Stand with a Mom Against Church Corruption & Cover Up

Help Me Fight Back Against Injustice

From a Devoted Mom, Caregiver, and Survivor Seeking Justice and Healing

❤️ Introduction

I’m just a mom, wife, and daughter who truly loves her family and has spent her entire life caring for them and others. For over 35 years, I cared for my mother until her recent passing — a loss that has devastated my family and me, leaving a huge hole in my heart and shattering my life! My grief has been unbearable and overwhelming.

My husband and I have been together for 37 years. We’ve raised two wonderful sons and are now raising our 16-year-old grandson, whom we’ve loved and had since he was two weeks old. He's well behaved, thrives in school, loved by all his peers and teachers, and dreams of college, all while dealing with the life-changing loss of "his favorite girl" his Granny Love, watching his Papa — my husband — bravely battle and live with multiple sclerosis that he has suffered with for over two decades now. He is also heavily burdened by my life turned upside down by the hatefulness of this Church/Pastor who will do anything to protect themself, including destroying me and my family.

I'm not perfect, flawed as anyone. But I’ve always shown up. I’ve always tried to do my best. And now, I’m in a fight I never saw coming — not just for my reputation, but for my voice, my livelihood, my truth, and my family's well-being. Why, because I spoke up!

Then I hope you’ll read & share my story, it's for you too!

⚖️ Why I’m Asking for Help

I’m currently facing legal threats and retaliation from a powerful church institution after speaking up about racial discrimination, retaliation, workplace abuse, and a broader systemic harm —which includes the failure to report child sexual abuse to police and protect children instead of protecting the predator/church.

Instead of addressing these serious concerns, I was maltreated, set up, terminated, and now find myself the target of false accusations. I know this is meant to continue to silence and intimidate me in the same manner I was controlled during my tenure — also a tactic historically used against people without power, especially women of color.

What Happened

I was the first African American woman to work at this 40-year-old, majority-white Presbyterian church in Georgia. From the very beginning, I experienced exclusion, hostility, racist remarks and subtle — and sometimes overt — reminders that I wasn’t welcome and didn't belong there.

Despite giving my all to this role, from the beginning, I found myself preyed on in ways that went beyond workplace issues — from being told I was being “set up to fail,” to things stolen from my office, including my personnel file. Everyone had unlimited access to my office, which was supposed to be secured as it was the place where confidential financial/personnel records, checks, etc, were kept. Something as simple as this was met with resistance and no respect for my position or space.

My African American coworkers and I were subject to racial comments about our hair, amongst other things

We were subject to multiple incidents of interpersonal violence from white staff and white male and female church members.

Encountering hostile and aggressive behavior that created a hostile & toxic work environment.

When I tried to speak up, I was warned — even threatened — by my supervisor (Head Pastor) that doing so would “never serve me well.” I was reminded that “no one wanted me there but her.” These weren’t the words of a nurturing God fearing leader; they were meant to isolate, instill fear, silence, and remind me of my place. Despite my title, I had no authority or agency over my role or anything else, quite the opposite of my white predecessor.

Eventually, after attempting to advocate for myself and others — including concerns about how abuse allegations involving a former youth pastor were handled, and the fact that he was invited to attend an upcoming event with children in attendance, and our Preschool in full session was outrageous and unsafe. Upon reaching out to a Session Clerk and the governing bodies of this Prebytery Church — I was fired two days later. My co-worker, the last African American, resigned days later because she could no longer withstand the increasingly hostile environment and feeling that she was next.

Today, there are no Black employees left at the church.

After I declined to accept their very low severance package and sign a confidential separation agreement to never disclose anything about them, I began to explore my options, which included filing civil remedies for the blatant racism, retaliation and wrongful termination I endured at their hands. Now I am suddenly accused of misconduct — false accusations just to discredit me on top of everything else they have already done to me and others, where does it stop? This is deeply hurtful.

Throughout this painful experience, my African American co-workers and I were dehumanized, stripped of our dignity, our peace, our self-worth — and most painfully, our voices. We were made to feel like we didn’t belong in a place that should have been grounded in love, warmth, and belonging (God's House).

The unstructured, disorganized, and lax environment, combined with a glaring lack of clear policies, created an atmosphere of inconsistency, confusion, and bias. Leadership was inadequate at best — failing to provide the foundation, guidance and support necessary for a structured, safe, fair, respectful, Christian, and productive workplace.

