We have come into possession of a remarkable audio recording. It is a sound file dating from 2 or 3 years ago and is the complete recording of an Exclusive Brethren ‘Breaking of Bread’. You will find it at the end of this article.
It is remarkable for several reasons, not least of which is that this is today, the cult’s most secret event – nobody is invited to attend this weekly 6am Sunday service unless they are a fully-established and credentialed member of the Exclusive Brethren.
It was not always so…
The Exclusive Brethren have changed radically from their early beginnings in Dublin, Ireland. The origins of the Plymouth Brethren are closely linked with one important spiritual event: Communion or, more coloquially known as ‘The Breaking of Bread’ or the ‘Lords Supper’.
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Kim Kardashian and the Exclusive Brethren?
The chatter press has been full of the sudden divorce of the completely over-rated Reality TV star Kim Kardashian from her sports star husband Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage following a lavish $10 million wedding.
There is absolutely nothing worth writing about in terms of the Kardashians, but a New Zealand writer has managed to achieve the amazing feat of associating the Exclusive Brethren cult with this equally strange woman.
How did she do that?
Catherine Woulfe, deputy editor for New Zealand’s Sunday magazine provides a 5 point worksheet for new Zealand politicians.
As far as we’re concerned, only one really matters:
4. Never overestimate your audience.
They are all kinds of stupid. You can do a really bad thing (say, schmooze with the Exclusive Brethren or earn squillions from your sham wedding) but just smile and say that you didn’t, and it’ll all be okay.
Ouch! Does Catherine know the Exclusive Brethren or what?
The New Zealand public certainly does. The foray by the cult into the world of politics was the brainchild of the current leader, Bruce D. Hales. As Catherine says: ‘they are all kinds of stupid’ …
Sure sign of a cult: nonsensical rules.
The following 2008 letter from Bruce D. Hales and other Exclusive Brethren leaders regarding the restricted use of portable phones and computers has been published before on peebs.net:
but not like this!
We have been sent an audio extract from a May 2008 Exclusive Brethren Care Meeting where the letter is being read, as instructed, to the assembled brethren.
This post marks the first time since the 1970 Aberdeen tapes where peebs.net has been able to play audio from a real Exclusive Brethren meeting.
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
Final Episode of: Cast Outside The Camp by Neville and Philippa McCallum (2008)
Aftermath - The Conclusion
It is worth a pause here, to note the irrational and unintelligent action of all the EB’s present this night. Some of us ‘outs’ have been trying to penetrate this thinking during the ‘review’ process. In both our case and my Mother’s case (as T. Deck states), it was Jim Symington (Neche) who gave the killer blow which was obeyed with precision by our tormentors and the local brethren, but when our cases were reviewed, both cases were overturned and we were reinstated.
You would then have to conclude that JHS is also in error, but definitely not – the world leader can not be wrong even though his judgements are overturned. This fallacy stems from a MIND-BENDING statement made by leadership in NZ:
” No matter what the world leader does, it could not be wrong”
For any sane human to believe this obvious fallacy, shows the level of mind control they are capable of, as in another statement of brain washing:
“When the brethren are wrong they are still right”
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
A meeting to remember
Aftermath - The Monarch of the Glen
This visit would have to be the most interesting, the most revealing dialogue I have ever had with a human being, other than perhaps with Tony McCorkell in 2007. To some degree this session has left the waters a little unsettled for the Blenheim hierarchy, due to the Monarch’s unintelligent exposure of the ‘world leader’, which means that there is unfinished business on this matter.
This visit took a year or more to organise. A meeting time would be set, but the Reverend Deck would become unwell etc etc. I made this visit conditional on one matter – that his wife Ann, accompanied him. There was a specific reason for this request –
1. The women (sisters) amongst the EB’s are always kept in the shadows, and have no say nor defence in any of the administrative matters. They just accept unchristian judgements while being subject to their husbands.
