Comments on: Cherie Marquez

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:37:26 +0000

Dear former WCG members,
I am a writer working on a book about people who grew up in highly oppressive religious communities. Specifically, I am looking at how these children are left vulnerable to abuse, including emotional. I would like to interview someone who meets this criteria and welcome you contacting me so that I can become more familiar with the WCG and how it views and treats children. Thanks. You can email me at planetpeace@live.com.
Jan

By: J

Thu, 08 May 2008 21:01:09 +0000

I just turned 43 in April, and I sometime think about growing up in WCG. My parents joined the church in 1971 when I was 5. Man was it rough going to school around Xmas time, Easter etc. Although I did love going to the Feast as a youngster and especially as a teen (meeting the females)!! I missed out on the Friday night high school football games, school dances and all that. I played basketball in jr. high, and high school
because the games were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But when I got to sr. high (11th & 12th), I couldn’t play and you KNOW why!!!! Although I did play on the YOU teams while playing at the lower high schools. YOU was not the same as high school, even though WCG had provided basketball and cheerleading as a replacement for for high school activities. I sort of a “star” in the lower high schools (pictures and write ups in the newspaper). YOU basketball was Ok, but it was not at the level and competition of high school. It was devastating and emotional when I had to tell the coaches that I could not play for the sr. high school. They looked at me like I was crazy. So my Dad had explained the Sabbath to the coaches and they were like well can he play on Tuesdays? Tuesdays and Fridays were game nights. So my Dad said it was left up to me. But I did not want all the media and newspaper writers attention, so I decided not to play at all. Sometimes I regret it, but life goes on. I’m happily (my wife I met at the Feast in St. Pete in 1988, married in 1991) married with 2 boys 11 and 7 and they play just about all the major sports for their recreation center, and YES I’m living my missed out opportunities though them, and I support them in whatever they do. I don’t want them to go through what I went through. My parents were good parents and I could not have asked for better ones, but they were devoted to WCG and they just thought what was best for me. Though they were lenient of some things like birthdays, because they could not see anything wrong with celebrating birthdays. And although at Xmas time they would buy me something, it just wasn’t wrapped in Xmas wrapping paper. I know it sounds strange, but they were loving parents to all of us which were 8. I’m the youngest and most of my siblings were out of college and in college
when I was coming up. I have mixed emotions about growing up in WCG which I’ve learned the good and the bad. I still have friends in WCG and offshoots that I still have a relationship with. My wife and I attend a loving church that stands on the grace of Jesus and helping those who are seeking Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. I have no animosity toward the church, I went on to college and received my engineering degree and married. So I would say that I think I did Ok. I pray for others that went through the WCG ordeal “Peace and Love”

By: Jennifer Wall

Jennifer Wall — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:24:34 +0000

When i was 14 i fell in love. Head over heals. He was my everything and you know cinderelli and all that. I felt for the first time growing up that someone liked me for me. The church had other ideas.
My church days left me with huge hurts but this one was the worst, not because of what happend, but because of why. My mind struggles to think about the positive and that they didn’t know any better - but they did. anyways my point is that there were a couple families that really really made a positive mark on my life and to them i am thankful. especially because 89% of them were wellllllll judgemental and fucked. sorry i don’t like to swear, but sometimes its the only verb that fits.
Anyways my life was one big insecure feeling that im still worken on.
Andrew was a ministers son. mr adair actually. im speaking of Canada and Mr adair was in vancouver admin for the church. anyways andew was adopted, and lets say different and you know! not thinkind but looking. god says to don’t quote me but, stay with your own color….. we weren’t alowed to be near each other or we got the two hour lecture about why it is so wrong to love someone ‘different’. They made sure we were never together it was a public ordeal that all were to watch us and any look was subject to a lecture.
he’s gone now and i can’t find him. just wondering if you couid help? i would love to see him again.

