Remnant Fellowship 18: The Irony of the Possibly Overweight Plane

[RFapostate]

I'm sure a lot did change since Jessica's will from 2007. There are people named that have long left RF, for example.

But the Stites are not named.

Why a more current will was not found or has yet to be filed is beyond me.

Edited July 12, 2021 by RFapostate
correction

[FiveAcres]

11 hours ago, MomJeans said:

That's why my husband and I included sworn declarations in our will.  Our declarations explained not only why we chose his cousin to raise the kids if we pass , but also explicit details of the abuse I suffered in my own family and have observed my siblings commit, and all the reasons my husband doesn't want his kids raised Mormon, which his parents and siblings would insist on.  

At the time we joked that if our siblings didn't hate us before we died, they will absolutely hate us after we die.  

Otherwise, as JermastyDuggar was hinting at, there could be an unforeseen roadblock (such as a felony conviction the deceased was unaware of) and the Court won't understand why someone is a problem, just that the deceased preferred someone else.

I'm also a CASA, and you would be surprised how many people turn down guardianship, even though they originally said they would do it.  I've watched people tell the Judge in chambers "I can't do this, don't pick me", and then an hour later tell the kids outside the court room "I have no idea why they are sending you to Aunt Cathy instead.  I would have taken you in."  

Interesting. When we were in our late twenties / early thirties (and vocationally and financially established) we agreed to take some friends only child should anything happen to her parents. The father was an only child, and the mother had much older siblings. (Now I would have inquired about why older siblings would not be suitable, but didn't then. It might have just been age.) This was a well-off couple, and financially responsible enough that their daughter would have had money for education. Fortunately, the daughter has long since graduated college so it is moot now. 

[SayonaraLara]

A Facebook search for Jessica’s mom, Sandra/Sandi Solomon pulled up shared GoFundMe posts that referred to her as a teacher at Nashville Christian School and directed checks to the school’s mailing address. I didn’t see her name on the school’s online faculty list. But her assumed position of an educator would surely suggest to a court she has experience with/passion for children that goes beyond the grandma role.

Edited July 12, 2021 by SayonaraLara

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 hours ago, SayonaraLara said:

A Facebook search for Jessica’s mom, Sandra/Sandi Solomon pulled up shared GoFundMe posts that referred to her as a teacher at Nashville Christian School and directed checks to the school’s mailing address. I didn’t see her name on the school’s online faculty list. But her assumed position of an educator would surely suggest to a court she has experience with/passion for children that goes beyond the grandma role.

Plus she lives in the area. The kids may not even have to move that far if they were raised by her. 

[quiversR4hunting]

17 hours ago, RFapostate said:

I'm sure a lot did change since Jessica's will from 2007. There are people named that have long left RF, for example.

But the Stites are not named.

Why a more current will was not found or has yet to be filed is beyond me.

So the non-relative people wanting custody of the minors is not list in the Will as who the parents want as guardians. If I read that correctly, I would guess the grandmother might have a better shot at getting custody.  ?

[RFsurvivor]

18 hours ago, RFapostate said:

I'm sure a lot did change since Jessica's will from 2007. There are people named that have long left RF, for example.

But the Stites are not named.

Why a more current will was not found or has yet to be filed is beyond me.

Did I miss that the actual will was found online? I am surprised that you mentioned former members were called out in the will?

[RFapostate]

58 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

So the non-relative people wanting custody of the minors is not list in the Will as who the parents want as guardians. If I read that correctly, I would guess the grandmother might have a better shot at getting custody.  ?

Correct, The Stites are non-relatives and not listed in the will. 

[Blue]

52 minutes ago, RFapostate said:

Correct, The Stites are non-relatives and not listed in the will. 

Where can we access the Stites will... And maybe the Lara's. Are those public record?

[SayonaraLara]

Another video from Dan Gryder of Probable Cause. It’s short; he promises another longer one after two weeks.

Quick summary:

Joe was a “bad guy.” Gryder calls out his mother, Diane, too. (Sounds like it’s related to custody battle, etc. Says he feels invested because children have been hurt.)

Joe hadn’t flown for seven whole years (2010-2017) when he relocated from California to Brentwood,  

The church financed Joe’s various qualifications in 2017, as Gwen was grooming him to be the church jet pilot. (Not in video, but worth pointing out 2017 is also when Gwen filed for divorce from David — November of 2017.)

 

 

[MamaJunebug]

Okay, Gryder says the deceased are “way under water.”  Is this literal? Would the jet have hit with such force that it actually went underground into the lake bed?

Was the nose of the plane recovered? I only recall seeing photos of the tail, wings and part of the fuselage. 
 

Grossness spoilered:  

Spoiler

Authorities retrieved human remains from the lake & it’s very unlikely there were any intact bodies. But are some of those remains indeed under the lake bed along with part of the plane? Wow, am I glad my friends didn’t buy a home on Percy Priest Lake! 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by MamaJunebug

[TDHuggies]

1 hour ago, MamaJunebug said:

Okay, Gryder says the deceased are “way under water.”  Is this literal? Would the jet have hit with such force that it actually went underground into the lake bed?

