Nancy Mayer Hopkins and Mark Lasser, Editors, Restoring the Soul of a Church: Healing Congregations Wounded by Clergy Sexual Misconduct. Liturgical Press, 1995.
Referenced in: Church Conflict – Congregational Trauma, Ministerial Misconduct
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This volume looks thoroughly at the unique challenges faced by a congregation that has suffered pastoral sexual misconduct. It discusses the issues faced by and the best responses toward the primary and secondary victims, and provides resources for long-term healing.
One of the editors, Mark Lasser, is himself a recovering sex addict who acted out with several women in his congregation. As part of his recovery, he realized he could help others, both the offenders and the offended. This resulted in seminars, one of which was attended by the other editor, Nancy Hopkins. They collaborated on a project designed to assess what happens to churches that experience clergy sexual misconduct, assembling a host of other professionals, many of whom contribute chapters.
Part One looks at the primary victim-survivors, i.e. the abused, assaulted, or directly violated. Part Two looks at secondary victims, those who are indirectly but nonetheless powerfully affected. This involves the congregation as a whole, non-offending clergy, the wider church community, and “afterpastors” (those who follow an offending pastor). Other chapters offer help on how to deal with the larger public arena, such as how to construct press releases and deal with media. Part Three addresses long-term healing issues such as helping congregations develop more open systems, progressing through the stages of the crisis and then on through the stages of grief, etc.
From the Publisher
The Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute has commissioned this pastoral work which focuses on the healing of congregations following clergy sexual misconduct. The book discusses the original problem of sexual misconduct and exploitation and then focuses on those neglected “secondary” victims of abuse: the congregation, the wider community, other clergy, the wider church, the offender’s family, and the pastor who takes over.
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