Former members demonstrate outside OKC church
As mall but determined group recently gathered outside a metro-area church to protest the church's lack of response to misconduct allegations.
Five people formerly affiliated with Church of the Harvest stood across the street from the church's Oklahoma City campus, 6800 N Bryant, on July 12 holding signage as church members returned to the house of worship after a hiatus.
Church of the Harvest, which also has an Edmond location, has had numerous allegations of misconduct made against its leadership in recent weeks. Accusations against the church's leaders surfaced in June when an online petition on Change.org garnered thousands of signatures from former church members, staff members and interns sharing stories of misconduct and coverup at the church.
The group of demonstrators on July 12 held signs with statements like “Silence is violence” and “What if she was your daughter?”
One of the demonstrators was Branden Palesano, who started the petition, titled “Shut the Doors Now.” It has been signed by more than 4,000 people who want the church to close or to ensure that neither church founder Kirk Pankratz nor any member of his family is in leadership or on the church's payroll. In their petition statements, former church members and others once affiliated with the church said the house of worship has a history of harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, unsafe working conditions, mismanagement of funds and exploitation of minors.
Palesano, 25, said he had been one of the last of the interns in the church's Next Generation Internship program before it evolved into a college program. He said he initially created the petition after seeing a fellow intern and friend be mistreated during his internship. He said he hoped that petition would make others less afraid to speak out, but he was still surprised when the petition began a forum for numerous former interns and church members to begin sharing their own stories of mistreatment by church leaders.
Palesano said he wasn't an official leader of the group of people who have come out against the church, but he showed up for Sunday's demonstration to support them.
“That was really my role so that people wouldn't feel scared to say anything,” he said.
In response to a query by The Oklahoman, Church of the Harvest spokesman Lawrence Swinegood sent a statement on July 13 addressing the recent demonstration outside the church.
“As we all know so much of what we see on social media or read on the Internet can be misleading or overblown. We respect peoples right to assemble and express their opinions both positive & negative,” he said.
Swinegood said every person who participated in the church's internship program did so voluntarily, and most interns felt they have enjoyed their time with the church.
“While you met yesterday a few former interns who expressed disappointment and anger, we have hundreds of former interns who have
gone through our internship program for years and expressed their appreciation for what they learned, the valuable experience and the care they received and how they are now using that experience and education for greater ministry,” he said.
Swinegood said the house of worship would continue on.
“Harvest will continue to be a church who cares for this community, who cares for our church family and provide spiritual guidance and hope to people during this national and global time of fear uncertainty and unrest,”he said.
`On the other side'
Another former intern, Jacob Vanzant, 24, held a sign that touted the message “#churchtoo.”
The phrase referred to a movement that began on social media to highlight abuse, sexual harassment and assault that occurs in faith communities and churches.
Vanzant said he left the church about a month ago and remembered that he was on the welcome team for years and often held signage welcoming people into the house of worship.
“Now the irony is I'm on the other side saying, `Don't come to Harvest,'” he said.
Vanzant said he had been part of the church since he was 2 years old, and it had been an important part of his life until recently when he learned of numerous former interns who said they had been mistreated.
“I also know there's truth to all those things. They are trying to say there are a lot of fake stories going around,” he said. “All of the reasons I have to stay are gone.”
Jordan Hodgden, 27, and her mother-in-law Julia Hodgden, 50, also were demonstrators.
Both once had been church members and staff at Church of the Harvest's Norman satellite, which is now closed. Julia Hodgden said she was youth pastor at the Norman location and felt compelled to join in the July 12 demonstration because she had recruited youths to join the church at one time.
Julia Hodgden said the church had used interns as a “free workforce,” among other things. She said she also was concerned about the sexual misconduct allegations and an alleged pattern of sweeping allegations victims' claims under the rug that rose to the surface in numerous social media posts from former church members and interns.
“I thought they would help them mature. Instead, they preyed upon them. I can't vouch for everyone, but on a post of 5,000 people, where everybody's commenting, you can't say they're all lies,” she said of the online petition.
Jordan Hodgden said she felt church leaders should offer an apology for how they have treated some former church members and interns, at the least.
“The goal is to let them know that we're not going to go away. My goal is to be a continual presence every time they open the doors,” she said.