Faith and Forgiveness

Throughout everything I endured at this church, I never stopped praying for change. I asked God to soften hearts, to bring unity, to restore all that had been broken. I prayed he would open the eyes of those who didn’t want to see the truth and bring reconciliation with those who maliciously and intentionally hurt us.

Even when I was mistreated — overlooked, excluded, abused, aggressed, and belittled— I kept believing that things could turn around, they had to, this was a Church for God's sake. I showed up with love and forgiveness, time and time again.

I forgave the pastor and members, again and again, even when they were cold, cruel, hateful, and ungodly. I tried to extend grace, even when none was offered in return.

I didn’t rush to judgment or seek revenge. I begged God to make a way for healing — for me, for the church, and for everyone involved. I exhausted every effort to reconcile, to do what was right, and to keep my heart clean.

While the Pastor, a spiritual leader, instead of using her role nd power to foster healing, accountability, and growth, she vigorously upheld the wrongdoing and spiritual decay of that church. Rather than serve as a shepherd of compassion or a vessel of meaningful change, she became a figure of oppression-- protecting power, her image the church and its wrongdoings, but not the people God intended.

She manipulated, gaslit, covered up, made excuses, lied, and never protected us. We were being violated over and over.

That’s why this has been so painful. Because I truly believed in the good. I believed in the possibility of change. And I gave everything I had — emotionally, spiritually, and professionally — to try to help make that happen.

A Pattern of Protection and Silence

What makes this even harder is the pattern I’ve seen:

Oversight & Governing bodies like the Greater Atlanta Presbytery and the national Presbyterian Church USA were informed of our concerns, including the racial discrimination, retaliation, and pastoral misconduct they already knew of the child sex abuse, as they were complicit in covering it up. Yet they chose not to act then or now.

This silence speaks volumes. Despite public statements on racial justice and healing, when the moment came to show moral leadership, they did nothing, and it feels like more of the same at the highest levels. The idealism and hypocrisy that they would stoop to the level of threatening me, an African American woman, with false claims for standing up for herself and others, while choosing to ignore that I have documented proof of the pastor and others committing acts that violate laws and regulations. Let's not forget how they went to great lengths to protect white employees' indiscretions and serious crimes, especially the Youth Pastor accused of molesting kids for nearly 30 years.

This is what selective prosecution looks like...

That's what injustice feels like...

I felt powerless, alone. Set up...

Not anymore, as I have started to share my pain/story, so many people have already supported and encouraged me to do this, so here I am.

I have a voice and I don't need permission to use it anymore!

Why This Fight Is Bigger Than Me

This isn’t just about my survival. It’s about accountability. It’s about exposing the institutional powers that allow pastors and churches to cover up misconduct while punishing people who look like me.

It's about the privilege of using your power and the justice system as a weapon and a tool to support your continued corruption and unethical behavior as a continued pattern of retaliation.

It’s about having the courage to speak up when it's hard, especially when children, vulnerable people, marginalized groups, and employees are at risk.

What happened to me is a symptom of a larger problem: powerful institutions protecting themselves instead of doing what’s right. Whether they are in the white house or the church!

I’m not looking for revenge — I’m seeking justice, safety, and healing. So I can move on and help someone else who is going through this.

Please stay tuned as I will share names, specific details of incidents, and more detailed information as you walk this journey with me and my family.

How You Can Help

This church has the resources to defend itself and attempt to bury me with the truth. They feel I have no voice, and like all bullies, that belief only emboldens them more. Remember David & Goliath? With God your support and my strong voice, I am David, we are David, I can and will keep fighting!

Your donation will help cover:

If you believe we can stop people who abuse their power...

If you believe in protecting the vulnerable…

If you believe that even “ordinary” people deserve justice…

Your support is valued and appreciated, whether it is a contribution, no amount is to small or sharing this campaign with others. Thank you for standing with me and HEARING MY VOICE!

Together, we can show everyday people that they do have a voice regardless of privilege, age, color, and economic status.

Thank You With Heartfelt Appreciation,

HearMyVoice(M) ❤️

https://open.substack.com/pub/hearmyvoice/p/the-pattern-of-protection-how-the?r=5gxts7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#JusticeForAll #ChurchAccountability #StopTheCoverUp