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Jud Wilhite, the senior pastor at Central Christian Church, says that the church was founded to introduce people to Christ and turn them into ardent followers of Him. Meanwhile, the political storm around the Exclusive Brethren intensifies. Across the Tasman, we've seen exposes of strong Exclusive Brethren financial backing in John Howard's re-election and allegations of past money-smuggling and child sexual abuse cover-ups. The issue comes just days after the vessel resumed passenger sailings. Amongst such groups views concerning their way of life and relationships are frequently affected by the varying standards in the general community. Yesterday RNZ revealed the unusual structure of this charity, which is wholly controlled by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church but with no formal constitutional link to it. Notice boards give the times of Gospel Preachings with a formula such as "If the Lord will, the Gospel will be preached in this room Lord's Day at 6.30." "It's like the inside of a golf ball in there, everything is all tied together, with a very centralised structure and power dynamic.". However, then global leader (Jim Taylor) condemned "commerce in the assembly" and excommunicated the Hales brothers and those involved had to "publicly repent". On their rules against mixing socially with outsiders, he says: "We are believers and don't need to go out with people who might not even be Christians. Denied tertiary education and IT-illiterate, they're ill-equipped for many jobs in the outside world. Two people have significant control of Unispace Global: Anthony Hazell and Gareth Hales. Procurement Panic 300 Million of PPE Can't Be Used in NHS Sam Bright The Little Flock hymnbook has gone through many different editions in different languages. "When I read about some of the conduct the Brethren get up to, it's more like a cult-like organisation than a mainstream religion. They are absolutely vicious to those who want to leave, you'll lose everything, including your family. The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. * An internal memo sent to Brethren worldwide leaked to One News talks about setting up an umbrella group code-named National Office Assist. "So let's say their profit was $200,000 and they decided to donate $50,000. Remembers Adrian: "Once you were out, you started to question it." It all started from an initiative in 1879 of Edward Cronin, one of the Dublin founding members, that paralleled Darby's initiation of a new assembly at Plymouth thirty years before. Once the couple went to the beach with some other young families and took a portable stereo, which got them temporarily banned from church. Marketing expert Manu Ofianza is one of the non-Brethren migrants who has taken up work with a Brethren-owned business. Australian Gareth Hales has a religious background, as the son of Exclusive [Plymouth] Brethren world leader Bruce Hales. Unispace admits that the founders of the company met through the church in 2008, although denies that the company is owned or run by the Brethren directly. Though their businesses bring them into daily contact with non-Brethrens, Brethren rules forbid socialising with "worldly" outsiders. [11] In some cases people have killed themselves in distress. Unispace Global Ltd was awarded a more than 108 million contract on 16 May for garments for biological or chemical protection. There are over 40,000 Exclusive Brethren worldwide subscribing to one universal moral . Since its inception, the church has focused solely on changing lives, transforming families, and creating thriving communities. All gatherings in the church are intended to fulfill three functions, which are worship, evangelism, and discipleship. We urge you to wait. He is the son of Exclusive Brethren world leader Bruce Hales. Darby. They're allowed to talk to us now," says Adrian. Helen Clark's calling for Don Brash to step down as National Party leader because of his now-renounced relations with Exclusive Brethren lobbyists. The Brethren has around 20,000 UK members and includes a number of businesses and non-profit groups under its umbrella, charitable organisations such as the Rapid Relief Team, business consultancy UBT, and OneSchool Global (OSG). [11] Very few based near the scene of the events stayed in fellowship with Taylor only two families in Aberdeen and 200 out of 3,000 members in Scotland remained. [11] They do not believe that women should have authority over men. Brethren and their companies are encouraged to buy their supplies, groceries, petrol, internet, insurance - the whole range of goods and services - from companies that give cash back to the. Cr Carter put the town's success largely down to jobs offered by enterprises run by members of the Brethren. He did business training with UBT and, before that, attended Wilton Park School in Salisbury, which was part of the Brethren network.In April, Techniclean Supply Ltd was awarded a 20 million contract to provide Type IIR face masks. It was awarded a 4 million contract to supply PPE to the DHSC in May this year.Two other companies with links to the OSG network include Denka UK Ltd. The Green Party's demanding the group loses its exemption from labour laws requiring union access to work sites, since the cosying up to political parties makes a mockery of the basis for that exemption - finding association with any outside organisation unconscionable. In addition, the