Former Arise church member 'shunned' after her baby was assaulted by her then partner

The incident occurred within the last five years. Photo / 123rf

A former Arise member says she was "shunned" by the church and members were advised not to contact her after her baby was assaulted by her former partner.

While the former partner was sent to prison for causing serious injuries to the baby, she alleges she was cut off, deleted from their life group chat and told not to come to the church.

"I was left pretty much alone at a time in my life where I needed support the most.

"I was informed a few months later by a screenshot from a friend that they had told my life group to not contact me, that I knew about this, and that I was being supported by the pastors."

She alleged others she associated with at Arise were also contacted, asked about her character, and told the same thing about not contacting her and informed she had support.

"I was told I was being prayed for and it had been 'uplined' to staff."

However, the woman, who can't be named for legal reasons, said she wasn't contacted by anyone in a leadership role until she requested mediation with a pastor, who then allegedly said they couldn't support her.

"It was them saying they were not at all sorry about how I was treated and that I deserved it because I had not been an active part of the church lately."

Her story comes after accusations interns were mistreated at the church, as well as claims sexual assault allegations weren't addressed properly were published on David Farrier's Webworm site.

The church has announced it will undertake two reviews and pastor John Cameron earlier this week said he would be stepping aside, but would still be employed by Arise.

Although the woman was shocked at the stories shared by Webworm, she wasn't surprised by some of the allegations.

"I knew a lot of interns and worked in the office sometimes voluntarily, so I saw some of the long hours worked and know people who suffered mistreatment."

She also perceived there was a "constant love of money and looking good".

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She believed she was "shunned" because the church didn't want to look bad and it was the easy option to remove her.

"It greatly impacted my depression at that time."

The woman told the Herald she was not allowed to attend Arise anymore and was told she "wasn't welcome back" by the pastor at the time.

"I later heard from someone [that] they told people I was asked nicely to leave. I did not want to continue attending there, after the way I had been treated, as that was not what I thought a church should be like."

Seeing former Arise members around places like supermarkets continued to give her "great anxiety" and she stopped attending church for months.

"I did however find a new church that heard my story and supported me and made me feel loved and at home."

The Arise board was approached for comment but said due to sensitivity and privacy reasons they were unable to comment on specific allegations.

They told the Herald Arise "acknowledges the hurt and the pain that continues to be expressed".

"Our earlier statements outline the two independent reviews currently underway. One relates to an independent HR and organisational review, the second is the independent channel for handling of complaints and people who are hurting.

"It is important we hear and understand these stories in order to help bring relief and healing to those who are in pain, and put into place any corrective action that may be needed."

The board wants to "strongly encourage" anyone who has a complaint or negative experience to engage with Pathfinding, the independent reviewer.

• The contact details for the independent reviewer are - Email: contact@pathfinding.co.nz Phone: 0800 274 731 Website: pathfinding.co.nz