Was the nose of the plane recovered? I only recall seeing photos of the tail, wings and part of the fuselage. 

I think he was doing a play on "weigh down"...  I appreciate the pun even tho it's probably poor taste. lol

Also I believe Gryder is perusing our little ole site here or looking up public records from the custody battle between Joe and his ex. One of the other threads from a year ago goes into quite a bit of detail. Of course we can't be 100% sure his daughter's mother is a wonderful person but she sure strikes me as the sane one of the two parents...and Joe and his mother put her through a lot. I can't imagine my daughter being in the clutches of Remnant and her step-mother being Gwen. 
 

 

[AmazonGrace]

The crash report said it was only two to eight ft deep where they crashed. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

The crash report said it was only two to eight ft deep where they crashed. 

This sounds gross but I wonder if the plane went deep into the mud. 

[WorseThan1Thinks]

Here we go.  New York Times.

While the filmmakers scrambled to incorporate news of the crash and its aftermath into the documentary, HBO Max altered its plans too. Now, rather than release a four-part series at the end of September, the first three episodes of “The Way Down,” will become available on Sept. 30, concluding with a “To Be Continued” message. The final two episodes will debut in early 2022, giving the filmmakers time to deal with the new footage. The documentary now begins with local news coverage of the crash.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/business/media/remnant-fellowship-hbo-max-way-down.html

 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m glad I have hbomax! 

[quiversR4hunting]

12 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I’m glad I have hbomax! 

I need to figure out how I can get it in September! 

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

I need to figure out how I can get it in September! 

Free trial just for the documentary? 

[quiversR4hunting]

18 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Free trial just for the documentary? 

That is what I am thinking!!

[Alisamer]

I'm sorry I know it's horrible but "the way down" is a fitting and hilarious name for the documentary considering how Gwen ended up. 

I find myself imagining she showed up at the pearly gates, and God presented himself to her as looking like Santa, all fat, round and jolly, hopefully eating something. And then told her to weigh herself on down to the hot place, for all the harm she did to people.

[JermajestyDuggar]

9 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

I'm sorry I know it's horrible but "the way down" is a fitting and hilarious name for the documentary considering how Gwen ended up. 

I bet that was the title before the crash and then when the crash happened, they were like, “oh shit, that titles too on the nose. Should we change it?” And HBO was like, “nah.”

[Ramen Amen]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I bet that was the title before the crash and then when the crash happened, they were like, “oh shit, that titles too on the nose. Should we change it?” And HBO was like, “nah.”

“too on the nose” ??

[ElleHouston]

I like a little mess, I can’t wait for this one! 

[SayonaraLara]

4 hours ago, WorseThan1Thinks said:

Here we go.  New York Times.

While the filmmakers scrambled to incorporate news of the crash and its aftermath into the documentary, HBO Max altered its plans too. Now, rather than release a four-part series at the end of September, the first three episodes of “The Way Down,” will become available on Sept. 30, concluding with a “To Be Continued” message. The final two episodes will debut in early 2022, giving the filmmakers time to deal with the new footage. The documentary now begins with local news coverage of the crash.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/business/media/remnant-fellowship-hbo-max-way-down.html

Gwen always believed she should be on camera. She was right!

[hoipolloi]

5 hours ago, WorseThan1Thinks said:

Here we go.  New York Times.

Will have to figure out how to watch this. Apparently, ex-RF members & others are now pouring out of the woodwork, eager to speak to the documentarians:

Quote

The filmmakers also said that since the crash, they had found that more people were eager to speak to them — former congregants who said they had previously been unwilling to go against the church publicly because they still had family members who are affiliated, and relatives of those killed in the crash who were skeptical of the church and now felt compelled to share their stories. “Within 24 hours I had heard from every single source, and the first thing everyone said was ‘I don’t want to be disrespectful, but please tell me this doesn’t change anything,’” regarding the documentary, said the producer Nile Cappello, an investigative journalist who started researching Remnant Fellowship in 2018.

 

[SayonaraLara]

From another source on the documentary: 

HBO Max also announced “The Way Down,” a five-part docuseries about the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church and its founder, will premiere with the first three episodes on Sept. 30. The docuseries explores how the late Gwen Shamblin Lara, who created the Christian weight loss program “The Weigh Down Workshop,” rose to fame as a diet guru and church leader. Encompassing two years of extensive research, interviews and investigation, “The Way Down” details the controversial practices of the Remnant Fellowship, including stories of abuse and exploitation as told by former members and others who were personally impacted. “The Way Down” is directed by Marina Zenovich and executive produced by Zenovich, journalist Nile Cappello, Ross Dinerstein, Luke Dillon and Chrissy Teigen. P.G. Morgan, Rebecca Evans and Ross Girard serve as co-executive producers. The music for the series is composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge.

Chrissy Teigen!!!!!  Gwen would hate her because she writes cookbooks and likes food. Also, her husband is a real musician.