2. The women are not guilty for the human atrocities committed by their husbands.
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
Aftermath - The Bruce Hales Review
I promised earlier in this story, to explain why I have exposed some EB leaders and priests by name, after some returned in the ‘review’ (2004), to apologise for what they had done to us while we were ‘shut-up’. Here is why -
In or about 2003, the ‘world leader’, Bruce D. Hales decided to ‘review’ previous assembly judgements, right around the world, by decreeing that there was to be a ‘review’. This was orchestrated in view of getting us all back into the fellowship, then ‘shutting-us-up’ again within the fellowship so that we would never go public and expose the Holocaust that has been deceitfully buried by the leadership since 1965, of which Pip and I are victims. The ‘war- cabinet’ had contrived that if we came back into the fellowship, but then started to speak out, they could then threaten us with being ‘shut-up’ again, cast us into isolation from the fellowship, and who would ever want to go through that experience again.
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
We build too many walls and not enough bridges
Aftermath - The Social Chains
Going back to our apprehension about making decisions, what happens now, that Pip and I have to decide if our children eat their lunch at school, and 100 other matters that we had never had to think about? We had been good (most of the time) Exclusive Brethren, with the one-and-only decision to make, which was to unconditionally obey every dictate of the ‘world leader.’ There was, and is today, no other important decision to be made. Your head and every breath is spared or lost by this cultish behaviour. Due to the above, we were not well resourced to survive on the outside.
There were two situations that we feared –
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
Two men practice a Brethren in Christ "holy kiss". (Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives)
Aftermath
- The ‘Holy Kiss’ -
I cannot write about this odd behaviour without a shudder from head to foot. This order was given by J.T.jr (1968 approx) and no male was exempt. From memory, every man kissed every other man every day (or week, at the meeting room) for far too long, maybe a year or two. Once again, scripture was adulterated to accommodate the dictates of leaders. A holy kiss?? If all things holy are as pleasant as this experience was, then I might just choose all things unholy!
As no directions were given for the physical execution of this intimate performance, we did what all people do when left in the dark, work it out yourself. With all the bony noses, wet noses, slobbery lips and hairy ears that smacked me in the face every day, I for one learnt super quick, how to duck, roll, lean and sometimes clean miss, just to save my face being messed-up for the following meeting. When you’re faced with 30 or 40 oncoming male lips, desperate to please the Fuhrer, it is amazing how enthusiastic these lips became, and how different they all seem to be.
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by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
The bewildering impact of Freedom
The bewildering impact of Freedom
ROUND 15 (Part 2)
- Coping With Freedom -
We were the fourth generation of our families (McCallum and Janson) to be in the Exclusive Brethren fellowship, with our ancestors joining in the 1800’s.
Even though we had kind of re-grouped during our 3 year ordeal, now we were alone to stand or fall on every decision we made. This is when the going got tough.
Up until this day (in our generation timing), we had never been permitted to make any important decisions ourselves, as all decisions came through the ‘world leader’s’ ministry which every home globally received a copy each month.
For any non member, including our children today, the above statement is impossible to understand without me giving a foundation for it.
Here are just a few examples –
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2 Year Anniversary for Breakout by David Tchappat
Two years ago this week, Australian David Tchappat launched his autobiographical Breakout: How I escaped from the Exclusive Brethren – and last weekend David married Rachel – they are currently on honeymoon.
A Double Congratulation is therefore due to a brave young man who managed to escape the clutches of the Exclusive Brethren, wrote the most recent story of what life was like in the secretive cult, used his media power to launch the book following his appearance in Australia’s ‘Big Brother’ TV show and doggedly rebuilt his life.
peebs.net has reached agreement with David and the publishers of Breakout to serialize a portion of his book. We are hoping that the limited serialization will raise interest in David’s story and help spread the truth regarding the Exclusive Brethren.
As part of the peebs.net coverage of this 2 year anniversary, we hope to arrange a live Webinar where David will answer questions over a live Internet video feed about his life in the cult, his escape and subsequent new life. The Webinar is yet to be scheduled – it will be recorded and made available from this website for those who miss the live event. We will be providing members of the public an opportunity to submit questions for David Tchappat prior to the event.
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