Why queer youth cannot be “kittens that we rescue”: An interview with Yvonne...
This is the third part to a 3 part interview series between Stephanie Krehbiel and Yvonne Zimmerman on the narrative of sex-trafficking. Zimmerman is a veteran of the sex trafficking debates. Her book,...
View ArticleAn Open Letter from OurStoriesUntold to Eastern Mennonite University
Last week, in an email to faculty, staff and students, Eastern Mennonite University acknowledged and responded to Lauren Shifflitt’s testimony to the stalking and abuse she experienced from former EMU...
View ArticleGood Intentions Aren’t Enough: How church authorities slid my sister’s sexual...
Lauren Shifflett, recently shared the story of the sexual trauma she experienced in her life including how Luke Hartman coerced her into a sexual relationship, then stalked and threatened her when...
View ArticleThe Case for Suspending Credentials: Lindale, Virginia Conference, and...
We are grateful to Hillary Watson for posting this piece on her own blog, Gathering the Stones, on May 9th, and for crossposting it now on OSU. It is a helpful contribution to the continuing...
View ArticleEmbodied, embedded knowing: A farewell to Our Stories Untold
After launching this blog on June 5, 2012 and spending nearly 4 years working for awareness and healing around the topic of sexualized violence in the Mennonite Church, it is time for me (Rachel...
View ArticleOSU Call to Action! We need 15 minutes of your time!
Dear friends and supporters, On June 14, 2016 Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Education Agency published their joint plan for pursuing outside investigation into “the Hartman situation.” On first...
View ArticleCall to Action Update…
(…or what we didn’t say in an attempt to keep it short, and are now saying anyway because not saying it is being used to discredit our concern) Wow. Here’s a big, hearty thank you! to all of you who...
View ArticleDr. Dwight Krehbiel’s Letter to Patty Shelly: a response to our Call to Action
In my role with Our Stories Untold, I have the privilege of knowing that in response to our Call to Action there are people all over the continent who are voicing their concern to those in positions of...
View ArticleDo Not Let Your Heart Beat Hope
“I’m going to destroy you, and I know exactly how.” That’s the sentence that started a two-year run for me, one from which I’m still recovering, of a feral, terrified, and isolated existence. That’s...
View ArticleThe Perception of the Problem
Teach and model mutuality between men and women and challenge the ongoing legacy of patriarchy in the church. – From “What we will do…As church institutions,” in “Churchwide Statement on Sexual Abuse.”...
View ArticleThe Panel is Walking Away, and So Am I
Hello, my friends, It is time for me to speak after a prolonged silence. I’ve been trying to find my voice again through this complicated process. My advocate Barbra Graber, my sister Marissa Buck, and...
View ArticleWhy We Name Names
This is post 1 in OSU’s first blog series. Its theme is SNAP Mennonite’s MAP List (Mennonite Abuse Prevention List) and the broader issue of naming church workers (lay or ordained) who are credibly...
View ArticleArchiving a culture of silence
This is the second post in OSU’s current blog series on SNAP Mennonite’s MAP List (Mennonite Abuse Prevention List) and the broader issue of naming church workers (lay or ordained) who are credibly...
View ArticleThe Church Continues to Break our Trust
Dear friends, Several weeks ago, my sister Lauren Shifflett announced her decision not to participate in the investigation taking place at Eastern Mennonite University by D. Stafford and Associates and...
View Article9 Remaining Questions on EMU’s DSA Report
SERIES INTRODUCTION: Lisa Schirch’s voice will provide the next three parts in this series of posts in which survivors and advocates respond to the findings released in November by Eastern Mennonite...
View ArticleWe Are the Answer We’ve Been Waiting For
This is part 6 in a series of posts by sexual violence survivors and advocates who want the opportunity to respond to the findings released in November by Eastern Mennonite University’s hired...
View ArticleA Crisis of Faith: In support of Kay Ellen
Sexualized violence doesn’t only hurt those directly victimized. It ripples out and causes all manner of harm to the families, loved ones, colleagues, and broader communities of both victim-survivors...
View ArticleWhen the Church Walks Away: Part One
This is part one in what will be a series of posts published over the next few weeks by Kathy Wiens, a sexual violence survivor, and her husband, Tim, who has been her strong ally. Kathy has...
View ArticleWhen the Church Walks Away: Part Two
One of the hardest things about pushing a church for more accountability is the overwhelming pressure to “make nice.” Most of us feel this pressure, in one way or another. Women in particular are...
View ArticleWhen the Church Walks Away: Part Three
This is part three in a series of posts by Kathy Wiens, a sexual violence survivor, and her husband, Tim, who has been her strong ally. The series focuses on her experience of advocating for people...
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