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SIGN THE MENLO CHURCH SCANDAL OPEN LETTER
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Sign the Letter to Demand Accountability for John Ortberg and the Leadership of Menlo Church.

To the pastors, elders, and informal leaders of Menlo Church (for list of names, please click here):

We are a group of faith leaders, children’s advocates, and individuals who are united by our concerns regarding the recent revelations about Menlo Church.
 
We are appalled by the news that a volunteer disclosed to John Ortberg that he was sexually attracted to children and actively pursuing work with them, and John chose not to report this to leadership. 

We are appalled by his failure to report this immediately following the disclosure and his failure to report it in the sixteen months that followed, even though he was regularly confronted with the reality of the volunteer’s work with children. 

For sixteen months, he chose to leave the most vulnerable members of Menlo Church exposed to the risk of sexual abuse -- clearly demonstrating that he is unfit to lead this church. 
 

We are appalled that the Elder Board of Menlo Church failed to investigate this matter thoroughly when Daniel Lavery brought it to their attention at great personal cost.

We are appalled that Menlo's chosen investigator failed to interview children, parents, volunteers, or even the reported volunteer himself.

We are appalled that this "investigation" was deceptively presented to the congregation as thorough and independent, and as a result, John was returned to senior leadership after only a few months of leave.

We are appalled that no one in Menlo’s leadership questioned this.

We denounce the explicit and implicit transphobia in the church’s comments about Daniel, as well as the transphobic rhetoric used by so many of John’s defenders.  Not only is Daniel a person made in God’s image, worthy of respect and dignity, he is also the only reason why the volunteer in question is no longer working with children. 

We denounce the transphobia revealed not only in the church’s rhetoric but also its silence in the face of the attacks on Daniel.

We now call on you to take decisive action to show a commitment to integrity and righting the wrongs that have occurred over the past eight months and beyond:

Immediately commission a new, truly independent and qualified investigation that will investigate all aspects of the original complaint, as well as the subsequent cover-up, and the culture that made such a cover-up possible. 

This investigation must be conducted by professionals with expertise in child sexual abuse, and it must include interviews with the volunteer, the students with whom he worked, and their families. 

While the elders have announced a “supplemental independent investigation into concerns raised about the volunteer,” a narrowly-scoped investigation to alleviate pressure from the community that builds off of the poorly-executed original investigation is not what is warranted here. 

The situation demands a broad investigation into not only the volunteer, but also into how John and the elder board handled the situation and misrepresented it to the church.

Remove John Ortberg from leadership, as he has demonstrated an inexcusable lapse in judgment for sixteen months that left children exposed to the risk of sexual abuse, and this lapse stopped only when Daniel intervened. 

As long as John is the senior pastor, Menlo Church cannot be taken seriously as a moral authority. 

Furthermore, it would be exceedingly difficult for a truly independent investigation to take place while he is still the senior pastor of the church, especially given his relationship with the volunteer.

Elect a new elder board, as the current board has demonstrated that they are not invested in keeping John accountable, and their communication to the congregation about this situation has been deeply misleading. 

As long as this elder board is leading Menlo Church, the church cannot be confident that it is fulfilling its responsibility to hold John accountable.

Implement a mandatory LGBTQIA+ competency training for all staff, elders, and volunteers, and extend this training to the congregation as possible.  If Menlo claims to love LGBTQIA+ people -- including the LGBTQIA+ people in the congregation -- then a training on how to care for LGBTQIA+ people, and not to speak or act in damaging ways, is the minimum the church could do.

We recognize that fulfilling these requests would mean significant upheaval for the church. 

​However, given the severity of John’s failure in this instance, as well as the church’s failure to adequately investigate and communicate the full extent of the circumstances to the congregation, we believe that these changes are necessary for the church to regain its integrity and the trust of the community, especially the trust of the students and families most directly impacted.

