In many ways, healing is about reconnecting. A cut heals when our cells reconnect. Connecting with loved ones heals your heart. Some harmed by clergy sexual abuse can heal when they reconnect with a church that cares. Many times, this happens outside of the “church and the steeple” when caring volunteers show up for them.
A survivor reached out recently for help. She had the opportunity to move to a new living situation but no resources to empty and leave her apartment. We reached out to our community, people just like you, and quickly had volunteers and resources to help.
We helped organize her belongings, loaded trucks with furniture and household goods, and helped clean. It was hard work and good work. At the survivor’s request, we avoided the landfill and donated furniture, cleaning supplies and other items to Flourish Furniture Bank, Wayside Waifs, Scraps KC and other organizations. We even provided a new lamp and a few essentials to a young man moving into the apartment complex that day.
The survivor was very moved. “I cannot fully express my gratitude to the staff and volunteers of Journey to Bethany,” she said. “With patience and charity, they have not only helped me deal with clerical abuse, but their enormous generosity has made it possible for me to move… I am helping my elderly aunt who suffers from dementia. ‘Thanks’ just does not seem like enough. Journey to Bethany is reaching beyond those suffering from clerical abuse and neglect to others making it possible for us to help as Christ has called us to do.”
This story illustrates the core activities of Journey to Bethany. With the help of the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator, we build trust with survivors and listen to what they need in their own healing journey. Then we connect our church – the body of Christ – to those needs.
