ST. LOUIS 鈥 A local pregnancy resource center and its embattled leader are now suing pastors of one of the area鈥檚 biggest churches for defamation.
Pastors Wes Martin and Ron Tucker at Grace Church St. 亚洲无码 were added last week as defendants to a lawsuit filed against a St. Charles County couple whose complaints about ThriVe St. 亚洲无码 President Bridget VanMeans have led to declining support for the taxpayer-supported nonprofit, which encourages alternatives to abortion for women with unplanned pregnancies.
Since Aaron and Tricia Leu went public with their allegations about VanMeans, six churches, including Grace, have cut ties to ThriVe, donations have dropped and employees have quit. Former ThriVe board members have called for VanMeans鈥 ouster, and ThriVe鈥檚 three Missouri centers are struggling to remain open, employees tell the Post-Dispatch.
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ThriVe and VanMeans sued the Leus on Sept. 13 in St. Charles County circuit court; the two pastors were added to the complaint a week later.
Grace Church, a non-denominational Christian congregation founded in 1978, has a few thousand members with locations in Maryland Heights and Granite City. It was a longtime supporter of ThriVe鈥檚 mission, helping raise money, inviting VanMeans to speak, and hosting parenting classes and graduation ceremonies for ThriVe clients.
In July, Grace became the first church to announce it was cutting ties with the group.
鈥淭he allegations brought to our attention span over many years and have come from a multitude of different people, all with their own experiences. These include verbal and spiritual abuse, manipulative and unethical behavior 鈥 all of which fall short of the godly standards expected in Christian ministries,鈥 the church leaders wrote in a letter to congregants.
They explained to their congregation that they had spent months talking to ThriVe employees, many of whom were their own church members, to learn about their experiences under VanMeans. The pastors said they took their concerns to ThriVe鈥檚 board, asking for a third-party investigation into the allegations, but were rebuffed.
鈥淲e have exhausted efforts with the ThriVe Board of Directors, to thoroughly, without bias, investigate these claims,鈥 the pastors said.
ThriVe鈥檚 lawsuit, however, accuses Grace Church leaders of 鈥渞ecklessly鈥 accepting false accusations made by the Leus and seeking to force VanMeans out before giving her a chance to respond.
The lawsuit goes on to accuse the pastors of 鈥渓aunching a campaign to defame and impugn Ms. VanMeans among local Christian churches鈥 to force her termination.
Martin, lead pastor at Grace Church, told the Post-Dispatch that the church鈥檚 pastoral team did not ask for VanMeans鈥 removal, only an independent investigation. The board refused, Martin said, dismissing the accusations as 鈥渁 political hit job.鈥
Martin also said he didn鈥檛 send the allegations to other pastors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e shocked,鈥 he said about being sued. 鈥淎t no time have we ever conspired or campaigned with anyone to have her terminated. That鈥檚 nonsense and not true.鈥
The Rev. Michael Bond of Liberty Church in O鈥橣allon, Mo., whose church announced in August it was severing its relationship with ThriVe, said he has never communicated with the pastors at Grace Church, or any of the other pastors cutting ties.
Bond said he dropped his church鈥檚 support after emailing ThriVe鈥檚 board several times and forwarding them letters from current and former employees and volunteers. He never heard back from the board or VanMeans, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sad day when you feel like you need to sue pastors who have stood with you, championed your organization, supported you as a church and financially championed you,鈥 Bond said.
Bond is now working with three former ThriVe board members who say they are looking to restore ThriVe鈥檚 reputation and ability to provide services.
The group sent a letter last week to the current board, anonymously signed by 27 of ThriVe鈥檚 remaining 38 employees due to fear of retaliation, calling for the immediate removal of VanMeans and an expansion of the board, down to only three members
The board has not responded, Bond said. Craig Weber, president of the board, has also not responded to requests for comment by the Post-Dispatch.
The lawsuit claims the Leus 鈥渕anipulated鈥 church leaders and disgruntled former and current employees to attack VanMeans and demand her termination.
Tricia Leu, a former sex worker, was supported by the ThriVe during the birth of her first child in 2008, then became an ambassador for the organization. In 2011, she married Aaron Leu, and they settled in Lancaster, Ohio. The couple and their children returned to St. 亚洲无码 in 2021 at VanMeans鈥 invitation; and Aaron became a ThriVe employee. He resigned the following year.
The Leus, along with 17 other current and former employees, recently described to the Post-Dispatch what they called a hostile work environment at ThriVe, where they said VanMeans used intimidation and public humiliation to control employees. They described a workplace with high turnover and vacant positions. They alleged money was wasted on lavish gifts for donors and outings for upper management, an allegation disputed by ThriVe鈥檚 attorney, Michael Quinlan.
The Leus also shared in detail how after months of what they called grooming, VanMeans came to control every aspect of their personal lives, orchestrated them to separate and almost divorce, which left them and their five children traumatized.
The Leus and the other employees say they decided to share their stories publicly after they said ThriVe鈥檚 board of directors refused to properly investigate their allegations.
The lawsuit, however, claims that Aaron Leu is retaliating against VanMeans for having the couple reported to child protective services 鈥渄ue to their child neglect and abuse.鈥 The lawsuit suggests Aaron Leu is blaming VanMeans for his family鈥檚 dysfunction, and paints Tricia Leu as desperate for VanMeans鈥 help.
The couple denies the claims made in the lawsuit.
Martin at Grace Church also refutes the idea that the church鈥檚 actions were driven by the Leus鈥 story.
鈥淥ur appeal to the board to independently investigate was well beyond the Leus,鈥 he said, 鈥渁s the allegations against (VanMeans) were also from several of our church members.鈥