We are counting on you to do the right thing.  We hope that when all of this is past tense, you can look back and know that you chose to prioritize the integrity of the church and the safety of its children above all other concerns.

Sincerely,
Liz Lin, Co-founder, Progressive Asian American Christians

Pastor Nathan Roberts, Director of Community Engagement, First Lutheran Church of Columbia Heights, MN

Stella Won Phelps, Moderator, Progressive Asian American Christians

Gloria Hu, Moderator, Progressive Asian American Christians
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Faith Leaders

Rev. Dr. Jennifer M. Buck, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Azusa Pacific University; Director of Community, Northland Village Church (Pasadena, CA)
Ryan Timpte, Director of Children’s Ministry, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church
Maggie Goodwin, Pastor, Whittier Presbyterian Church
Tim Vance, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
Bromleigh Mccleneghan, Associate Pastor, Union Church of Hinsdale (IL)
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Kathy Khang, Christian Author
​Irene Cho, M.Div., Founder of Finding the InBetween
Andre Henry, Evangelicals for Social Action
Emily Joy Allison, Co-founder, #ChurchToo Movement
AnaYelsi Velasco-Sanchez, Founder, En Conjunto Collective
Grace Burson, Incumbent, Anglican Church of All Saints by the Lake
Rev. Paul Goodman, Pastor, Plantsville Congregational United Church of Christ
Katie Styrt, Pastor of Christian Education, PCUSA
Rev. Susan Webster-Toleno, Pastor, Congregational Church of Westminster West
Rev. Dr. Lorraine Grinnell, Pastor, Salem United Church of Christ
Justin B. Fung, Pastor of Leadership & Spiritual Formation, Christ City Church
Rev. Emily Goldthwaite Fries, Minister, United Church of Christ
Katie Matson-Daley, Pastor, The Beloved Church (UMC)
Oby Ballinger, Pastor, Edina Morningside Community Church
Aya Sato, Co-founder, Seattle Progressive Asian American Christians Church
Bryan Mayer, High School Program Manager, STARS
Edward Walrod, Elder, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
Rev. Bonnie Wilcox, First Lutheran Church of Columbia Heights
Megan Westra, M.Div., Author, The Podluck Podcast
Rachel James, Youth Director, First Lutheran Church
Gena Thomas, Christian Author
Rev. Lura N Groen, Pastor, Abiding Savior Lutheran Church
Kevin Kang, Jr. High and High School Pastor, Virginia Presbyterian Church
Erin Leiserson, Minister, PCUSA
Lisa Poultney, Rector, St. Andrew Memorial Anglican Church
Nelson McKeown, Elder, Old Presbyterian Meeting House (Alexandria, VA)
Rev. Q. M. Hazlewood, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Jennifer Garcia, Pastoral Intern, ELCA
Rev. Sarah Moon, Pastor, United Methodist Church
Eliza Stewart, Youth Minister

And 32 more

Children's Advocates

Gina Shultz, Assistant Public Defender
Lena Jeong, Juvenile Special Magistrate, Montgomery County Circuit Court
Dr. Joseph Lee, Psychiatrist and Parenting Educator
Shannon Maher, Parent of Child Exposed During 16-Month Silence
Britney Wong, Pediatric Nurse
Jenny Fish, MD, Family Physician
Caitlyn McNicoll, Teacher
Kristen Draughan, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
Katie Claus, Marriage and Family Therapist
Martin Hsia, Clinical Psychologist
Megan Goodwin, Professor of Religion & Philosophy, Northeastern University
Erin Violet Taylor, Preschool Teacher
Dr. Diana M. Sweeney, Psychologist
Janice Ma, School Counselor and Social Worker
Kylie Wadsworth, Teacher
Sarah Hamburg, Child Care Worker
Serena Chang-Bacon, Early Childhood Educator
Sandy Beach, Therapist
Marco Seiferle-Valencia, Librarian
Kat Coleman, High School Teacher
Mel Day, Teacher
Liza Finkelstein, Teacher
Rachel Carnes, Children’s Librarian
Anne Crile, Marriage and Family Therapist
C. Coulter, Teacher
Jessica Bailey, Teacher
Liza Alizadeh, Licensed Professional Counselor
Jennifer Staller, School Librarian
Katrina Warner, School Speech Therapist
Natasha Taylor, Preschool Teacher

