Letter from the Vice President (2018)—Samantha Nelson

(From the January 2018 edition of HopeSpeak)

Dear Friends, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.“–Psalm 31:24

With 2018 underway, I thought this would be great time to encourage you to look to the future and the wonderful things God has in store for you!

Are you struggling in your healing journey? Fear not (Isaiah 41:10)! You are not alone and the many volunteers at The Hope of Survivors are only an email, a phone call or a text message away! You can receive the help and support you need as you overcome the devastation of clergy sexual abuse.

Are you the spouse of a spiritual leader who is abusive in some way (toward you or others)? There is hope (Psalm 38:15)! Our Pastors’ Wives’ Division is ready to serve you and equip you to enter your own journey of healing.

Are you a Conference leader who is tired of seeing the pastors under your care take advantage of someone under their care and lose their ministry? Take heart (Ezekiel 36:26 & Deuteronomy 31:6)! You can schedule a seminar by The Hope of Survivors to help educate your pastoral staff and facilitate prevention of clergy sexual abuse.

It’s true…there have been some major changes as of the end of 2017. I am grateful for Bianca and her dedicated service to THOS-SA, although saddened by her necessary resignation due to her health. I could be depressed because we lost our entire South African Division in one fell swoop (for various reasons) but I, for one, am excited about what 2018 will hold for The Hope of Survivors, those we serve and our various divisions around the world. I believe God will raise up more volunteers for THOS-SA and extend our reach into other parts of the world as well.

I believe now is the time to really push this issue to the forefront so we can help victims realize there is hope for healing and getting out of abusive situations, there is hope for clergy to remain faithful and not succumb to temptation and sin, there is hope for congregations to become better educated about prevention or to heal from an abusive experience within the church…there is HOPE for ALL!

Will you join me in making the most of this year? Will you please pray for The Hope of Survivors, for our volunteers, directors, various divisions, for those we serve, for clergy of all faiths/denominations, and for all congregations who need healing or perhaps a God-ordained cleansing? Will you please engage with us in various activities like the Clergy Sexual Abuse Awareness & Prevention Campaign and walkathons when August comes? Or perhaps share our posts on social media to spread the word? Maybe even write articles or letters to the editors when you see a news story about clergy sexual abuse? There are countless things you can do to help us with our mission. You might even want to prayerfully consider partnering with The Hope of Survivors by making a one-time gift or setting up recurring, monthly donations. Whatever you do, we are grateful!

God bless you,
Samantha Nelson
CEO

P.S. Please refer to our Contact Us page to contact any of our divisions in the U.S. or overseas. Thanks!