I’m walking away from this work. It’s not that the work is finished; the church is still unsafe for vulnerable people. Whether the church knows it or not, they need the voices of survivors more than ever. Thankfully many survivors are now speaking their truth. When one of us needs to stop, another survivor steps in to run the next leg of the race. I’ve worked alongside some of today’s most effective victims and survivors. I no longer have any hope in church (I don’t belong to any church and likely never will again), but I have hope in the leaders I’ve met. If there’s any hope for the church at all, it’s because of these good people.
With love and thanks to all who have supported me in five years of writing.
SurvivorsAwakenTheChurch 
Comments on: "Final reflections" (3)
What an encouraging post for someone like me and I’m sure many others. You described it so well: “… to find myself destroying friendships and alienating family members because I felt I couldn’t trust anyone. During this time, the only safety I had was the presence of other trauma survivors.” etc.
I still am finding myself being so careful and then at moments I will blurb out the messiness to some whom I know will gossip. And then I say to myself, “I don’t care because I’m so tired of hiding.” 😦 … and yet, I just can’t seem to trust and, sadly, the ones I can’t trust are family and fair-weather friends.
God bless you as you carry on.
Dear Catherine,
You saved my life ….twice! (physical and spiritual)
May the God of grace and peace bless you and give you rest!
With my deepest gratitude,
June
Sent from my iPhone
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With many thanks for your work and many kindnesses.