Monrovia – Jackie Perry, a mother of four children is worried that her eldest son – an 11th grade student – is behaving strangely.
Report by Bettie Johnson-Mbayo, [email protected]
Perry became disturbed when her son joined the congregation of a church only identified as “Saint Assembly.”
The 17-year-old boy became a member of the church in April and was allegedly brainwashed to neglect his mother and three siblings.
He has also stopped using soap to take his shower. He neither brushes his teeth with toothpaste these days.
He has also refused to attend school based on a belief that furthering his education is a sin.
“I was concerned and asked him why he told me that he knows the truth already, ‘my church Saint Assembly says it’s sinful’”, the worried mother told an FPA reporter.
“When he was home one day, I overheard people warning him to stay away from the church, but my son has grown interested in the church and has refused everything I gave him.”
Perry’s first visit to the church was to warn them of her son since his change in attributes was getting unbearable for her.
“The way the people were worshipping when I got there, I got afraid, so I told them I never wanted my son in their church anymore and they said they will get to me on my request.”
Two weeks later, Perry paid another visit to the church with another warning but her son was not turning his back on the church as she wished.
“My son started leaving home early at 6 am and returning by 12 midnight, so I went to them again but then again, they told me they will come to see me because my son is a strong member and they don’t want to lose him,” she said.
“I tried to restrain him from going to the church and abandoning his school; my son looked me in the face and told me that attending school is a sin and I can’t stop him from serving his god.”
When Perry dared visited the church for the third time, she claimed to have been manhandled by members, who stopped her from entering the church.
“I called the landlord’s attention because the church is on his land, and the church members came and said I can’t stop my son from attending the church because it is his decision to be a staunch member and to worship with them,” she said.
“When I tried to compel my son to follow me home, they jumped on me and flogged me and naked me in front of my son, calling me Jezebel.”
Bearing the pains of the alleged physical abuse was the least for her. The worse was hearing her son deny her as his mother, claiming that “she’s not a born-again so she wasn’t his mother”.
“I jerked, so I took it to the police. The church told the police that they can’t listen to man but God so the police discontinued the case thereby forwarding it to the magisterial court,” she explained.
But Perry remains frightened and now seeks government’s intervention to reunite her with her son.
“All of the clothes I bought for him he doesn’t wear it anymore but decided to wear rags,” she said.
So far, the court has decided that the Church stays away from her son. But it seems the church is also not willing to lose a member without a fight too. Perry receives numerous threats from the church every day.
Syrena (not her real name of fear of attack from the church) lives in the vicinity of the community where the church is located.
She has witnessed incidents when several parents or the police stormed the church in demand of their child or children. Many of them have claimed that these children abandoned their respective homes.
An FPA reporter who tried obtaining information about the church discovered that the signboard has no detail.
Information about it was apparently erased following constant disturbance from parents and community dwellers, the reporter learned.
The church has three doors but currently, members use just one. Community members say it’s a ploy to convince parents that their child/ children are not within the premises of the church.
Syrena recalled her troubles when her granddaughter only attended the church once.
The girl too abandoned the home for one week.
“When my granddaughter went to that church she couldn’t eat in this house anymore, she went as far as burning her clothes and started wearing rags. I got angry so I called my daughter to come for her child, today she stays far from here, so she has no link to this church,” she narrated.
Syrena, who has lived in the Du Port Raod Community for over a decade, says the oddity of the church should claim the attention of Government.
“They said they are Christians and myself I am a Christian but their way of worshipping is different and it is fishy to all of us in this community,” she said.
“If your child leaves your home and start worshipping with them, your child will not speak to you no more, their dress code will change – they wouldn’t wear an earring, artificial hair, cologne, bath soap, toothpaste and will not continue their education.”
“They don’t eat from their family members anymore but only from the church and they don’t eat for their stomach to full that is why my grand-daughter said, she also said that she is not supposed to spray and use toothpaste.”
Syrena also remembered her neighbor’s daughter who almost poisoned her parents because the church labeled them as witches.
She recalled witnessing the scuffled between Perry and church and another incident involving a girl that was expected to graduate from high school but neglected school after she came in contact with the church.
“She didn’t attend the graduation because the church told her she had sinned by reaching that level. So, the pastor and members paid the girl dowry and she got married to one of the members in the church and no relative attended because they were not members of the church.”
“Her mother wept when the wedding was ongoing, even her brother tried to enter but he couldn’t because he was denied by members of the church.”
Syrena alleged that there is ongoing incest in the church as she was told by her granddaughter.
“Only member can marry member, if you are in the church you can’t marry anyone outside the church,” she alleged.
She said the church has been in the community for over five years but started fully functioning two years ago.
“All we knew here was it was a Bible study hosted there till we noticed parents coming to demand their children.”
“Don’t ask for your child, they will beat you, many parents have been flogged, even the children look malnourish, don’t look at the men, they don’t cut their hair, the women can tie head tie till it reaches to their eyes, it’s hard to see them wearing decent clothes, all they wear are filthy things, even their shoes are not decent, when you ask they will say they are working for God.”
She furthered said that some children cannot be seen today on grounds that as soon as parents request their children they are taken to an unknown location without the consent of the parents.
“For me, I told my children, if they just step there they will be rejected by me. They already know because that place is almost like a cult and not a church because a real church will encourage children to further their studies but it’s not that church.”
When an FPA reporter visited the community, it was discovered that many of the youth attending the church are apparently between the ages of 12 and 22. Some of them were caught on camera wearing rags as they clean the church’s yard.
The saint Assembly according to members is a holiness mission established by Liberians to preach the gospel of Christ.
But when asked why there are numerous youths abandoning their education and families, members said our reporter has no right to ask such question labeling, the reporter as a “sinner” because she was attired in trouser.
They also blamed the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) for spreading wrong information about the church.
“There are lots of detractors who are going out and spreading false news about the church because we heard that the council of churches today that are trying to fight us,” said a man only identified as Bro. Lawrence.
“Go and find the other branches but you cannot come here to attack our general overseer, also we can’t speak with you because you are not attired properly,” he told the reporter.
He denied allegations that the church is dangerous, saying, “This ministry is not a dangerous ministry; we are only going to preach the gospel.”
Another man claiming to be the pastor, only identified as Chief Michael, asked the reporter to read Ecclesiastes 12:1, but he couldn’t justify why young children are abandoning education and their family for the church.
He insisted that the church was established in Liberia with support from western countries but refused to disclose the foreign countries and the name of its general overseer.