Naghmeh Abedini has gone public with Domestic Violence allegations against her Calvary Chapel pastor husband, Saeed Abedini.
Naghmeh Abedini is my hero.
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse are issues near and dear to my heart….especially as a Child Abuse survivor and witness to much abuse at the hands of Bob Grenier, our Calvary Chapel pastor and step-dad.
It takes a lot of guts and courage to publicly confront these issues. I know, I’ve been ravaged online over and over, been maligned, sold-out, betrayed, even sued by Pastor Bob Grenier and my own mother for speaking publicly about his Abusiveness and Paul Grenier’s molestation allegations that he made under oath and to an Eagle, Idaho police detective, a prominent Child Abuse advocate, Chuck Smith, Dave Rolph, myself, many media outlets and bloggers and many others.
Paul Grenier made a suicide attempt after the Appellate Court rejected the Anti-Slapp motion and was visited a few months later (if memory serves). Soon after those visits….after over a decade of shunning from Camp Bob Grenier….Paul suddenly agreed to some sort of recanting of his molestation story. Paul’s recant is posted on this blog for your consideration…though it is not a recantation under oath. Many are suspicious about the sudden contact from Camp Bob and the subsequent rather abrupt recant after so many years of telling a consistent story to many.
Robert Grenier Jr. called me and several others a few years back and accused Paul Grenier of “molesting” him. I was floored. I didn’t want to believe it initially. The details, according to Robert Grenier Jr., went like this….he and Paul were engaged in “sodomy” and “oral sex” for several years in Pastor Bob’s home. Robert Jr. is a year younger than Paul and has always been physically larger. A “molestation” didn’t add up to me….but an ongoing incestuous relationship did….and where did this sort of perversion come from?
I know Bob Grenier exposed himself to me and Geoff often….walking around us naked as a common practice…genitals fully exposed to us. I remember Bob making me shower with him when I was 10 years old. It was very weird. Creepy in fact. Those are the only details of the showering I will disclose in this article. The whole memory of abuse is very upsetting….to this very day.
Naghmeh Abedini’s story is harrowing. I know what she is going through. She is already facing massive public scrutiny for speaking up about Domestic Abuse by her Calvary Chapel husband. “Private family matter” is the narrative from Calvary Chapel and Camp Bob Grenier with regards to his abuse….I’m hearing similar leveled at Naghmeh. Saeed has come out publicly denying the abuse. Where does Calvary Chapel stand? Is this a “private family matter”? Is Calvary Chapel going to side with Saeed as they have done with Bob Grenier, their “affiliated” Pastor?
The issues of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse are NOT “private family matters”….they are serious issues of Public Interest and very bad evils to confront…publicly…especially when the Abuser is a Pastor in a Position of Trust in our Society.
Naghmeh is a brave woman. She is doing the right thing. My own mother sold me out for my Abuser and their “ministry”…I am proud of Naghmeh for doing the hard thing and the right thing. She is to be admired and supported….and I applaud her for speaking out publicly as a way to inform the Public that these issues DO HAPPEN in “church” and Calvary Chapel…and they are wrong. They are not “private family matters” no matter how many times Calvary Chapel and Camp Bob Grenier repeat that mantra and sue and stomp their feet and hiss.
The Macro-Calvary Chapel Dynamic encourages spouses and women to “submit” to their Calvary Chapel Pastor husbands….and to keep things a “private family matter”. To speak out is to violate the Calvary Chapel “No Talk” rule. It is looked down upon and punished. It is wrong. It needs to change.
I am re-engaged in the Fight. I am going to redouble my efforts. I support Naghmeh and I will fight to the end with everything I’ve got.