We are approaching the long awaited court date for Kevin O'Connor (April 29- May 2). To refresh your memory, O'Connor is facing "seven sexual assault-related charges, including two counts of aggravated sexual battery by force, threat or intimidation on a victim 13 or 14 years old and one count of forcible sodomy." I have thought of and prayed for his (alleged) victim many times in the past months. I know this has been a very difficult time for this young woman and I hope she will receive justice from the Loudoun County Courts. She will never recover the lost years of her youth and the years following of painful memories and consequences, but I pray she will be somewhat comforted by telling her story and receiving vindication.
Though the upcoming trial is not about Calvary Temple, O'Connor was a deacon and is a long time member of the church. There is an ongoing investigation of Calvary Temple and a number of its members by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department (assisted by the Virginia State Police) due to allegations of child sexual abuse.
In the meantime, I checked in with the Calvary Temple website and listened to a few of Star Scott's recent messages to his congregation. I was curious what he might be saying to his followers as they prepare to once again be in the public spotlight. Star Scott continues to shock those of us who have left Calvary Temple. I would venture to guess that even his own people may have been unsettled by some of his recent remarks. Though these particular remarks are not about the upcoming court case, they warrant some attention.
On January 27, 2019 Star Scott gave a message concerning prayer and the need to pray continually and fervently for the sick. In the church I attend, the pastor also speaks of prayer and gives us biblical illustrations of men and women of God that prayed fervently. But the following example given by Star Scott was unlike anything I have ever heard.
"The first thing I do [when he wakes in the morning] is begin to pray, I begin to pray for 'A'....in my mind between wake and sleep in my mind as I woke up and as I begin to intercede for [her] in my mind this is going on, I'm not saying it's a vision, I'm just saying these are things I force myself to do, I imagine these things....and I can't go into the whole story, but on this last time, and I, I remember in this time and I called 'J' and I said, said make, with all of the the...., the modesty you can, but take a picture of A, right now, and expose as much as modesty will allow, and in my mind I see it, put in the newspaper, before and after, the recreation of that which has been lost to cancer...."
Within weeks after these statements, 'A', sadly, passed away.
When I heard these comments made by Scott, I felt a myriad of emotions and responses. Anger. Nausea. Shock. Disbelief. Sadness. And especially I hoped and prayed that 'J' did not take a photo of his precious wife in the days just before her death. I hope, if 'A' was able, that she told her husband in no uncertain terms - NO WAY. I hope ''J" felt disbelief that another man would want to see his wife in her final days, "expose[d] as much as modesty will allow", and would then want to publish her photo in the newspaper.
What kind of man lies in bed in the early morning hours forcing himself to think of a dying woman, her body exposed "as much as modesty allows"? What does that even mean? Who thinks of these things? Imagining a dying woman in the final days of her life, exposed to a camera, is shameful. Even perverse. Scott cannot claim that this was a word from the Lord, he clearly said it was not. No, he said he FORCED himself to think of this, to IMAGINE this.
And WHY would Star Scott even utter these words to his followers? Perhaps because he himself cannot see the violation of human dignity resulting from such a request. He can't see it because I believe he is depraved. And he has another agenda. In those early waking hours what is he really thinking about? How to impress the public and rescue his own reputation? (not possible, Calvary Temple and Star Scott have had a "reputation" for many years and it has never been good.) As someone recently commented, "Star Scott has a PR problem". What better way to solve some of that problem then with the merchandising of God's work. This is nothing more than the exploitation of a woman and her family in the most difficult time of their lives. Because it's all about Star Scott, his reputation, and his kingdom.
This was not about faith in the healing power of God. This was about Star Scott promoting himself to his congregation and to the surrounding community. Scott seized an opportunity to capitalize on another person's suffering in order to appear radically spiritual in front of his followers. Instead, he came across as self-serving and heartless, among other things.
Thinking about 'A' and 'J's family, I was reluctant to write about this. But Star Scott publicly spoke it in a meeting as well as put it on the public website. My hope is someone in Calvary Temple will give it some thought. This is their pastor, the man they seem to revere above all others. Can they see how offensive this is? I will remind the readers of the scripture Scott quotes often: "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."
In an upcoming post, I will comment on a few more of the detestable statements of Star R. Scott. Statements he recently published on a public website for all the world to hear and think about. I'm certainly thinking about them and I hope his followers do the same.
