G.R.A.C.E. has released an update on its independent investigation into the tragic child abuse by Dr. Donn Ketcham, who was an ABWE missionary in Bangladesh more than 22 years ago. Please continue to pray with us for the G.R.A.C.E. team and all involved that this process will bring healing to individuals who have suffered and families that have been affected.
We are encouraged by the process and progress of the G.R.A.C.E. investigation, as we seek truth, to rebuild trust and honor Christ in everything that is said and done. In this spirit of cooperation, Interim Executive Administrator Dr. Al Cockrell and Vice President of Church Relations Dr. Tony Beckett have initiated an in-person meeting with G.R.A.C.E. officials and will be traveling to their Lynchburg, Va., office on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
In the meantime, ABWE has been conducting a review of all personnel records over the 84-year history of this ministry to verify whether any similar past incidents were handled sensitively and appropriately.
As one of the founders of the Child Safety and Protection Network in 2006, we believe the ABWE Policy and Manual for Child Protection, a 63-page document adopted in 2010, will aid in preventing future incidents as we continue God’s work around the world.
Because ABWE is committed to transparency in the investigation, here is G.R.A.C.E.’s update in full:
September 26, 2011—A thorough investigation requires investigators to collect and process as much information as possible prior to engaging with interviews and follow-up document requests. GRACE anticipates receiving and reviewing all such relevant information during the month of October. It is imperative that all information be reviewed by the entire team in preparation for the interview phase of the investigation.
During the past two months, GRACE has continued to collect and carefully review information related to the field in Bangladesh during the tenure of Donn Ketcham. Most of the information obtained has come from the thousands of blog posts on www.bangladeshmksspeak.com.
GRACE continues to work with ABWE to collect copies of files and documents previously requested. At the request of GRACE, ABWE recently replaced the person originally assigned to be the GRACE investigation liaison. It is our anticipation that this change will expedite the production of requested materials.
Members of the GRACE team will be meeting on Wednesday, September 28 with representatives of ABWE leadership. The purpose of this meeting is to further develop a cooperative relationship between GRACE and ABWE as we press forward with this investigation.
During the past few weeks, GRACE has also sent out 73 MK Questionnaires to those for whom we were able to obtain contact information. To date, we have received 41 completed questionnaires.
This is a 56% response rate!
Though that is a very high response rate, we continue to hope that we will receive more completed questionnaires during the coming weeks. The questionnaires received have provided extremely helpful and insightful information related to this investigation.
If you are an MK who had direct association with the ABWE field in Bangladesh during the tenure of Donn Ketcham and have not received a questionnaire, you can find one on www.bangladeshmksspeak.com.
We would be very grateful if you would complete the questionnaire and return it to GRACE at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Based upon the responses to the questionnaires, GRACE is in the process of scheduling in-person interviews with MKs who have expressed a willingness to meet with our investigative team. The first round of interviews is scheduled to take place November 4 & 5 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia was chosen for this round of interviews to assure that two essential GRACE team members would be able to participate. We are deeply appreciative of this opportunity to hear first hand the experiences of those who lived as children on the ABWE field in Bangladesh. We are hopeful that the information learned during these first round of interviews will greatly assist the investigative team as it seeks to learn more about:
- the behavior of Donn Ketcham
- the mission culture of the ABWE field in Bangladesh
- the overall ABWE leadership dynamics at that time.
These interviews will undoubtedly provide more data that will need to be investigated and evaluated by the GRACE team.
Once again, the GRACE team covets your prayers and support as we move into this next vital phase of this investigation.
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