Maple Creek Needs to Ask Itself Some Hard Questions About the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Rapid Relief Team
Maple Creek closed its Main Street and 1st Avenue on July 3 and welcomed the Rapid Relief Team with open arms. The trucks rolled in, the volunteers served the public, cameras came out and the event became another opportunity to celebrate the group’s generosity.
Nobody should object to people helping their community. Acts of kindness are good things. The problem lies with the decision to give the Rapid Relief Team such a public endorsement at this particular moment. That decision belongs to the Town of Maple Creek, and it deserves scrutiny.
The Rapid Relief Team is suing a survivor from Maple Creek.
That survivor is Cheryl Bawtinheimer (Hope)
She grew up in Maple Creek and has spoken publicly about the abuse she experienced inside the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and about the lasting impact it had on her life. She has also released a video where one of the Rapid Relief Team volunteers, Alan Drever, pretty much confessed on video of what he has done in Maple Creek. Not only did he say, “Tell Cheryl I’m sorry”, but he said “probably” when asked about harming other people in Maple Creek.
The Rapid Relief Team, an organisation closely connected to that church, has chosen to pursue legal action against her because she spoke out despite what they might say publicly.
Alan Drever volunteering with Rapid Relief Team in Maple Creek in May 2023.
With those facts sitting in plain view, Maple Creek still chose to close its main street, invite the organisation into the centre of town and publicly celebrate it. That decision carries a very strong message that community members should be enraged about. Communities often speak about supporting survivors. They encourage people to come forward. They promise compassion and understanding. Those words ring hollow when the same community publicly embraces an organisation that is taking legal action against one of its own survivors.
After speaking with several people from Maple Creek, their comments followed the same pattern. Many said people regularly criticise the Rapid Relief Team and the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in private. They question the church. They question its influence. They question its conduct. Then the group offers money, volunteers or a public event, and the criticism suddenly falls silent.
Close-up photograph from the same event in May 2023.
A community’s values become clear when there is something to lose. It is easy to stand beside a survivor when nobody objects. It is much harder when the organisation on the other side brings money, publicity and goodwill. That is the true test we see happen over and over with this cult and their charity. It seems money buys silence wherever we follow the trail of destruction of this institution and its many lethal arms.
The Rapid Relief Team can continue its charity work. Nobody is asking it to stop. Its actions have already raised serious questions about its integrity. The real question belongs to Maple Creek.
Why honour an organisation that is actively suing one of your own former community members when there is also an active police investigation into historical abuse connected to the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, and when Alan Drever remained part of the charity as recently as May 2023? Why make that organisation the centrepiece of a community celebration? Why did nobody inside the town stop and ask whether this was the right thing to do?
This goes beyond one event on one day. It is about what a community rewards. It is about whose voices deserve support. It is about whether survivors can expect more than kind words when powerful organisations become involved.
Main Street reopened at the end of the day.
The questions raised by that decision have not.
The Town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan can email info.getalife@proton.me for their explanations and how they can continue to support this.
Our suggestion is to not have anything to do with the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Rapid Relief Team until this is all over. A simple google search on ‘Plymouth Brethren Christian Church’ and Rapid Relief Team and you can see that this so called ‘Mainstream Christian Church’ is under an extreme amount of scrutiny at the moment.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out, shared this article, and shown their support. Many people have asked how they can help. If this article has angered you, please consider turning that outrage into action. The Rapid Relief Team is currently suing Cheryl for speaking out about her abuse, alleging copyright infringement over the use of one of its cartoon bird images. (Links to our podcast episodes explaining the lawsuit are in the comments.) Legal battles against well-funded organisations are costly, and every donation helps ensure survivors can continue telling their stories without being financially crushed. Even $5 helps. If you’d like to support Cheryl’s legal defence, you can do so here:
Thank you for standing with survivors.
