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 deep, insightful and often shocking human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
ROUND 1
One law for the rich and another law for the poor
Background to our last meeting amongst the brethren in Blenheim.
Dave Fisher sold his bakery business in 1979 to a non-member, but retained the exclusive right to use a certain recipe. The new owner dishonoured this agreement regarding the recipe, by using this recipe, which goaded the local War Cabinet (Terry Deck and Malcolm Hamilton) into leading the charge to interrogate this new owner by visiting him, using a tape recorder during these visits, etc.
The above interference by these priests then spilled over into the meetings in a dramatic way. Almost every meeting was coloured by this issue, to the point where M. Hamilton finally threatened all of us in a ministry meeting, that if we did not join in the fight, for Dave Fisher’s recipe rights, then we were going to be in trouble. None of us were asked if we wanted to fight for Dave Fisher’s recipe problems, we were forced to join this ill-fated battle.
Two points were not adding up to me –
1 - Why was the assembly being forced into doing battle with something that was none of our business in the first place? It was a Fisher problem, and Fisher only.
2 - As JHS (James Symington, world leader) was being asked for his opinion, despite it being none of his business either, why did we not wait for his reply before threatening the brethren into making further decisions?
Continue reading »
by Tim Twinam
Let the Priestly Visits Begin was first published in 1998 on the ‘Wyman Website‘ – a website forced to close in 2003 due to Exclusive Brethren litigation.
I was probably the only member of the Brethren who fantasized over the benefits of being ‘shut up’: no meetings; no noisy meals with five sisters; treated like royalty with meals on a tray; I’d be able to read with every meal! As a teenage boy, I could only think of advantages.
Sure, I’d miss my friends, but it wasn’t as though it was for ever, was it? I didn’t know anyone who had not been allowed back in eventually. It was just the thought of all that time to myself. I once calculated that travelling to the meetings and the meetings themselves occupied more than 22 hours in a 7 day week. It would be like being given an extra day each week!
I knew that the ‘holiday’ could not last too long. There would be the standard series of visits by the priests – two, maybe three brothers from the local assembly. They would come and visit to check on the state of my ‘leprosy’ to see if I was feeling repentant yet. I would imagine mentally checking the calendar … I would be shaking my head slowly at them if it was any time during the long summer vacation. I’d plan to start nodding by mid-September.
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Craig Hoyle, NZ
Part 2 of the Craig Hoyle story
If you ever wondered how the Exclusive Brethren treat those who dare to question their rules and lifestyle, Craig Hoyle’s continuing story will tell you far more than you probably want to know.
Craig Hoyle is gay – a ‘mortal sin’ and, as far as the Exclusive Brethren cult are concerned, a sickness that must be suppressed and cured. The way that Craig was treated is both heart-rending and anger-inducing.
How dare these people call themselves ‘Christian’!
We continue Craig’s story below. The first part of his journey can be read here - ‘What is it like to be gay in the Exclusive Brethren’ -
20-year-old Craig Hoyle, who was brought up in the Exclusive Brethren Church, risked losing everything when he told his priests and family he was gay.
After several meetings with church leaders, and a period under hormonal suppressant medication given to him by a Brethren doctor, Craig just couldn’t take it anymore. He was placed into the first stage of ‘excommunication’.
