Love in absence

I recently read about a 16-year-old American boy who is writing a very interesting--and very disturbing--blog, as reported by Purple Pew. 'Zach' writes about his parents' decision to send him to what he calls 'a fundamentalist christian program for gays' (Think But I'm a Cheerleader, only true). The program is called 'Refuge', and it is run by a scary Christian group called Love in Action. According to the Refuge site:

Refuge is a ministry designed to be a safe place for young people and their families to find true freedom from addictions through the power of Jesus Christ. At this time Refuge is an outpatient program for young men and women ages 13-18. Refuge is designed to minister to adolescents struggling with broken and addictive behaviors such as…

-Pornography

-Drugs and alcohol

-Sexual Promescuity [sic]

-Homosexuality

I won't describe how awful this organisation is; I'll leave it to Zach's blog and the organisation's own site to do that.

The blog hasn't been updated in a few weeks, so it may well be the case that Zach is still in the program (internet use is restricted during the program, as stated in the program rules that Zach publishes in his blog). The program is two weeks long, but may be extended by up to six weeks.

It's clear from the tone of Zach's posts he's in a pretty bad state at the moment. I only hope that he can find some help somewhere, away from his family, and just be himself. And be happy.

Organisations like Love in Action drive me crazy! More on this in my next post ...