Jeri M. Massi (born September 4, 1960 in

Levittown, Pennsylvania Levittown is a census-designated place (CDP) and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level. Though not a ...

) is a technical writer and an

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

author whose novel ''Valkyries: Some Through the Fire'' (2003) was nominated for a

Christy Award The Christy Awards, established in 1999, are awarded each year to recognize fiction of excellence written from a Christian perspective with matters of faith at its core. Awards are given in several genres, including contemporary (stand-alone novel ...

. Since 2001, Massi has attacked the response of

Fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

churches in cases of

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...

committed by members of the clergy in which the leadership (and sometimes the entire congregation) enforced silence on the victims. In 2005, Massi produced a five-part audio documentary, ''The Lambs of Culpeper'', and released it onto the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

for free

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

. The documentary addresses alleged abuses against children at Calvary Baptist Church of

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

, a church then pastored by Charles Shifflett. In 2007, Massi founded the Conference of the Lambs, a two-day conference designed to assist adults who had been molested as children in Fundamentalist churches. In 2008 Massi self-published ''Schizophrenic Christianity'', which denounced corruption within Protestant Fundamentalism that had resulted in harm, especially to children. In 2009, Massi conducted interviews of former residents of Hephzibah House in

Warsaw, Indiana Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Warsaw has a population of 13,559 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Warsaw also borders a smaller town, Winona Lake. Etymology Warsaw, named after the capital of P ...

, a Protestant Fundamentalist Children's home for girls. She then produced ''The Lambs of Hephzibah House'', an audio documentary that alleges severe abuse of residents at Hephzibah House. In 2011, Gary Tuchman, a

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

journalist reporting for ''

Anderson Cooper 360 Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson R ...

'', interviewed many of the same former residents and produced an episode about Hephzibah House on CNN's "Ungodly Discipline" series.

Works

* ''Derwood Inc.'' (June 1986; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 1) * ''A Dangerous Game'' (June 1986; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 2) * ''Treasure in the Yukon'' (October 1986; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 3) * ''The Bridge'' (1986; Bracken Trilogy, Book 1) * ''Courage by Darkness'' (December 1987; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 4) * ''Crown and Jewel'' (1987; Bracken Trilogy, Book 2) * ''The Two Collars'' (April 1988; Bracken Trilogy, Book 3) * ''Llamas on the Loose'' (June 1988; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 5) * ''Abandoned'' (1 May 1989; Peabody Adventure Series, Book 6) * ''Valkyries: Some Through the Fire'' (2003) * ''Valkyries: All Through the Blood'' (2003) * ''Schizophrenic Christianity'' (2008) * ''Hall of Heroes: A Novel Set in Peabody, Wisconsin'' (14 October 2013)

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massi, Jeri 1960 births Living people Christian fundamentalism Protestantism-related controversies Child sexual abuse scandals in Christianity People from Levittown, Pennsylvania American Christian writers Child sexual abuse in the United States Response to sexual abuse scandals in Christianity