Letter to My Children (January 31, 2022)

Dad, Mom, and baby Molly

Dear Jonathan, Sarah, Josh, and Christina,

How are you dear hearts of mine? A lovely sunrise here in NY, frigid temps, and lots of snow! I love you all! Soon it will be little Maggie’s 2nd birthday, and a new baby on the way for you Josh. Showed Grampa a recent picture yesterday, of her. She looks like her cousin up here; your dad thinks she’s a cutie! I absolutely love her little chubby self! Anyway. I don’t have favorite grandchildren, just ones I know more than those who are being kept from kith and kin. The grandchildren who attend Calvary Temple in Sterling, Virginia, we all miss knowing. So the photos regularly coming in the mail and email, are a joy to see!

We enjoy seeing your old pictures, and so do the many friends and strangers around the world who read this blog. When I visited with Waleed and Amy Zarou, a few months ago, he mentioned that people working at the Pentagon had asked him about my letters to you, and that these letters had caused some concern to folks being encouraged to attend Calvary Temple. Gosh, I really wasn’t surprised to hear that. My children are my responsibility and I will not forsake you. These letters serve as a warning to families.

Grampa and Gramma holding baby Jonathan.

Jonathan is the firstborn grandchild of Grampa. And Jonathan loved us all, and the outdoors, and the military and hunting and reading and good school friends! Loved God too. But somewhere along the line, you’ve done bad things. When Grampa listened to you on the phone, son, he was sad. And said you do not sound like yourself anymore. You are copying someone. The sweet boy and happy man we knew….where is he?

Brother and sister sitting in the cockpit before taking off. 

Remember the joy you had learning to fly Jonathan? You were even written up in our local newspaper. Had your pilot's license before you had your driver's license. 16 years old. All of us were dang proud of you! Now you won’t have anything to do with any one of us, because we all have the good sense to see you are being manipulated and manipulating us! Pastor Scott should be in one of his fast cars and speeding to NY to meet with me. Instead, he complains from the pulpit about mothers who make pies and fathers who don’t want their kids to attend Calvary Temple church or school. After dad obeyed Pastor Scott and hid me away in a hotel, he was telling a father at Calvary Temple that "God had brought the sword and divided our family." That wonderful father, Keith Stitt, told your dad that God did NOT divide our family, he did himself. When he obeyed pastoral leadership. Later, Keith removed his own family from Calvary Temple. (Leadership tried to divide that family too). 

So kids, there are lots of individuals who have safely exited Calvary when they realized it was not a normal church. You may not have heard of them all, because pastor doesn’t like to share failures to keep people. Why not give some of those who have been shunned and cut off a call. And hear their story directly from them. You know, the way I raised you, "right from the horses’ mouth." Remember Sarah, when you and Joelle and Candace all came to me, saying Pastor Scott was not who I thought he was. (I was so naive to bad guys back then…actually thought a Pastor was properly vetted before coming to power. Not.). I told you not to gossip about it, but go right to Pastor Scott and tell him what you’d heard and ask him to give his own answer. Never thinking he would lie. 

Well, kids, bad guys lie, and there are lots of bad guys in positions of power. Even pastors. Even at Calvary Temple. Do you recall the pastors who have LEFT your church? Or the deacons who have LEFT your church? Maybe the news articles smell a rat, after all? 

Family gathering with grandparents and cousins in 2007

I love you all incredibly. Let’s end this isolation. Let's get together again! Love, laughter, and loyalty. You cannot say I don’t love Jesus. But I don’t care if you do or don’t. Cause you are my family, and as a Christian, you are my first responsibility, per God!

Love and hugs and kisses,
Mom