Allegany County Pastors Set Sacred Assembly for Abuse Issue

Three Allegany County church and pastor groups have scheduled a Sacred Assembly this month in regard to how the church in Allegany County in the past has handled allegations of abuse of women and children and also men.

Mission Genesee Valley coalition of churches, other Christian organizations and individuals seeking community transformation and revival throughout the area, the Wellsville Area Ministerial Association, and the Evangelical Christian Churches Around Alfred and Almond (ECCAAA), have scheduled a Sacred Assembly from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, September 22, at Wellsville Bible Church, 2908 Andover Road (State Route 417 East).

Church members and non-members are invited to the event, also known as a Solemn Assembly, as churches participate in a time of prayer and contrition.

Such assemblies were held in Old Testament times, as described in Chapter 1, Verse 14, of the Book of Joel of the Bible, for repentance of sins.

Church leaders say that unrepented sin can be a barrier to community transformation and revival throughout the area which they have been seeking for some time.


The following statement has been issued by the three groups:

In light of current events and a growing understanding of the severity of the results of abuse in the lives of victims and a growing knowledge base on how to effectively assist victims of abuse and although to the best of our knowledge current Allegany County pastors and churches are working hard to avoid these failures, we feel we need to acknowledge the fact that there has been in the past an unfortunate history of failure on the part of some pastors and churches in Allegany County to respond appropriately to allegations of physical, sexual, and mental/emotional abuse of women and children, and also men.  Sometimes this has been due to lack of training and a desire to show God's grace to everyone.  Sometimes the motives have been much more self-centered, such as a desire to protect the reputations of the churches.


            Therefore, we pledge to:

1.         Listen compassionately to the victims of physical, sexual, and mental/emotional abuse and not hinder in any way their attempts to have the perpetrators of such actions appropriately dealt with by the justice system.

2.         Assure victims of physical, sexual and mental/emotional abuse that what was done to them is not something for which they should feel any shame or guilt on their own part and what was done to them does not diminish their value in any way, either in God's eyes or ours.

3.         Assist victims of abuse in identifying resources that may be able to aid them in healing from their trauma.

4.         Make every reasonable effort to insure that no one hold office or employment in the church who has been accused of the physical or sexual abuse of men, women and/or children unless the allegations have been found to be unfounded by the proper authorities. If the accused person has confessed their sin(s), demonstrated genuine repentance, received professional counseling with a satisfactory conclusion, and demonstrated over a substantial period of time the he or she is no longer a threat to men, women or children, then such a person may be considered for employment or holding an office.

5.         Increase efforts to become more aware of the plight of victims of physical, sexual, and mental/emotional abuse and how to address these issues more proactively within the church and our communities.