Congregational Statement Regarding Former Employee & Youth Camp Director

In October of 2019, we were made aware of initial allegations against Wayne Aarum, a former employee of The Chapel (1991 - 2000) and current president of Circle C Ranch, a youth camp in the Western New York region. 

Since these initial allegations were specifically related to the youth camp, our pastoral leadership encouraged those that had made us aware of these allegations to raise them to the Board of Directors at Circle C Ranch. We made efforts at that time to help facilitate conversations with those in leadership at the camp. In February of 2020, additional allegations of inappropriate behavior were brought to our attention regarding Wayne Aarum, including misconduct during his time of employment at The Chapel in the 1990s. 

Based on these multiple allegations, members of our pastoral leadership team spoke directly to Wayne about the allegations, as the women who had brought the concerns to our attention desired to remain anonymous. To be clear, the women were not anonymous to the pastoral leadership of The Chapel, and were uncomfortable at the time with disclosing their identity publicly or to Circle C leadership.

When confronted with these allegations, Wayne denied any wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior, both in person and in writing. We also made attempts to communicate with the elders at First Baptist Church of Arcade and appealed to the Circle C Board to take these matters seriously as both these entities could have provided immediate accountability for Wayne. Both dismissed what was presented by declining any attempt to provide a safe and appropriate way for victims to share their story. 

As we listened to and vetted the allegations against Wayne, specifically regarding his conduct as a former youth pastor at The Chapel, we recognized their seriousness and knew that this matter needed review by an expert who could objectively and independently investigate the claims being made, provide an evaluation and recommend to us how to respond. Therefore, in October 2020, we engaged Ms. Kimberlee Norris (bio), an attorney who co-founded MinistrySafe (a highly reputable, nationally known expert in the area of child sexual abuse, particularly in ministry settings), to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of allegations brought to our attention regarding Wayne Aarum. 

The MinistrySafe independent investigation confirmed a concerning pattern of Wayne’s inappropriate interactions with young, minor women involved in The Chapel’s student ministry in the 1990s and also uncovered inappropriate interactions with young women not associated with The Chapel who had been involved at Circle C Ranch over the last two decades. A summary of conclusions from this investigation was produced by MinistrySafe with the purpose of being shared with local and state authorities who potentially could provide accountability. A copy of this report can be viewed here.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Ms. Norris made several recommendations which we have acted on:

1. Contact law enforcement for the purpose of filing a report (in light of the substance of the allegations and findings of MinistrySafe's independent investigation) and encourage those who were willing to file a report or complaint with the appropriate law enforcement agencies in two jurisdictions.
   
   In light of Ms. Norris’ recommendation, on January 4th, 2021, we attempted to make a report with the Amherst Police Department and Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Department and were advised in both instances that we were not able to file such a report as a third party. As such, we encouraged (and continue to encourage) fact witnesses to contact each local police department to file a report. Many of these individuals have taken the appropriate steps to do so.
    
2. Make a report to child protective services.
   
   During the same week of January 4th, we notified the NY State Central Registry for Child Abuse and Maltreatment. In addition, on March 9th, 2021, we provided a copy of the MinistrySafe report to the NY State regional office for OCFS (oversight agency for county-directed CPS efforts), to include their attorney and regional director.
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3. Make a report to relevant state agencies and licensing bodies.
   
   We have reported to and provided a copy of the MinistrySafe report to the NY State health department which licenses overnight youth camps.
    
4. Fully cooperating with any and all inquiries made by the above local authorities:
   
   We have remained willing to assist all agencies who are positioned to enact lasting change and provide proper accountability in light of the allegations that have been brought to us.
    
5. Ceasing Chapel involvement at Circle "C" Ranch.

   As the pandemic was in full swing when allegations first came to our attention, it was our understanding that the camp was not operating youth programming in which The Chapel would participate. No action was taken by The Chapel until it became clear that our leadership and the camp leadership were not on the same page regarding a path forward. 

   As a result, Circle C’s Board communicated on August 22, 2020 that they were no longer interested in participating in a relationship with The Chapel as a Kingdom Come partner. We agreed with this decision and communicated such on September 4th, 2020 along with a thorough explanation of our continued concerns. It was our conviction that a path forward should include an independent investigation. At that time, our children & student ministries were advised that our relationship with Circle C had formally discontinued and that financial support had ceased. 

