Quote:
Originally Posted by kumbaya
I'm a newbie to this, sorry. Who did he publicly shame? As in, he did it in a meeting?
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He publicly shamed Sandee Rapoport (wife of Max) and two other sisters, Ann and Harriet. He did it in a meeting on Memorial Day Weekend in 1977.
Here's a quote from notes/postings on "the other forum" (Bereans, no longer "alive"). These notes were the work product of Jane Anderson who was also (coincidentally or coordinated?) publicly called out on Memorial Weekend, 1977 by Benson Phillips in Houston as detailed in her book "The Thread of Gold."
In a phone conversation between Jane and Sandee:
"Sandee told her that Benson's statements at the winter training could only have referred to the Memorial Day weekend conference in 1977. While the young people were at a conference in Berkeley and Max was at a conference in Chicago, Witness Lee held a special conference for middle aged saints in Anaheim. Sandee said that at that conference, out of the blue, Witness Lee began to speak disparagingly of the sisters. Sandee was positive that Witness Lee did not call them "holy sisters"(this was the only time he spoke about them publicly). He also definitely did not address them directly nor ask them to stand up."
"(Jane) had always thought that the 'sisters rebellion' in California was dealt with in late 1978 because that was when the Texas brothers announced the end of the 'sisters flow' in Anaheim and called it a 'sisters rebellion'."
"He (Witness Lee) only spoke in a way to put a question mark over what had been going on with the sisters, mainly by saying that those involved should not sit together but take care of other sisters and sit with them. This came as a complete surprise to Sandee, Ann, and Harriet because Witness Lee had been completely supportive of what they were doing with the sisters for several years prior to this. ..."
These notes were posted on the Bereans forum by Jane's son, Matt Anderson.
This is a very long and ugly story, but this should give you the "lowlights". I know of no other sisters who were called out by Lee publicly. With one exception. At a 10-day winter training, a young married sister in Austin was standing with the Church in Austin while the entire church was "tested" over the contents of the previous evening's message by Lee (as was commonly done early on). Lee pointed to her and called on her to answer his question. She froze in fear. She was paralyzed. He could have held a gun to her head and she wouldn't have been able to make a sound. Lee kept saying "Sister! Sister! Answer the question!" something like that. It was an eternal cringe worthy moment for the 1000 plus in the meeting. Everyone was dying for her. Finally he harshly told her to "sit down". Before that, she was a happy sister, loving the Lord and enjoying her place in the church. After that, she seemed never to be the same. Lee had brutalized her and she didn't appear to have the ability to recover from the humiliation she suffered at the hands of Witness Lee.
So Lee's "teachings on women" are one thing. His "practice" was another.
Nell