And 72 more

San Francisco Bay Area Signers

Mary Ellen Lemieux, JD, LCSW, Family Therapist, Menlo Park
Lisa Jacobs, Youth Pastor, San Jose
S. Chan, Child Psychologist, Santa Clara
Heather Hopkins, Preschool Owner, Menlo Park
Priscilla Cheng, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, San Mateo
Theresa Allocco, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Campbell
Jay Liam Manley, Social Worker, Santa Clara
Henry Sun, High School Teacher, Benicia
Dayna Chung, Organizing Member, Community Equity Collaborative, Menlo Park
Stella Bergan, MEd, Coach, Portola Valley
Zach Hauptman, Librarian, Burlingame
Brianne Sherman, Youth Programs Nonprofit Manager, Oakland
Bianca Lorenz, OUSD Learning Liaison, Oakland
Ruth Woodard, Child Care Worker, Menlo Park
Ripley Tatum, Academic Tutor, Berkeley
Alyssa Fyson, High School Teacher, Oakland
Olivia Solon, Elementary School Teacher, San Francisco
Kelly Gaherty, Advocate, Oakland
Casey Lozier, Menlo Park
Jackson Horwitz, Menlo Park
Julia Olson, Menlo Park
Susie Yu, Menlo Park
Karen Grove, Menlo Park
Pamela D Jones, Menlo Park
Katie Behroozi, Menlo Park
Ana Chung, Menlo Park
Gretchen Packer, Menlo Park
Kelly Morehand, Menlo Park
Jason Heinen, Menlo Park
Meredith Ozbil, Menlo Park
Stephanie Marseille, Menlo Park
Jimmy Long, Menlo Park
Bing Huo, Mountain View
Kimmy Mathews, San Mateo
Tiger Bachler, Atherton
Carol Scott, Alameda
Elizabeth London, San Francisco
Paige Zaferiou, San Francisco
Jasmin Tokatlian, San Francisco
Rachel Chalmers, San Francisco
Linda Stewart, San Jose
Olivia Bauer, Foster City
Kari Newman, San Francisco
Draper Smith, San Francisco
Andrew Kuh, Brisbane
David Ying, Union City
Mei Keck, Redwood City
Mary Choi, El Cerrito

And 66 more

Public Signers

Lynn Mayer, Pasadena, CA
Angela Willson, Minneapolis, MN
Pauline Kim, Seattle, WA
Ryan Kim, M.T.S., M.Ed., Nashville, TN
Sung Tse, Los Angeles, CA
Mason Mennenga, St. Paul, MN
SueAnn Shiah, Taipei, Taiwan
Angie Hong, Durham, NC
Dae Jeong, Silver Spring, MD
Marilyn Mizenko, Atlanta, GA
Taite B, Edmonton, AB
Sarah Moon, Seattle, WA
​Chung Sa, San Diego, CA
Marie Thearose, Charleston, SC
Heather Goodlett, Las Vegas, NV
Amanda Snook, Virginia
Danielle Perry, Portland, OR
Logan Cullums, Portland, OR
Elena Jimenez, Chicago, IL
Meaghan Gerhart, Minneapolis, MN
Claire Kerker, Brooklyn, NY
Gloria Sun, Somerville, MA
Carol James, Bayside, CA
Judy Haskill, Grand Rapids, MI
Daniel Martin, Burien, WA
Douglas Chu, Grand Rapids, MI
Ellory Outly, DeKalb, IL
Brittney Badduke, Los Angeles, CA
Lauren Moore, Seattle, WA


And 237 more
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