AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE FAMILY
(First published March 1994, in NLC newsletter)
From Eden; The Family (California, USA branch):
Greetings in Jesus' name! We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health.
You're probably surprised to see a letter from us in the "No Longer Children" newsletter. Well, we're also somewhat surprised to find ourselves writing it! We're very grateful to Dave and Mary Lou for giving us this opportunity to communicate with you. The fact that this letter is appearing here testifies to some rather amazing developments that have taken place in the last few months.
With these developments we have learned a number of important lessons. Some of the most unexpected have resulted from our recent reconciliation with Bithia Sherman. It has truly been a manifestation of Ephesians 2:14: "For He [Jesus] is our peace, Who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us."
While Bithia has admitted she was misguided in some things, she has also helped highlight areas where we have fallen short. She has shown us that the Family as a whole has been quite ignorant of the feelings and needs of many former members. This has caused a lot of hurt, misunderstandings and animosity. Specifically she has expressed that:
* Many former Children of God/Family members would like to have some sort of contact and dialogue with the Family without feeling any pressure to rejoin, yet the Family has not provided this.
* Some former members feel that the Family has ostracized, condemned and abandoned them.
* Some former members wish to air grievances about their time in the Family. We have not really given them an opportunity to do so. Because of this, they have sometimes attacked us in the media. Many have found this to be a negative experience, as the media has frequently misquoted and manipulated them.
Although much of what Bithia said was true, we have been encouraged to realise that the situation can be improved. So with this in mind, we'd like to express the following:
* We apologise and ask forgiveness from those of you who have been hurt by the unloving conduct of any past or present Family members. We're sure a lot of problems could have been avoided had those involved acted in a wiser, more loving manner.
* We would like to see improved relations, where possible, between former members and the Family. From now on, we will try to make ourselves available to those of you who sincerely wish to renew friendly contact with the Family. We're happy to come to a mutual agreement with you as to the degree and nature of any such contact or fellowship.
* We would like to reconcile. We don't believe that anyone is going to benefit from continued bitterness, animosity or confrontation. If you were hurt during your time in the Family, we'd like to at least talk with you about it, apologise where needed, and see if there is any way we can help undo the damage and heal the pain.
* We reassure you that our aim is not to pressure you to rejoin or support the Family. We are happy to accept you with no obligation on your part.
* We do not seek to change your present beliefs. Most of you have changed a lot since you left the Family, and we respect the choices you have made. The Family is currently in contact with many individuals who have vastly differing views on life, and we are learning to get along fine. As long as there are some things we can agree on, then we're happy to agree to disagree on other matters.
We have much more we would like to share with you. Please feel free to contact us if you feel it would in any way be beneficial. It would be nice to have better communications, and we will do our part to make it happen.
God bless you!
Yours sincerely,
Eden
for the Family.
PS. If you are within the U.S. or certain parts of Canada, please call us at our toll free number: 1-800-4-A-FAMILY. We can also be reached at the following address:
The Family
14118 Whittier Blvd.,
# 116
Whittier, California 90605
U.S.A.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family