religious group owns many gospel halls up and down the UK.Byline Times has uncovered about a dozen connections between trustees listed amongst this school and church network, who also appear to be directors and shareholders at companies awarded PPE and ventilator procurement contracts by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Kim Ray is part of the Brethren community. Charlie Aris is the CEO at Tower Supplies, according to his Linkedin profile. Like most ex-Brethren - they call themselves ex-peebs (short for people of the Exclusive Brethren) - the hardest thing has been losing family from their lives. "It was very strange coming out," says Diana. The church is in included in U Church Email List and does not require memberships and welcomes anyone who believes in God and wishes to be close to Him. According to its website, the OSG operates 130 campuses with 2,500 staff across 21 countries. With Greg Surratt as the lead pastor, it has now 13 campuses spread across different cities of South Carolina and enjoys a weekly attendance of more than 14,000. Many of our members have established and run businesses that make a significant contribution to their community and Australia's economy more broadly. I don't know, we have enough friends of our own." Now 53, he's in his second marriage and runs a cartage business in his hometown, Christchurch. [11] This fellowship further fragmented in 1972, and the party which broke away has since further sub-divided. We're an easy target. With a leadership team par excellence, CCV seeks to make a positive difference in peoples lives. But eventually the constant monitoring by other Brethren and having to account for their actions got too much. There is no legal or pastoral connection between the Church and the businesses that members run.Given considerable concern about the billions spent on PPE contracts during the Coronavirus crisis without competitive tendering much of which appears to have gone to Conservative friends and donors this new revelation suggests an ever narrower sectional interest when it comes to public funds. I think they expected we'd go back and were surprised when we didn't. This is a list of individuals associated with various branches of the Exclusive Brethren for at least a part of their lives. "It was known in my local church that I wasn't subscribing to it and I was treated with disdain, like a black sheep. The first service of the church took place in the Sullivan Building of Anderson University on January 16, 2000. It is a strong, tax efficient community model. Women must wear their hair long and down, and headscarves in public. Some have criticized the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), the subgroup of the Exclusive Brethren that has attracted the most media coverage, for its policy of separating itself from other orthodox Christian denominations and because it prohibits radio and television, limits the use of computers and discourages socializing with people outside the movement. "A lot of guys, they've got a perception out here it's just one big orgy. "[9] After furious strife in which the leading opponent was William Lowe, many of the remaining assemblies in Britain stayed with Raven but those on the continent separated whilst the American assemblies were split. He likened the Brethren business ecosystem to a giant game of Jenga. In January this year, he was accused of assault by two former members on a public street next to his fathers mansion in Australia, where he lives next door.Another company called Tower Supplies, based in Dorset, appears to have been awarded more than 40 million in two contracts to supply PPE. Once more assemblies had to decide which side to support and this included those as far away as Melbourne, Australia. The Brethren school I worked for was a secondary school of around 32 pupils. They love alcohol. Church and business and family life are inextricably intertwined in a way that means all parts of their lives are controlled. It works in unity and love, intending to bring the Gospel to the world. They congregate on Sunday for the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion) and the preaching of the Gospel. Oscar is raised by a strict Plymouth Brethren father and rebels by becoming an Anglican priest. Besides being a pastor, Steven is also a songwriter and a New York Times best-selling author. They only say, cryptically: "We've nothing to hide and nothing to parade." They also gather daily for reading of the scriptures and prayer for government and all humanity. If you want to convince the people in your email database to do something and also tell them that its something that can be done easily, just is a great word to use. It is difficult to number the Exclusive Brethren, with the exception of the Raven/Taylor/Hales group, of which there are approximately 46,000[17] meeting in 300 church assemblies in 19 countries, with strongest representation in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and North America. Meanwhile, ex-Brethrens here and overseas are telling of the pain of being shunned by family still in the church. As told to Kate Graham. We don't look down on other Christians because they don't live like us. Some broke the rules, sneaking to the neighbours to watch TV, stayed up drinking Saturday nights and showed up at Sunday's 6am prayer meeting with a thick tongue and splitting headache. Dissecting the history and branches of the Exclusive Brethren, particularly in the 20th century, can be a challenge as there has been no formal mechanism for documenting their movement's history.