The sexual harasser in the church soup kitchen

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.

Banned was not a word she would choose to link with her church. The congregation she served was welcoming and full of kindness. It ran a soup kitchen, for heaven’s sake! Banned was such a weighty word, a word of last resort. Still, it was true, and there it was in print. Someone had indeed been evicted from the sanctuary yesterday. Remembering the incident made Stephanie sad all over again.

At the same time, the memory made her feel strangely calm. When she had expressed her feelings of vulnerability and alarm, the senior pastor had called the police. Officers responded with prompt action because Stephanie’s physical and emotional well-being mattered. For her, the sanctuary would continue to be a safe place. She knew that many women don’t have sympathetic colleagues and responsive police officers. Many women are not protected. Stephanie felt grateful that she was, and she recognized her privilege.