   As the opportunity for Chapel students to participate individually over the winter months became a potential reality (whether as employees or campers), in January 2021, we informed our middle and high school families that The Chapel was officially no longer participating with Circle C events and activities. 

   Due to the continued denial of any wrongdoing and lack of good faith effort to conduct a thorough investigation into the claims of numerous victims and collaborators, Chapel leadership has determined that there will be no need of any further communication or meetings with the Circle C Board (or its surrogates).

6. Evaluate current child protection policies and systems and enhance them where needed.
   
   A few specific recommendations have been made to us by MinistrySafe and we have gladly followed those recommendations which include immediately establishing a child safety team made up of faithful women and men on our staff team (with the hope of expanding to include trusted members of our congregation) that will be routinely refining our policies and procedures, required training, clear reporting processes, etc. They are currently at work and we are encouraged by their progress.
    

As we have walked this journey, we’ve learned a great deal - from the women who came forward as well as from experts in abuse prevention and recovery. And we know there is always much more to learn. We are committed to this ongoing learning so we can do everything in our power to ensure this does not happen again.

The following is a personal reflection from Pastor Jerry on a specific example from these circumstances that can offer a helpful perspective on how we want to examine our posture, our actions, and the systems that we utilize to maintain accountability and safety going forward:
 

I know that this entire situation has taken a huge toll on many people, not the least of which are the women who were willing to share their stories of hurt and trauma.  I’m sad for them, and sad for everyone who has been harmed.  Even in that sadness, we get to determine what kind of church we want to be, and individually we get to determine what kind of people we want to be.  I hope we will be a church and people who stand for both justice and healing, for both accountability and restoration.  And I also hope we will continue to learn.

Over the last year, our Executive Pastor, John Camardo, has been our point person and the primary contact regarding the details of this situation, and I’m very grateful for all he has done. But in this communication I want you to hear directly from me, for two reasons. First, I want to say a few things with absolute clarity: we believe the women who have come forward and bravely shared their stories. We, along with other churches in our region, are committed to seeking restoration and justice for the people who have been harmed, while also seeking accountability for those responsible.

Which brings me to the second reason I wanted to speak with you today. As we have walked this journey with the women who have come forward, we’ve learned a great deal — from the women who came forward, as well as from experts in abuse prevention and recovery. And we still have much more to learn. We are committed to ongoing learning so we can do everything in our power to ensure that what has been revealed to us does not happen again. This process is not always comfortable, but I have no doubt it is the right thing to do.

I want to be transparent with you about a specific situation that has helped me to learn. It happened nearly 10 years ago. I share this story for the sake of accountability, but also because I am realizing just how much many of us have to learn about dealing with situations of abuse. When abusive situations in the Body of Christ are brought to light, many of us wonder, “How did this happen? How did this go on for so long?” So as I share this story, please keep that question in mind, because it’s a good one — and it’s a question we must answer.

I recently received a phone call from a friend, Elle Campbell, who used to be on our Student Ministry staff a number of years ago.  She wanted to talk about another phone call we had in 2012. On that call from 2012, she shared with me some disturbing information about the actions of Wayne Aarum of Circle C Ranch.  She mentioned the discomfort of a number of teenage girls with his physical touch or prolonged hugs. She talked about a growing unease among some students and volunteers involved in our ministry, as well as sharing her own experience with inappropriate and unwanted touch from Wayne when she too was a young adult.  But specifically she told me the story of a teenage girl who shared with Elle that she was physically restrained by Wayne and that he had pinned her against a wall in the bedroom of her camp cabin at Circle C Ranch. These allegations are also represented in the investigation we concluded in December of 2020 and are included among the many other allegations the investigation brought to light.

I recall this conversation from 2012 and have shared my own recollection in some specific conversations over the last year (including with the first investigator Circle C hired to look into another specific allegation).  I do remember asking her on that phone call if anything of a criminal or sexual nature occurred (which is still one of many questions I would ask if a similar situation occurred today) since that would have to involve reporting to law enforcement.  Since that wasn’t the case as I understood it, I did  promise her that I would address it with the camp leadership, and I did.

