Former Thompson, Canada, pastor charged with sexual assault

A former pastor of the Thompson Christian Centre Fellowship in Thompson, Man., Arnie Wayne Pedersen, has been charged with sexual assault, and church leadership is urging anyone who may have been harmed to come forward. A later update to the report states that a prosecutor has dropped the sexual assault charge against him.

According to court documents, RCMP arrested Pedersen last November for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in July. Pedersen was no longer working at the church at that time.

In mid-December, the church’s leadership and the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM) sent a letter to the church’s three dozen congregants about the criminal charge. The letter said: “If you believe that some form of misconduct perpetrated by Mr. Pederson — be it sexual or otherwise — has occurred to you or someone under your care, please let us know Immediately. We would invite you to communicate any such acts to us and encourage you to inform the local RCMP detachment.”

Pedersen began his first term as a lead pastor in October 2016, after years working as an accountant in southern Ontario. He had earned a master of arts degree from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (CRCDS) in Rochester, New York, when he was in his 60s. The congregation engaged him before he had obtained his credentials from the MBCM, which the report says is not unusual for churches in remote locations. His eight-month term ended after the church found what MBCM executive director Elton DaSilva described as untrue statements Pedersen had made. “We were in a process of working through credentialing when we found some untrue statements that he had made, so a misrepresentation is basically what is the case here and we could not proceed with that credentialing,” DaSilva said.

DaSilva said Mennonite churches use a safe-place policy that requires background checks through police, the child abuse registry and the vulnerable person registry. CBC News obtained an email MBCM prepared for churches that asked for references after Pedersen’s departure. It stated that Pedersen “is not affiliated with or a member in good standing of Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (MBCM)” and is not a credentialed pastor. It added that “at this time we do not endorse Mr. Pedersen’s involvement in ministry or pastoral care.”

John Unger, who became interim pastor, said Pedersen was not employed by the church when the alleged assault occurred. “[Pedersen] was released last summer, long before this [RCMP] complaint was filed,” Unger said. “He was terminated.” Unger said the MBCM has supported the complainant through the legal process, provided ongoing professional counselling, and held conversations with church leaders and the congregation about allegations of clergy sexual abuse (Psalm 82:3).

The report notes that the small congregation is left to rebuild after the events. Neither Pedersen’s lawyer, Tyrone Krawetz, nor Pedersen responded to requests for comment. The next court date is March 16.

Source: Read the original report