By: Cherie

Cherie — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:07:41 +0000

Wow is right! When I posted my story I wasn’t sure anyone would even care. To come back and read all of the nice and kind remarks about it has touched my heart. We are not alone, there are many of us (unfortunately), and we have each other. It helps to read others stories and comments. It was a crazy time in my life and thankfully it is over and one day maybe it will hold no sway over me.
It pains me to see the off-shoots of the WWCG gaining momentum again. All I can think about it how many more children will suffer. I only hope that the truths told here will help open the eyes of anyone thinking of joining this cult.
Thanks to all of you who commented on my story. We are all survivors!

By: melanie

melanie — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:08:07 +0000

I feel like I was reading my life story. I wish I did’nt have so much anger towards “the church”, but I do. But reading everyone’s stories really helps. Thanks for sharing your feelings so freely.

By: Belle

Belle — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:50:15 +0000

Wow does your story bring back the memories! Yes, I remember thinking “why even study or do homework? I’ll be in Petra before I graduate.” Well, I never graduated and never went to Petra! I ended up getting my GED when I was 18. Now, I am 39 years old and I am working towards my college degree. It has been a long row to hoe all these years without an education. But, now I am the president of the honor society at my college and I plan to teach British Literature at the college level when I finish my degree.

Because of all the control put on me growing up in WCG, I find it difficult to regularly attend church services. I am a member of a local Baptist Church, which I love. But, I am too apprehensive of the “control factor” to become active in bible study groups or other things.

WCG made me weird in many ways. I grapple with the belief of life after death and all that jazz.

As far as socializing, I am totally unhindered. My father was not a member of WCG. He was busy working all the time to provide for his family. He always tried to reinforce the power of reasoning in his children. He always tried to encourage us to socialize with peers at school. I am grateful for that and I miss him dearly. He passed away five years ago this April.

So, here I am at nearly 40 attempting to do the things I should have done in my early 20’s. Life would have been so much happier and easier if I’d never, ever heard of WCG and all the quacks that lorded over us all!

Thanks for giving me a chance to share and vent.

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:50:43 +0000

Thank you for sharing your story. I am twenty-six years old and am just beginning to see clearly how much the church crippled me in certain respects. I’m trying to recover, and reading this helped me feel less weak; I have to keep reminding myself that I was part of a group of people who were victimized and deluded by something that preyed on their vulnerabilities. You are right not to blame your parents or be angry with them; it would help nothing. Good luck with your life. It’s yours now.

By: julie

julie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:49:42 +0000

I am in tears, I am 40 years old and I am not alone. My very first memory is of my mother being baptized in our bathtub, it was a secret, because my father was, and still is an atheist. He did soon find out.
School was very hard, my high school was small, and everyone made fun of me . there was a boy in my class whos aunt was a member, and he let everyone know that i was not on vacation during the feast, I stopped going to school in 1983, i was 15 and i could see no future.
My mother is and always was a very good woman, doing what she thought was right. She is always telling me how sorry she is for “dragging” me through all of it. She is free from it now. My parents have been married for 50 years now. I don’t know how they made it through, but they did.
I have never told anyone this, but I was relieved the day that HWA died, cause part of me believed all of the crap I heard. I do not go to church, and i’m not real sure what i believe, I have two children, one 18 and the other 20, they have always wondered why i didn’t take them to church. i guess the simple truth is that I don’t have any trust, and i may be a little like my dad.
I had always wondered why my mother never took me to the doctor, we had insurance, but i don’t ever remember going to the doctor, but once, I had broken my foot, I guess she didn’t think olive oil would fix that, or maybe my dad insisted that she take me. And as far as the food goes, i had more healthy crap poked down me than anyone i knew at that time. I never got to eat candy, or cakes, or sodas. As i got older, i felt guilty when i did sneak and eat all that “bad” stuff.
It’s bad that any of us had to go through what we did, but i’m glad to know that i am not crazy, I just figured that everyone else, somehow had it a little better than I did, and it didn’t bother them as much, I don’t dwell on the past, but it is still with me.
I wish you the very best,
julie in missouri

By: The Lionswhelp

The Lionswhelp — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:26:44 +0000

By non-believers you must mean you no longer believe what HWA taught is this correct?

Actually, not just that. By “non-believer” I mean exactly what I say on the front page of this blog.

Preaching deleted.