Wayne Aarum was not on staff at The Chapel in 2012 and I had no direct access to him. I chose to speak directly with Wes Aarum Jr., a trusted staff member and Pastor involved in our student ministry at The Chapel, and a Board member of Circle C.  I shared the substance of what I learned from Elle concerning Wayne’s behavior. He assured me he would address it with Wayne. I followed-up with him and he confirmed that he did, in fact, address this with Wayne. I don’t doubt that he did. Though I heard of no other reports of this nature between 2012 and 2019, sadly the investigation that we undertook revealed the inappropriate behavior continued in other forms beyond this point.

I not only talked to Elle about this recently, but I also spoke to the young woman who shared her story with her.  Both of them were gracious.  I shared with them some of my personal reflections, as they did with me, and I affirmed to them that our church stands alongside them.

As I have taken everything from the last year plus into consideration, along with the conversation from 2012 mentioned above, I have chosen to do a personal inventory in order to learn how I personally, and our church organizationally, can work toward an even more robust safe environment that is sustainable into the future. To do this, we must ask probing questions of ourselves, our church, and our church staff. We must diagnose what could be different, we need to continually ask what systems or processes need to be reconsidered, what cultural aspects need to be redefined, what additional education needs to occur.  Every person involved, every organization involved, needs to take a closer look and ask different and more probing questions so that we can learn to protect people better.

This accountability must be both personal and corporate.  I have personally wrestled with and reflected on a number of questions that will inform what I do going forward, and we are doing the same as a church staff and leadership team.  

But probing questions are necessary, even if they are uncomfortable.  That discomfort needs to be the fuel for learning.  That learning needs to be personal and it needs to be organizational.  While our church policies and structures have grown and developed since the 90’s – and even since 2012 - we still want to be a learning culture that pays close attention to how we can constantly improve.  While our current policies regarding child safety and protection are robust, we must accept that we can always evaluate and always learn.

We must ask questions about:

Culture – We want to ensure that Chapel leadership makes it clear to all staff at every level that they have the freedom to report inappropriate behavior at any time without fear.  As well, we want to ensure that any church member may do the same so that the entire culture of our church is one of protection for everyone – particularly for the most vulnerable.

Systems – We want to ensure that everyone is clear on how to report inappropriate behavior, especially toward children and students, whether occurring in an off-campus environment (like a camp) or on-campus in a Chapel ministry setting.  Further, are there ways for girls to report to older women, if they so choose, and would it be helpful to have multiple ears listen to and understand a report of inappropriate behavior (possibly from both a male and female perspective so that each can inform the other of what they are hearing and the seriousness of what they are hearing)?

Education – Along with the already existing training our staff engages with from New York State on sexual harassment, and the already existing training for children and student volunteers, might we provide more specialized training for leaders and volunteers that will help educate and inform in increasing ways?

In effect, we must simply answer the question: Are we taking every reasonable measure to ensure that inappropriate or abusive behavior will have no chance to succeed?

We are able to answer most of these issues reasonably well.  But we want to make sure we can answer all of them very well.  

We have received several recommendations from MinistrySafe that we are currently taking action on.  We are gathering other best practice information to enhance our existing policies and systems. We intend to inform you of these in the weeks to come.

There is no official field guide on how to handle these types of issues.  Churches need help – even when we have the right intentions.  On this recent call, my friend, Elle, said “I believe everyone did the best we could at the time.”  I agree with her in regard to intent, but we can always recommit to evaluating processes and learning as we move forward.  I have done so, and will continue to do so.  

And if anyone who has been involved in this in any way - whether camp staffers or church volunteers or a pastor/leader like me - would look at what we each might do to learn and grow, we can all become even more committed to ending this sort of behavior.  Leaders must lead the way, though, and I am committed to that end.

I have already learned from a few of the women who came forward about different and more productive ways for the church to care for them.  And for us to move toward the most productive ways of protecting people - it requires accountability for all of us.  I’m standing at the front of that line, and I am committed to leading our church toward that end so that we can not only experience a future where any manner of abuse or inappropriate behavior is unwelcome, but that it is even more swiftly dealt with.

