News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The congregation of Christ’s Church of New Beginnings must seek a new name in order to legally incorporate.
The church congregation, rocked by sex abuse allegations against Pastor Jeremy Shane Hall, is seeking independent status. In the wake of the allegations, it was discovered that Christ’s Church of New Beginnings is an “assumed business name” of Sue Hall Evangelistic Ministries, Inc.
Sue Hall is the mother of Jeremy Shane Hall and the widow of the founding pastor, Rodger Hall.
The congregation had hoped to continue using the name and it was indicated in a meeting on Sunday, January 7, that Hall would allow that.
However, in an e-mail letter to the congregation, Sue Hall’s son Rodger said that the family intended to keep the name in remembrance of the elder Rodger Hall.
The Nugget spoke to Rodger Hall on Friday, January 13. When asked if there had been a change of heart regarding the name, he responded:
“I don’t know that there was a change of heart. There was nothing discussed with my mother about them keeping the name. They came to my mother and asked if they could change the name to Church of Christ and she encouraged them to do that.”
The e-mail stated that the Halls would be stepping away from the congregation, though members of the congregation have stated that they would welcome her and her family.
Shane Hall is currently barred by court order from attending church or any other place where minors congregate.
The church’s legal status came to light after Sue Hall announced that bond money for her son was taken from the church’s building fund. She told the congregation that she had “refunded” donations made by herself and another person, later determined to be Laverne Anderson of Tucson, Arizona.
Anderson contacted The Nugget last week.
She stated that she had, indeed, contributed funds to the building fund, though she declined to state how much. She said she and her late husband Lawrence had known Rodger and Sue Hall in Oakridge, Oregon, where Anderson still lives part-time.
“Sue has been my good friend for quite a while,” she said.
She said the Halls never solicited a donation to their building fund in Sisters.
“They didn’t ask,” Anderson said. “They were very surprised.”
She said she and her husband donated because, “we had known the Halls so long, we wanted to help them get started.”
She said she was unaware that Christ’s Church of New Beginnings was an assumed business name for Sue Hall Evangelistic Ministries, Inc.
She declined to say whether Sue Hall had asked her permission to use the donation for bond money and she disputed Hall’s statement to the congregation that the use was authorized.
“I think a lot of Sue, but that is not correct,” she said.
Her son Bud Anderson confirmed that the use was unauthorized.
“She did not put up or authorize using that money for bond money,” he said.
However, Rodger Hall insists that the use was authorized.
“I have no idea how much she contributed, but it was authorized,” he said. “Laverne is 100 percent behind our family.”
Hall further noted that, “All of the money for Jeremy’s bail and legal fees is coming from family and friends. No church funds were used to bail out Jeremy.”
Hall stated that, “All the church books and funds were turned over to Matt and Kelly Cyrus,” which Matt Cyrus confirmed on Sunday, January 15.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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