Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville

[Columbia]

I'm sure that by now you've seen that the shooter at the Presbyterian school in Nashville was female. Out of curiosity I googled the church name and sexual abuse, and found this from 2013:

https://www.courthousenews.com/church-accused-of-covering-for-molester/

 

Spoiler

NASHVILLE (CN) - A Presbyterian church covered up for a "confessed child molester," and "in cult-like fashion" put children in the molester's so-called "safe house," a family claims in court.

Austin Davis and his daughter Daisy sued the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville and its parishioner Dale Lewelling, in Davidson County Court.

Lewelling is not the alleged molester. The Davises claim Lewelling "assaulted the plaintiffs in an open hallway filled with people" during a period of turmoil at the church.

Austin Davis said in an interview that the alleged assault in the hallway came after he attended a class as a former member of the church.

"I got separated from my daughter and they were telling me I was breaking the law," Davis said. His daughter was a minor at the time.

In the lawsuit, Davis claims that on July 14, 2008, "the defendants quietly accept[ed] the resignation of the confessed child molester, John Perry, from the Covenant Diaconate, with Lewelling recorded in the board minutes as being present in the room."

Perry is not a party to the lawsuit, which continues: "The defendants intentionally conceal[ed] knowledge of the confessed child molester from appropriate authorities, the majority of the members of the congregation, and the plaintiffs. ...

"In furtherance of the concealment of the sexual abuse of a child or children, the defendants permit[ted] the confessed child molester to remain a member of Covenant (having access to the church, its members, and the private school elementary property associated with the church) until 2010." (Parentheses in complaint.)

The Davises claim they were harassed, and ultimately assaulted, because they "were privy to information concerning defendants' concealment and concealment efforts of the unlawful sexual abuse of a child or children."

Austin Davis claims that in 2008 he objected to "the defendants' cult-like abuse of authority over vulnerable children ... who were (in cult-like fashion) intentionally, knowingly, and willfully placed in an alleged 'safe house' owned and possessed by the confessed child molester." (Parentheses in complaint.)

Davis claims in the lawsuit that Perry was excommunicated on June 6, 2010, "for heinous and repetitive sin against his family."

In October 2012, Davis claims, the defendants threatened "to have plaintiffs arrested and thrown in jail," threatened to sue them "for no reason," threatened "to bring criminal actions" against them, defamed and intimidated them. The unnerving incidents allegedly culminated in the Oct. 21, 2012 assault, during which, Davis claims, Lewelling was acting as an employee or agent of the church.

Austin said in the interview that he had a right to be on church property.

"I think they're public places that people are allowed to go to," he said.

Davis claims he and his daughter "live under a continuing threat of arrest for communicating with Covenant members and threat of arrest for returning to Covenant property," while Perry "walks around a free man" because the defendants filed "to report the child molester to the appropriate authorities."

Covenant Presbyterian Church of Nashville did not respond to a request for comment.

The Davises seek punitive damages for malicious harassment, assault, and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention.

They are represented by Duncan Cates Cave.

I can't find any other news about it, and don't recognize any names. The whole thing is absolutely heartbreaking, and I've wondered since hearing about the shooter if some sexual abuse cover up could be the motive behind the violence. 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Columbia
typo

[hoipolloi]

17 hours ago, Columbia said:

I've wondered since hearing about the shooter if some sexual abuse cover up could be the motive behind the violence. 

The shooter apparently left a manifesto in addition to contacting friends before going to the school. 

AFAIK, LE has not yet released many details from the manifesto. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

They’ve said the shooter used to be a student and held some resentment because they had to attend the school. 

[libgirl2]

I'm sure we will find out more. 

[Howl]

54 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

They’ve said the shooter used to be a student and held some resentment because they had to attend the school. 

The shooter is also said to be trans.  Some Presbyterians are fairly mainstream Protestant.  Other strains not so much and some are basically fundamentalist.  Has anyone sussed out what type of Presbyterian the Covenant Church and school are? 

Regardless, a church school could be a difficult environment for a gender nonconforming student. 

[Antipatriarch]

21 minutes ago, Howl said:

Some Presbyterians are fairly mainstream Protestant.  Other strains not so much and some are basically fundamentalist.  Has anyone sussed out what type of Presbyterian the Covenant Church and school are? 