[11]. With few exceptions, particularly in regards to whom to accept into fellowship, exclusive brethren have continued to hold the same beliefs that inspired the early Plymouth Brethren. [citation needed], A more serious split occurred in 1890 around the teaching of F. E. Raven of Greenwich. These brethren have one fellowship in some nineteen countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, but they are more numerous in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and North America[3][4] Brethren can't vote but are encouraged "to express a moral viewpoint of legislation" to politicians, and to pray for the guidance of "right Government which is clearly of God". [citation needed]. And the shire president believes the population has grown further. Photo: Getty. All this adds up to what the former Exclusive Brethren call the "Hales system", envelopes of tax-free donations taken to Australia by the Brethren mules, businesses exempt from unionism, a network of 15 schools nationwide that get some taxpayer funding, and a swag of properties that don't pay rates because they are places of worship. Millions of dollars was brought into the sect from the sale in the 1960s of the McAlpin family's flour business and Mac's shortbread company. Perhaps the best-known of these, mainly through media attention,[2] is the Raven-Taylor-Hales group, now known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, which maintains the doctrine of uncompromising separation from the world based on their interpretation of 2 Corinthians 6 and 2 Timothy 2, believing that attendance at the Communion Service, the 'Lord's Supper', governs and strictly limits their relationship with others, even other Brethren groups. A measure of their influence - and the working tolerance they've won - is the wariness locals show about saying anything bad of them. Both of them started the church with a mission to reach out to families by means of an amicable atmosphere, soul-lifting music, and inspiring life lessons. Thus the Ravens and the Glantons were established. It is believed that God is omnipresent and His presence can be felt within and in everything around you. "In the Philippines, for one day's work we can buy food for that day but here for one day's work you can buy food for the whole week," Ms Vergara said. The 'Exclusive Brethren': Church Or Cult? It won a 348,000 contract to supply Type IIR masks to Derbyshire County Council. Barter is linked to Tim Browning, a director at both Techniclean companies, who sits on a number of schools and trusts run by the Brethren network, including OSG. Meanwhile, a Ross Robertson is the director and shareholder at Medco Solutions, which was awarded more than 10 million in two contracts to supply face masks and garments for biological protection. Who Bruce Hales? In this example, just reflects that reading the article is easy, and the rest of the subject line is all about providing insight on a particular topic. None of our meeting halls have been used since 17th March owing to the current covid situation.There are approximately 20,000 members in the UK and many of these are volunteers for the Rapid Relief Team which is a global charity supporting communities in times of need. The Brethren are no strangers to controversy,condemned for a tendency to harshly excommunicateand isolate those who fall foul of its practices and beliefs. The same person is also named as a director at Blueleaf Ltd, a company that was incorporated in 2011 for non-specialised wholesale trade. The secretive, cult-like church says its members volunteer their time to contribute to society, but an RNZ investigation has found hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent every year to a Sydney. The connection that each person shares with God is very personal in nature. Director Garth Woodcock is also a director at Unispace Scotland Ltd, which appears to be part of the Unispace Global Ltd network.Another director, Gary Critchley, holds the same position at Plymouth Brethren Christian Church Ltd. Woodcock is also a director at Orcagel Company Ltd which was only incorporated in March this year. However, he baulked at paying hundreds of dollars a month to join UBT for "business advice" he did not have time to read or services he did not need. We're just simple Christians, normal people, we look after our own and go about our business, don't hurt anyone." The Brethren lifestyle revolves around an interconnected web of businesses, theology, bureaucracy, politics and psychological intimidation. All church members work in Brethren-owned businesses. Former teachers have alleged that they were required to tolerate bullying, racism and homophobia. Then they can claim that as a deduction in their accounts and reduce their tax liability at the end of the day. In addition to the kickbacks, Brethren-owned businesses also move a percentage of their profits into trusts or directly to the National Assistance Fund. That said, there are connections between the Nicholas Walker named on Companies House and the fellow trustees of OneSchool Global Knockloughrim.The Fulmer Education Trust is also part of the OSG network and among its trustees is Ross Robertson. Exclusive Brethren were therefore sometimes described as Connexional Brethren, as they recognised an obligation to accept and adhere to the disciplinary actions of other associated assemblies.