House of Prayer parents cooperating with efforts to reunite them with children

Posted 9:53PM on Wednesday 8th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

ATLANTA - Officials say members of the House of Prayer church are cooperating with efforts to reunite them with their children, who were seized by the state last year after an abuse investigation. The parents at the church had previously vowed not to change their disciplinary practices and said the state was asking them to violate their religious beliefs. Parents of eight children who remain in state custody have attended court-ordered counseling sessions, and others have participated in supervised visits with their children who are in foster care, officials said during a hearing in Fulton County Juvenile Court on Tuesday. In all, 49 children were removed from the homes of members of the small northwest Atlanta church last year after accusations that they were routinely disciplined with severe beatings. Eleven members of the church pleaded innocent to aggravated assault and child cruelty charges in March, and a trial is expected this fall. One of them is the Rev. Arthur Allen Jr., the church pastor. ``It's not going to be a fast process,'' Mary Hermann, a court-appointed lawyer for the children, said of reuniting the families. ``But I think we've made some major steps, more steps within 60 days than in a year.'' The cooperation of the parents marks a dramatic shift from February, when state social services officials said they would terminate the parents' rights and put the children up for adoption. Church members had refused any terms set by judges or social workers, especially any that would restrict their ability to use corporal punishment. Allen teaches that spanking is the only appropriate punishment for some infractions, and some children have been whipped during church services. Juvenile Court Judge Peggy Walker said the parents' cooperation should allow all but two children a teen-age mother and her baby to go home this summer or ``when it's safe and appropriate to do so.'' ``You are doing what it takes to get these children to come home,'' Walker told one family. During Tuesday's hearing, a state-appointed psychologist, LeRoy Reese, testified that the parents are frustrated about the handling of the abuse case and suggestions that they shouldn't follow their religious beliefs in disciplining their children. ``For them, the Bible is an important reference,'' Reese said. ``The Bible has really informed them not only in their lives, but how they approach parenting.'' The parents continue to resist restrictions. David Wilson, whose 8-year-old daughter remains in foster care, told the judge that he and others have attended counseling sessions ``just because we were ordered to.'' Another father, David Duncan, said spanking would remain one of the methods he and his wife will use to punish their children. Five of their children remain in state custody.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/194926