Living Church of God has another black eye in its handling of the death of a summer camper at their church run summer camp. Several LCG members have contacted me about this. They are disgusted that members had to do something that the church should have done.
Apparently LCG members had to set up a YouCaring page to help raise money to send Morgan Montgomery's body home to Australia. While Rod Meredith and the LCG are using her death as a fund raising tool, they apparently cannot scrape enough money together to give to the family to handle this situation.
In Memory of Morgan Montgomery
She died on the church's watch and in their camp. They must pay for the transportation home and help with arrangements.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a time-tested practice in the mainstream. Pat Tillman comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteThe problem becomes, can an ACOG be trusted to spend the donated funds for their designated purpose. You would think their third tithe would be sacred, but look at how Herbie taught them all to use that!
BB
In all honesty, despite the theological holes of Armstrongism, the main thing that turned me off of the COG's was how many arrogant, uncaring, self-righteous people attend. This doesn't surprise me - not in the least.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked and disappointed. The church should have taken care of this completely, no questions asked. Morristown Member was completely right. Of course we do not know completely what LCG has contributed to the family, but I hope they did what was morally and ethically right.
ReplyDeleteIm sure the LCG camp carries some type of liability insurance, why is this not in play?
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I would not be a bit surprised if LGC required parents/guardians to sign a "no liability permission slip' for their kids to attend these camps. Does anybody know?
ReplyDeleteRonco
I want to know if there is any truth to the rumor that it was a LCG church member farting around in the boat that hit her. Does the term "gross negligence" mean anything to LCG? Can anyone confirm?
ReplyDeleteRichard
I can answer some of the above questions. LCG self insures which is a pretty safe bet because it's unlikely that a member would ever sue them. They used to have some form of high deductible catastrophic insurance but who knows at this point. When Roger Bardo worked at HQ's they had excellent insurance but then Davey Crockett took over (and then Dexter Wakefield) and they trimmed all the fat off to save money basically gambling that nothing would ever happen (they have God's favor and protection after all).
ReplyDeleteYes campers/ parents do have to sign a waiver. Trust me, LCG has Tom Turner in "risk management" thinking of worst case scenarios every minute of the day. He even suggested that they build an escape chute for Meredith in case the building ever came under siege. He wanted Meredith to vary his routes home in case someone wanted to plan an assault on the road.
No matter what waiver they signed it would never apply in the case if "gross negligence". For example, if you decide to go zip lining and sign a waiver and the loosen your harness and fall out, it's on you. The company is not liable. But if the company doesn't properly maintain the line or supply the proper supervision on the platforms and you plumit to your death, they are liable in spite of the waiver.
I'm curious if she had on the proper type of life jacket; if her boat driver was trained to pull skiers; if they had their ski flag up to notify other boated that they had a skier in the water, etc. If not, that would be gross negligence on the part of LCG.
The fund to pay to transport Morgan home is appalling but is anyone really that shocked? Meredith doesn't have a track record for doing the right thing. LCG should have paid all expenses without question. I'm sure all money collected over and above the expenses related to Morgan will go directly into the LCG bank account "because that's what Morgan would have wanted", right?
Her father is an LCG elder (likely about to get a promotion) and servant to the almighty Meredith empire and is not likely to ever press charges against the church.
It would, however, be possible that the insurance for the boater that ran her over would pursue litigation. It's also possible that there would be criminal charges filed.
Time will tell!
The boat that hit her had no connection to the LCG.
ReplyDeleteI, too, wondered if Morgan's dad would get some sort of promotion in an attempt to keep him in check (as in not filing a lawsuit). But he strikes me as a nice guy, though dedicated to LCG, who would never dream of suing "God's church". Still, that won't stop them from covering their collective ass.
ReplyDeleteI imagine flying a body (not to mention her family) back to Australia is very expensive. LCG should have the decency to cover it or at least coordinate the fundraising effort and make sure every dime goes to her family's expenses. I'm not hopeful on that score.
Absolutely disgusting of them to even suggest such a thing, wasn't there anyone who would speak up and say this really isn't such a good idea, I mean anyone of the ministry. I am glad they received money (hopefully they did) to take care of things but this should have been done by the church this girl trusted and believed in, how embarassing. I hope RCM and others come to see their mistake in this matter.
ReplyDeleteYou need to get your facts straight...
ReplyDelete'You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people;'
Shame on you all!!
It is a know FACT that in the other "special donations" and "donations for disaster victims" LCG has not given all the money to the people intended. They play games with the money and move it around as they see fit. It is appalling! They do the same with the "3rd Tithe" it does not go to the widows and orphans. It goes to hotel rooms and 1st class flights for the ministry. and It goes to the Ministry's Feast accommodations and you know that they will stay in only the BEST condo's and hotels.
ReplyDeleteThe following is an excerpt from the Living Church of God's World Ahead weekly update, August 13, 2015.
ReplyDelete"Church staff coordinated local arrangements, communicating with local authorities and also coordinating the family’s transportation arrangements to and from Australia. The Montgomery family was a light and an inspiration, not only to the Church, but to the people of the surrounding area in Ohio.
Many people have asked how to contribute to help the family of Morgan Montgomery in this difficult time. Transportation and related costs were fully covered upfront by the Church and were reimbursed by insurance and private donations. Church offices in Charlotte, NC, and Adelaide, Australia worked together on travel arrangements."
Some of you be ashamed of your ugly, false accusations.
In LCG it's okay to go about as a tale bearer as long as it's supporting some agenda RCM is in favor of like the gossips in Charlotte who lie and lie and lie. But if people are sharing information contrary to the will of RCM all of a sudden tale bearing is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that the organization which administered this charity was third party, and has processed over $16,000 to date.