To answer the questions asked at the beginning “How did this situation with Wayne and Circle C happen?  How did it go on for so long?” We need to understand that systems with perceived barriers, a lack of education, cultures that repress or justify inappropriate behavior instead of dealing with it, and individual inaction can all contribute to the continuance of the improper behavior.  It is worth it for our church – and every church and Christian organization – to consider how we can make sure these factors are not descriptive of us.

I realize we all need grace in this, and we need to offer grace.  These situations are very hard to deal with, but we must not allow that to excuse us from learning.  We must learn.  We must put the interests of others – especially those who are vulnerable – at the forefront of our concern.  And we need to commit together, as believers and leaders, to make sure that inappropriate or abusive behavior has no place in any church or Christian organization.

To those who have bravely shared their stories of trauma throughout this process, we want to express a few important things. We believe you. We are deeply grieved over the ways in which you were violated physically, emotionally, and spiritually and the pain you have carried as a result. We are deeply grateful for your courage in coming forward and for your willingness to bring this painful truth to light. The behaviors we have learned of, even if determined by law enforcement to not be criminally actionable, we strongly believe are wrong and inexcusable in any setting. We believe Wayne needs to take accountability for his actions and Circle C Ranch needs to take accountability for enabling them by their dismissal, discrediting, and misrepresentation of the allegations which have come forward. We believe that not taking these matters seriously is a troubling neglect of responsibility organizationally, spiritually, and personally and, as a result, cause us to have an ongoing concern for the future safety of other vulnerable children in their care. 

We stand with you, the victims, and are committed to advocating for and working toward lasting change that will bring the full truth to light. We will pursue accountability where there has not been so others will feel safe and you can work toward personal healing. This is a deeply personal matter and we willingly, gladly offer our support as you work toward that healing. 

We will continue listening to your voices to best respond to and care for your needs. In addition, we are pursuing trauma-informed experts to assist us in knowing how to continue to provide and care well for you.  

For those who were impacted by this but have yet to come forward or have chosen to remain anonymous, please know that we respect your right to make any decisions you need to for yourself, in your own timing and way. There is no pressure to come forward. If you do choose to in the future, we want you to know you are not alone and we are a safe place to bring your story. Along with The Chapel, a group of churches in our region would like to provide guidance for you through Christian Counseling Ministries of WNY (ccmwny.org or (716) 632-3200). Qualified female trauma-informed counselors are available to help you with any next steps, to include sharing your story, contacting authorities (if appropriate), counseling support and access to further resources to help you in your healing journey. We have provided additional resources right here.

We know this has been difficult for many in our congregation. People we love deeply have been significantly impacted. We understand that this process and the information that has come to light has naturally brought heartache and confusion for many, for a variety of reasons. We are pained by the way it has caused relationships to be tested, strained, or fractured. It has been a long process and, at times, we have chosen to remain silent in order that the right steps be taken in the right order. In addition, the media’s coverage of this investigation may have surfaced questions and, for some, may have led you to feel concerned or maybe vulnerable. We have nothing to fear and nothing to hide. 

Remember, we get to determine the kind of church we want to be. (Psalms 15:1-3, Philippians 4:8)

We choose to be a church and people who stand for both justice and healing, for both accountability and restoration (Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17). We realize that personal hurt, relational strain, and public questioning have all been realities throughout this situation. We want to communicate clearly to you that we care for each of you and welcome any conversations and questions (connect with John Camardo) as everyone continues to process this information. Our highest concern is not the reputation of our church - it is that Christ is glorified in all and through all and that His glory can be seen in our commitment to truth, justice, healing, and humility.  We pray that the actions taken toward those ends will strengthen us as a church, and that through this season of difficulty we will all be increasingly shaped into the likeness of Christ.

We appreciate those in the media who have done a service to our community by reporting fairly, thoroughly, and accurately. Your work has done much to give voice to those who were harmed and to prompt action by those able to create lasting change and bring accountability. We welcome your questions as further developments arise. In order to provide accurate information that respects all parties, please connect with John Camardo if you have any further questions regarding any of this.