The business of giving Mercy - Christianity/Health/Australia
Ruth Pollard; 18/3/08
Deeply felt ties bind Mercy Ministries, Gloria Jean’s and the Hillsong Church, connected through a complicated chain of directors and former directors - as well as donations. As they deal with allegations, revealed in the Herald yesterday, of inappropriate treatment of residents in Mercy Ministries’ Sydney and Sunshine Coast houses, they insist the organisations are completely unrelated, despite sharing common board members and directors. “Hillsong do not own or run Mercy Ministries … Hillsong are a financial supporter, as are many churches in Sydney and around the country,” said Peter Irvine, who until recently was both the managing director of Gloria Jean’s Coffees and a director of Mercy Ministries.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-business-of-giving-mercy/2008/03/17/1205602293116.html
Corporates move quickly to cut ties; Ruth Pollard/ 18/3/08; http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/corporates-move-quickly-to-cut-ties/2008/03/17/1205602293122.html
Ethics, financial probity for review; Ruth Pollard; 18/3/08; http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ethics-financial-probity-for-review/2008/03/17/1205602293119.html
Why Mercy Ministries was godsent for Hillsong
Tanya Levin; 18/3/08
When the Hillsong Church introduced Mercy Ministries to the congregation, there was much excitement. There was finally somewhere that “girls in trouble” could go to keep their babies, or sort out other consequences of their sins while being pampered like a princess into a brand new life. Pastor Bobbie Houston set up a Mercy register at David Jones, much like a bridal register, where members of the congregation could buy household goods for the girls at Mercy House: perhaps a washing machine or a dustpan and brush. It was like one big Hillsong wedding for the Mary Magdalenes they were forgiving. See how good God is to those sorts of girls? But girls who have undergone the Mercy Ministries program say the experience did more harm than good, as the Herald reported yesterday. Rather than receiving psychiatric care and support, they were isolated from the outside world and given treatments which consisted of prayer reading and exorcisms. To understand how this could come about, it is necessary to understand the relationship between Mercy Ministries and the Hillsong Church and the philosophy that unites them.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/why-mercy-ministries-was-godsent-for-hillsong/2008/03/17/1205602284113.html