ReplyDeleteWas anyone from here moved to contribute?
BB
To Anon Aug 14, 9:23 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. --
ReplyDeleteYou have shamed the individuals commenting on this post as making false and ugly accusations. Perhaps you should remove the scales from your own eyes before making this accusation.
First of all, this young lady was working as a an un-paid volunteer for an official LCG church activity. As such, the church has a moral, ethical and christian obligation (if not legal) to ensure that her environs were safe. Nevertheless, sometimes tragic accidents do occur, and in the event that such a tragedy does occur, the church also has a moral, ethical and christian (if not legal) obligation to compensate for such a tragedy. This compensation should be made without the church broadcasting their "generosity", and without the family (immediate and extended) feeling concerned about costs associated with travel, transporting their daughter's remains, covering funeral expenses, or PAYING THE CHURCH BACK. The message you posted from LCG headquarters staff is very self-congratulatory. Yet, in their own words, as you have highlighted, LCG has broadcasted to the world that they covered "upfront" costs which would be "reimbursed" by insurance and donations. This is corporate speak for stating that they've fronted the funds, fully expecting to be reimbursed so that they will not be out of pocket for any expense.
It is understandable that if the church pays for an insurance policy to provide coverage for such catastrophic and unexpected events, it would be expected that they would file a claim to cover their costs - but why would this need to be mentioned in such an announcement? The fact that the church has clarified that their costs would be reimbursed by insurance and donations leaves one to wonder if their expenses are being reimbursed completely by policies held by private individuals.
Additionally, they've stated that they "coordinated" local arrangements, communicating with authorities, etc. Again, this is corporate speak for "we made a few phone calls." And, by the way, I would think that the local authorities would have expected to communicate with the church, as this was an official church activity. Again, why does this need to be mentioned? Why do we need to "pat them on the back" for this type of communication?
Under the circumstances, there is no question that the church had the moral, ethical and christian obligation to use it's own resources to cover all expenses, and coordinate all logistics for the family and the girl, without being prompted, and without blasting their own horn about it. As it is, they have admitted to making a few phone calls, and lending some money to pay expenses, for which they intend to be fully reimbursed. Additionally, they are capitalizing on this poor girls death to generate more funds for their organization - which already takes in millions of $$ every year. Meanwhile, as has been illustrated on this blog several times, they think nothing of spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on their own whims. Their handling of this entire situation is completely unseemly.
Contrast this with the time and the energy contributed by the local emergency personnel and volunteers in the effort to search for and retrieve the poor girl from the lake. You don't see any of them blasting on about how they "helped." Who is applying real christian principles here?
I didn't know Moran Montgomery. I've read nothing but positive things about this young lady, and I'm sure she was quite sincere in her beliefs and in the way she led her life. I hope nothing but the best for her family, who seem like genuine people.
But, I do hope that individuals such as yourselves can have the discernment to see through the insincere attempts of an organization to appear christian, when in fact, their actions would suggest otherwise.
Point of clarification - the comment responding to 11:35am and 9:23am should have been directed to 11:35am and 1:00am (not 9:23).
ReplyDeleteThey (the church) should not have asked Tithe paying Members to assist in paying for the families transportation and the body back to Australia, it should have claimed most of the costs from their insurance policy. There is also 3rd tithe assistance, that should come into play, they want to make merchandise of the victim and set up a fund, instead of quietly grieving. They (the church administration) were upset to pay the money, as it if it was an inconvenience, yet I believe they ship vehicle's around from place to place for their ministry, lavish accommodation at feast sites etc, ad hock holiday's. I am sure RCM does not want to be out of pocket, he is used to taking from others pockets, for all of his life. It would appear that a young 19 year old, female's life was not too important to LCG, I am sure Christ our elder brother would have deeply cared, but he allows some incidents, for us to learn. I am sure that many in LCG were deeply distressed about this incident and how it was handled by RCM/Winnaile etc.
ReplyDeleteI am very familiar with what happened with the accident and the expenses associated with the Morgan Montgomery fund. After reading through the comments here it makes me shake my head how people, based on their own preconceived biases, can totally twist the facts of a story like this.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all the Church covered the expenses associated with the full funeral in the USA and paid for the transport of the body back to Australia, as well as paying for the family members transportation to and from the USA along with other expenses. It was only after the fact, that they realized some of this would be covered by insurance.
Second, the You Caring fund was setup because people started to drop money off at the camp headquarters to graciously help with the tragedy - for the family (not for the Church). The You Caring site was able to collect those gifts for the family. The family decided to have a funeral in Australia as well, and they were able to purchase nice things for their daughters gravestone and put together a lovely funeral for her friends and family in Australia with the help of the donators. This You Caring site was never advertised. People only found out about it by word of mouth and it was closed fairly shortly after the event (within a few weeks). The family received all of the donations with the exception of the standard YouCaring fee / payment fee which is far lower than most other sites. Residual money from the fund was used by the family to help other Australian teens to travel to camp in the following year. Even after the fund was closed, people of their own free will and compassion continued to send some donations to the Montgomery Family.
Third, the Camp was not the fault of the accident. Read the news stories, four 30+ foot speed boats were racing on a busy lake on a Sunday afternoon and ran over Morgan (the skier). The boater, from a wealthy family in Columbus, was charged and convicted - he pleaded no contest because his insurance company told him to and wants to try to get out of paying any claims.
Next time think a bit before you open your mouths or race your fingers across the key pad of your computers - at least collect a few facts - even reading a few comments on the You Caring site would have given you the basic info you needed to avoid slanderous comments such as some from above.