http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org daily 1 2010-02-13T01:04:25Z http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/77 That’s right. In 1997, a fifteen-year-old girl was raped (allegedly) by Ernest Willis, an adult church member. As a result, she became pregnant. She was instructed by her pastor, Chuck Phelps, to come before the church, confess, and apologize for getting pregnant, and then she was kicked out of Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, NH. No publisher MMukai Current Events Sexual Violence 2010-06-28T22:07:15Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/75 I’m so glad you seem to be finding my advice helpful as you move to respond to the growing crisis over sexual abuse in the church. Your comments this week suggest that your understanding has deepened and your analysis is more on target. No publisher MMukai Current Events Sexual Violence Sexual Abuse by Clergy 2010-06-30T22:45:50Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/74 I don’t know if you follow the National Football League in the U.S., but I think you will be interested in this. No publisher MMukai Current Events Sexual Violence 2010-06-18T19:33:46Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/70 The world of youth and young adults is a post-modern nightmare, where: • sexual harm is normalized • sexual exploitation is for many, a rite of passage • getting paid for sex is acceptable • sexting (texting nude images) is okay • monogamy is passé • participation in virtual alternate life games (role play)is the latest craze • the media says your value is based on how sexy you are • the depersonalization that comes with social networking is cool No publisher MMukai Sexual Violence Domestic Violence 2010-03-18T16:14:35Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/69 March 8 is International Women’s Day. So I was pleased this past week to be in New York City for events surrounding the 54th Annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Not only is women’s work never done, our agenda continues to expand. No publisher MMukai Child Abuse Sexual Violence Domestic Violence 2010-03-15T15:32:46Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/65 It seems that we have a really difficult time in our culture calling rape “rape.” Plus we are inclined to give celebrities a free pass when it comes to sexual assault. No publisher MMukai Current Events Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:21:47Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/64 Jews have just completed celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. And we all celebrate the passing of the winter solstice which assures us that, in the northern hemisphere, the days will surely get longer now. No publisher MMukai Sexual Violence Domestic Violence 2010-03-12T23:24:31Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/63 Last week Carolyn Scott Brown, the Director of Educational Resources at FaithTrust Institute, and I went to see the new movie, Precious. No publisher MMukai Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:26:22Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/62 “The Bible says I can have sex with my 8-year-old child . . .” “The Bible says I can beat my wife because she is to be subject to me . . .” These and other biblical justifications haunt my consciousness. No publisher MMukai Sexual Violence Domestic Violence 2010-03-12T23:24:02Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/60 This month is the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the U.S. No publisher MMukai Current Events Domestic Violence Sexual Violence 2010-02-01T19:59:26Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/57 “. . . we believe that the justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a higher authority, is unacceptable.” No publisher MMukai Current Events Domestic Violence Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:33:34Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/55 Good news for women. Lavetta Elk, 26, is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from Wounded Knee, SD. Sgt. Joseph Kopf, an Army recruiter, raped Elk after she inquired about joining the Army. In April, Elk was awarded $600K in damages for the “pain and suffering” she endured. The basis of this verdict was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. No publisher MMukai Current Events Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:34:37Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/53 As I was presenting a workshop recently on how we should challenge the roadblocks which the church can present to battered women and affirm the resources, I noticed one participant was very quiet and reserved. No publisher MMukai Sexual Violence Domestic Violence 2010-03-12T23:22:37Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/45 Since Rick Warren was invited to give the Invocation at the Presidential Inauguration next week, he has been attracting some attention and scrutiny. Warren is the Senior Pastor at Saddleback Church in California. No publisher MMukai Current Events Domestic Violence Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:47:58Z Blog Entry http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/43 So Pastor Ed Young of the Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, got the attention of the media. And his church members. He called for a week of “congregational copulation” to take people’s minds off the economy. Pastor Young has added his blessing to our already highly sexualized culture. No publisher MMukai Current Events Domestic Violence Sexual Violence 2010-03-12T22:48:50Z Blog Entry