Their website is offline, but the Wayback Machine gives this page, which says they're affiliated with the PCA. That's the conservative-type Presbyterians (like Tim Keller).

https://web.archive.org/web/20230324152153/https://www.covenantpres.com/affiliations/

[PennySycamore]

I saw some discussion on LBGTQ Nation this morning about whether or not the perpetrator was trans or not.  That being said trans people are much more in danger from cis folks than trans people to cis.

[Jasmar]

Whenever they add “covenant” to the name, especially when it’s Presbyterian, it’s virtually always hard-core Calvinist, which is an especially nasty form of fundie-lite.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

For what it's worth, I saw some social media posts from one of the teachers who was killed indicating that she was fairly progressive.

[noseybutt]

I have been following the transgender part of the story and much still isn’t known. The shooter was identified by family and friends as female but was using male pronouns on social media. I’m guessing they were not fully out. Either very early days of the transition or possibly they were in process of making a social transition before beginning medical treatment. 

There are indications that the shooter considered a nearby mall as a target and the school may have been a fallback option because less security.

 

ETA I think PCA accepts and performs gay marriages??? Nevermind. I think I am confusing with PC(USA).

Edited March 29, 2023 by noseybutt

[noseybutt]

WAIT. Some googling. I think John Perry, the person convicted of child molestation, coauthored a book with Mike Huckabee.

 

Ooof. I posted a Twitter link then deleted because the Twitter author made several factually inaccurate and inflammatory statements around mental illness. But gist is that the self confessed molester was known in conservative circles and his home served as some sort of “safe house” for children in the congregation. (Whatever the heck that may mean.)

 

 I keep thinking of the song “Will the Circle be Unbroken” but not in a way that the lyrics intend. Rather, when will this stop.

Edited March 29, 2023 by noseybutt

[noseybutt]

More googling. This article is eerie because it was published only several months ago. The whistleblower on the abuse allegations was harassed by leader as a “potential shooter.”

https://www.anglicanwatch.com/austin-davis-covenant-presbyterian-and-the-present-day-battle-of-nashville-tennessee/

Oh Nashville. So many secrets in that town and in this church.

[CTRLZero]

Interesting article, @noseybutt.  I have never heard of Anglican Watch, but it seems somewhat similar to Wartburg Watch.  This caught my attention as I was scrolling through, because I have heard of the proposed database (does it now exist?) of sex offenders at SBC:

Quote from article (bolding mine):

Ironically, in the summer of 2007, the same summer when Covenant leadership became aware of the allegations of molestation against one of their church officers, I stepped to the microphone at the Southern Baptist Convention and made a motion that …

“A database be developed containing the names of all Southern Baptist ministers who have been credibly accused of, personally confessed to, or legally been convicted of sexual harassment or abuse, and that such a database be accessible to Southern Baptist churches.”

Though I am not a Presbyterian, my motion was rooted in the knowledge that there is a tendency within religious denominations to ‘conceal and cover’ sexual abuse by church officers and ministers out of concern for the “reputation” of the church. TIME Magazine declared that the failure of my motion was ‘one of the Top 10 most underreported stories in the nation that year.’

—————-

8 hours ago, noseybutt said:

Oh Nashville. So many secrets in that town and in this church.

I’m currently in Nashville and now plan to view everyone with suspicion.  🔎

 

[noseybutt]

The poor handling of child sexual abuse across religious organizations, and especially the more hierarchical and conservative ones, is a tragedy that will continue to be unearthed for years to come.

For many of these denominations it’s a theological issue. Reputation trumps protection of children.

[Jasmar]

And white men trump women, children, non-white men, and dogs. Not cats, though; cats won’t stand for that crap 😆

In all seriousness, though, these patriarchal groups are pretty inherently toxic, in my experience.

[Marmion]

On 3/28/2023 at 6:59 PM, Jasmar said:

Whenever they add “covenant” to the name, especially when it’s Presbyterian, it’s virtually always hard-core Calvinist, which is an especially nasty form of fundie-lite.

I would suppose that , in all likelihood, the covenant would refer to the National Covenant of 1638 ( article from Britain Express.com ) . The Reformed Presbyterian Church (Wikipedia article) descends from this religio-political movement.  Such adherents were popularly known as Covenanters.  Not to be rehashing historic conflict , or stating which side was correct, but is it any wonder that a movement that had been so steeped in a proud history of violence would end up being met with violence?