UPDATE
A central Alberta Bible school beset by sex abuse allegations has chosen a Calgary megachurch, Centre Street Church, as a mediator for alleged victims.
Prairie Bible Institute president Mark Maxwell revealed the school's pick in a statement released December 16.
SEE THE FULL TEXT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY
ORIGINAL REPORT
Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills, Alta., is poised to hire a third-party mediator to handle claims of sexual abuse after initially attempting to handle the matter internally and with RCMP.
Alleged victims and their supporters have called on the central Alberta school to either hire Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), a Virginia-based organization that investigates abuse in religious organizations, or face a class-action lawsuit.
Despite the threat, the school has chosen a Canadian mediator instead. Prairie’s nine-member board plans to discuss the details in a conference call today. “We’re just trying to nail it down, and before we go public, make sure the party involved is 100 percent on board with us,” says board chair Bruce Miller. He wouldn’t reveal the organization’s name.
Prairie’s board initially appointed one of its members, local nurse Linda Brinks, as a contact person for victims uncomfortable with filing RCMP complaints. But earlier this month the school edited Brinks’s name out of an online news release, directing victims to Prairie president Mark Maxwell instead. Maxwell says the reasons for the switch are “personal.”
Brinks is still on the board but confirmed she’s no longer the official contact for victims. “There was a change made there… I guess you can just take from that whatever you want to take from that,” she says. “That’s about all I’m going to say.”
Maxwell’s invitation to victims has angered some. “How many of these survivors are really going to call up Mark and talk about the most embarrassing moments of their life, the most shameful things they’ve ever gone through?” says Linda Fossen, a Prairie alumnus who has written a book about being abused by her preacher father while he was a student at the school.
Asked about the appropriateness of his invitation to victims, Maxwell notes that the institute’s critics were already displeased with Prairie’s handling of the situation. “Before that, they were upset that a nurse was the contact face for the board,” Maxwell says. “Like, are you going to suck or are you going to blow?”
Fossen recently filed a complaint with RCMP about her father, who has disputed her story. She says she’s been contacted by about 90 people who were abused at Prairie, and has warned Maxwell that she’ll take the institute to court if GRACE isn’t hired. She believes a Canadian mediator will be too connected to the school, which has some 17,000 alumni, and will be biased in favour of the institute.
Sheryl Brown, a Seattle-area marriage and family therapist who attended Prairie in the 1970s, says victims made “just a simple request” by asking the school to hire GRACE. “If they like it and they’re willing to put themselves under it and be comfortable, well that’s half your battle,” says Brown, who wasn’t abused at Prairie but knows others who were. “If you have people who have angry, hurt things to say, don’t you want to take them on their grounds?”
On the police end, RCMP say they are investigating three cases that have a “very tenuous” connection to Prairie. “We’re just trying to ascertain exactly if there’s any involvement from PBI at all, but so far we’ve surfaced nothing on that,” says Sgt. Patrick Webb, adding that police expect to issue a news release on the matter within a week or two.
TIMELINE
Note: This timeline was updated shortly after publication.
*November 15: Prairie issues a news release headlined "Prairie invites RCMP to investigate allegations." In it, the school acknowledges abuse allegations that “date back several decades,” advising any victims who aren't comfortable approaching police to contact Prairie board member Linda Brinks instead.
November 16: Prairie president Mark Maxwell says he’s “not looking at a third party” beyond police to handle the situation: “We’d consider it, but why would we lower the bar? The highest bar is go to the police.”
November 19: Sgt. Joe Sangster of the Three Hills RCMP tells the Calgary Sun that the school's statement is misleading: "They’ve printed some information off a website, they have no files there whatsoever, zero, and their media release they put out is inaccurate. They stated they invited us to come and investigate it, they didn’t do that. They just came over and stated ‘you may hear something, you may get complaints.’"
December 3: Prairie edits Brinks out of its news release. A revised version directs victims to contact Maxwell, indicating he will then pass their information to the “most available board member.”
