keeping All Students Safe Act, a bill that would have banned the use of seclusion and physical or chemical restraints by any school that benefits from federal education money. In addition to documenting the complaint, the health inspector also cited Hephzibah House for a few of its procedures involving food preparations. If a mans eyes are filled with lust (Matthew 5:28 Proverbs 27:20), then how can we justify the wearing of swimming apparel in mixed swimming? After a while, I was so brainwashed I didnt even want to run, she told me. [MORE: See photos of life at New Bethany. He said he is stumped by the abuse accusations. Interviews with a half-dozen former students indicate that most of the girls were merely rebellious teenslike Frye, who at age 14 began resisting her strict Baptist parents. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. It will ruin your daughter physically, mentally, emotionally," Lambright pleaded. The school says its mission is to take in troubled girls and help them with God's love. [MORE: See photos of life at New Bethany. The average property tax on Highway 88 is $1,560/yr and the average house or building was built in 1971. In 1982, they sent her to New Bethany, and her 10-year-old sister followed soon after. Celebrating original thought, religious freedom, parenthood, free enterprise and chocolate. The Cassells offer the listener a front row seat to the enormous conspiracy of lies that only slowly began to unfold in 2005.These interviews are pulled from the podcast, with very little sound added, but they are powerful in their own right, without adornment. Because it's going to help them heal. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. This story has an eerily similar feel to those told by the girls that were incarcerated at Mack Fords New Bethany Home for Girls. The school was founded by Dr. Ron Williams in the seventies, but his son says he's glad to see it all come to an end. Some say your job requires pants. According to Assistant Director Pastor Dave Halyaman, the boarding school at 2277 E. Pierceton Road, right outside of Winona Lake, is closed. This is a link to the article I mentioned, where Ron Williams explains how to "beat" an infant. Anita Bryant is a prime example of what the Bible condemns. Seeking Interesting People Who Play Solitaire Grand Harvest. Terms of Service apply. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page. Kalie, Susan, and Gabby raise awareness about a Christian boarding school, where they say they were abused; Lucinda, another former student, defends the work she says that pastor Ronald Williams has done; the founder's son, Ben Williams, speaks out; I too came from a church that supported "the Double HH Ranch" and am absolutely appalled at the things I am hearing about this place. You are using an out of date browser. "We had to work on our knees on the floor for three or four hours every day, so when I left I had very thick callouses on my knees that would crack and bleed.". One day last November, a group of teenage girls dressed in long khaki skirts and modest blouses stepped onto the stage at an Independent Fundamental Baptist church in Maryland where Jeannie Marie (a military spouse who asked that her last name not be used) attended services with her family. Perhaps you live a decent Chrlstian life, but why are you allowing your daughter to live like a strange woman? We did go out to eat twice I think, but the second time we were only allowed the salad bar since we took half the ministry with us as well, and there wasn't enough money to feed everyone the other tempting food. They are very beautiful to me and communicate a sense of purity. "There was no free talking, no giggling, no pillow fights, no making friends," Mary Kumar explained. Many times I warned my husband about this woman and could not understand why Godly men across this nation followed her. I could not believe myself. I suffer to this day from the emotional and mental truama of being separated from society and my family and friends, all the while having my head pounded full of lies about God, my rebellious and sinful nature, and normal things that they made into something twisted and taught to us as truth. Our humble work began in 1971, when the Lord called my wife and me to begin this unique ministry. If your Christianity is about following the instructions of Christ in how you treat your fellow humans, you have at least a chance of building a good society. (Key fundraisers for Mitt Romneys 2008 and 2012 campaigns hail from Utahs teen-home sector.) We must repent of what we have done. As a small child I desired to be a beautiful movie star and practiced the role by prancing and dancing all around the house. Instead, Roxy found herself on the receiving end of brutal punishments. Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. No man would control my life! Well you say we are in different times, they wore different clothing and besides they both wore robes. What follows is an excerpt from the pamphlet: One of the hottest issues today among women is the pants issue and other areas of clothing. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. "The number of victims that have come forward is about 300," Kumar said. Translated from the original Hebrew, Hephzibah literally means, "My delight is in her.". Back in Maryland, she showed signs of an eating disorder, self-destructive behavior, and severe depression. Hephzibah House documentary. As a nonprofit public-interest publisher, we leverage books, diverse voices, and media engagement to facilitate social change, enrich public discourse, and defend democratic values: Read more. For the past thirty years, Dave Halyaman has served the assistant director of Hephzibah House and assistant pastor at Believers Baptist. They asked Roxy if she wanted to come home. In a locked-up basement where they never see the light of day, as a prisoner and that's over. Survivors and their families complain that the state authorities seem uninterested in prosecuting abuses at the homesparticularly in Missouri, where some facilities settle so far out in the sticks that state agencies are unaware of them. Oh, your holy book mandates it? It has been a journey. Even then I wanted to be beautiful.