History of the Community of Jesus
This information is based on both public records and personal experiences of those who were there.
Cay Andersen and Judy Sorensen meet at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Orleans, MA.
Cay & Judy:
Held Bible Studies and began their healing/teaching ministry.
Met Mother Basilea Schlink from the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, Darmstadt, West Germany.
Traveled to churches along the East Coast of the U.S. to teach at retreats.
Went on group trips to “Canaan” (Darmstadt) with their followers.
Discussed starting their own community with Mother Basilea, who didn’t like the idea. She told them it would never work because: (1) “teenagers and sex” and (2) families would always put their children before service to God.
Later ended (or greatly simmered) their ties with Mother Basilea, but not before absorbing a lot of her teachings, methods, and ideas they would later use at the COJ.
Judy told members of the Community the story of Mother Basilea‘s reasons why Cay & Judy‘s idea would never work (see above). Judy followed up with her determination to prove Mother Basilea wrong, that families could be just as dedicated to God as a single religious person.
Cay & Judy immediately determined that they would not allow teenagers of the opposite sex to be in a relationship until they were both out of high school, nor would they have any excuse to be alone with each other until they were engaged.
Cay & Judy also equated parents‘ putting their children first as idolatry—the worshiping of idols, or putting anything or anyone ahead of God—basically, the sin of breaking the 1st Commandment (“I am the Lord thy God . . . Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”).
Judy would repeat this story in later years.
The Community of Jesus was incorporated. People who followed Cay & Judy’s teaching began moving into the neighborhood behind the Andersen’s Bed & Breakfast (known as “Bethany”) and the Sorensen house (later known as “Zion”).
Because some teenagers were graduating high school, Cay & Judy implemented the rule that if any boy wanted to “enter into a relationship” with a girl (they didn’t call it “dating”), he had to write Cay & Judy and ask permission to date the girl. Cay & Judy had the authority to deny the request (and did, at times).
Cay and Judy became “the Mothers” to the sisterhood and brotherhood, who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, modeled after Catholicism. Because Cay & Judy described the Community as a “modern monastic community,”, they also determined the non-religious vocation individuals would also call them “Mother Cay and Mother Judy” from then on.
Community adults were to be called “aunt” and “uncle” by Community children because Cay & Judy wanted to instill the sense of “we’re all family.”
Also, the houses were to be named after a place in the Bible because it became confusing if someone said they were going to “the Kent’s house”—did you mean the one that the Kents own or the one where the Kents live? By this point, adults and children were already being assigned to live at houses that the adults did not own or houses where the parents did not live.
“The Chapel,” the first large church building, was constructed.
Community adults asked if they could also take vows, just like the sisterhood and brotherhood. The adults would not take vows of poverty or chastity, but would take vows of obedience and permanence. Now, as far as adults go, there were members and vowed members.
“I express my obedience to You, Jesus, through my yieldedness and submission to the Community of Jesus and to my spiritual Mothers, Mother Cay and Mother Judy.”
Members of the Berean Christian School in Brockville, Ontario come to spend a week at the COJ during the summer. During one meeting in the “outdoor chapel,” staff members and their kids agreed to wear neither jeans nor short skirts, and all immediately got shorter haircuts—while still in the outdoor chapel.
The COJ begins allowing people who did not live at the Community to also take vows to Mother Cay & Mother Judy, including the staff at GCC. These people become known as “non-resident members” of the COJ.
The name Berean Christian School is changed to Grenville Christian College (GCC).
Head Master, pages 253–254.
The seven COJ kids currently attending public high school were sent to GCC for the school year on scholarships. However, they were not treated special; they were treated like staff kids (as if they were still living in the Community). This is the start of COJ kids attending GCC for decades to come.
The chapel was consecrated and became “The Chapel of the Holy Paraclete.”
The COJ is included in a book Churches That Abuse by Ronald M. Enroth about people’s experiences at the COJ. The book in general describes the tactics and effects of being hurt by Legalism, Authoritarian Leadership, and Spiritual Intimidation—traits of any high control environment or totalitarian environment (usually called a “cult” by many) through what one site calls “domination psychology.”
WCVB-TV Boston (Channel 5) evening magazine “Chronicle” broadcasts a two-evening show on the Community of Jesus about allegations of several questionable practices and abuse, the responses from Betty Pugsley and other members, and opinions of ministers who have counseled those that have left the organization:
Community of Cult? [both episodes in one video]
David Manuel testifies in a motion to the court that he met Al & Mary Haig in 1972 and invited them to the Community. He further testifies that many at Grenville Christian College took vows to Cay & Judy and the Community.
Also see: PDF of David Manual Affidavit and PDF of the vows ceremony.
“I-Team Investigates,” a part of Boston's WBZ-TV news coverage, did a 3-day series on local high-control organizations—the Community of Jesus being one of them:
“The Fifth Estate,” a Canadian television evening magazine, produces two shows (several months apart) about allegations about Grenville Christian College staff, the lifestyle imposed on the students, and ties to the Community of Jesus:
The Boston Globe publishes an article, “Airman who self-immolate in Gaza protest grew up in secretive religious community on Cape” [PDF].
New York magazine publishes an article, “Aaron Bushnell’s Agonies” [PDF].