December 13: Maxwell says the reasons for the switch are “personal.” Prairie board chair Bruce Miller confirms that the school isn’t hiring GRACE, the group alleged victims have requested, but a Canadian mediator.
*The original note for November 15 read:
"Prairie issues a news release acknowledging abuse allegations that “date back several decades,” advising any victims to contact RCMP or Prairie board member Linda Brinks."
However, the press release does not advise "any victims to contact RCMP."
TEXT OF DECEMBER 16 STATEMENT FROM PRAIRIE:
As we enter this Christmas season, we are wrapping up what has truly been a great semester. We continue to appreciate our friends and supporters around the world and wanted to provide you with an update. As you know, in the midst of this semester, we have begun to face an issue regarding allegations of past abuse. While in some ways this has been a consuming process, handling this in an open and transparent way is vitally important as PBI moves forward.
During the last two years, we as a school have focused on building trust with our constituency. When allegations of abuse surfaced earlier this fall, we made every effort to respond appropriately and keep our friends reasonably informed. This has included pledging our full cooperation with the RCMP and making ourselves directly available to any who wish to share their experiences with us, no matter how difficult. We sincerely want those who may have been injured to feel loved and welcomed, but most importantly, to find the reconciliation, healing and justice appropriate to each situation.
Bruce Miller, Prairie Board chair shares that “On behalf of the Board of Directors of PBI, we wish to express our sincere regrets to any and all who feel they were injured during their time at PBI. Our desire is to help you find true and complete healing. We further affirm our resolve to creating a community that stands firm against abuses of every kind. We believe that many people have encountered God in a life-changing way at Prairie. We are resolved to ensure that we do everything possible to make Prairie a place where this can happen for more and more people in a life-giving atmosphere of transparency and safety.”
During the last few weeks, my wife Elaine and I have heard from several individuals in person, over the phone and by email. They shared with us their personal stories that happened in their homes and in our community. As we listened, we believed these dear ones and their accounts and we deeply regret the pain they have been through. In response, we were overcome with compassion. We have children that we love more than life itself, and the thought of anyone harming them is too much for us. We were also humbled by the stories of incredible redemption and forgiveness, stories of injured people choosing blessing rather than bitterness. We realize that not everyone is at that point. Our hearts go out to you as well.
Looking ahead, we continue to invite anyone with allegations of abuse to take appropriate action. In addition to contacting us directly, we believe there are three options that represent good ways forward.
1) Alumni: We have a truly amazing group of Alumni around the world. Many of them have offered to help in any way possible. A dozen of them have committed a great deal of time to working with those alumni who have stories of pain and injury. This group cares about Prairie as well as the need for the injured to find healing. Their efforts may include raising funds to help cover some of:
• the costs of travel if someone would like to come back, either to share with us or the third-party group; and
• the costs related to reconciliation and healing.
Subject to legal constraints, Prairie will allow these funds to pass through the school so that donors can benefit from a tax deductible receipt. Those who would like to share their stories of pain and injury are invited to contact this team at prairiealums.healing@gmail.com.
2) Independent Third Party: We have been in contact with Centre Street Church in Calgary, a prominent Canadian church with professional counselors on staff. This church is not conflicted by virtue of any relationship with Prairie. Centre Street offers a safe and secure place for injured people to be heard and given professional advice on steps to move forward, including directing individuals to the appropriate authorities, referring them for additional counselling or bringing them to the appropriate parties at Prairie. The contact person at the church is Dr. Miriam Mollering at Miriam.Mollering@cschurch.ca.
3) RCMP: We continue to cooperate with the RCMP. By doing so, we acknowledge their God-given authority and desire to seek justice. If you wish to report any criminal activity that has happened at PBI, please contact them directly at 403-443-5539 (Three Hills detachment).
We have not just listened to stories, but have heard and felt pain. The road to wholeness and healing can be a long one, but it is our desire to stand with you and walk along that road. May the doors of healing and reconciliation be truly open and may God be honoured in all of our lives.
Sincerely,
Mark
Mark Maxwell
President
