Candlelight Vigil for Meza Children Sept. 9th 2004

by Dogpatch 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  Dogpatch

  

  CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL FOR MEZA CHILDREN

  At 7:30 p.m. on September 9th, we are requesting all who would like to participate to attend a candle light vigil in memory of the Meza children. The location will be at the Rock Hill National Guard Armory, 126 Museum Road in Rock Hill . The purpose will be to offer the community comfort and support for the recent murders that occurred on August 8 as well as show the importance we place of never letting children suffer as silent lambs.

  The program will consist of the following;

  " The purpose of the Candlelight Vigil.

  " Remembering the Meza Family, music comments from friends and family.

  " The call to protect children-comments from abuse support organizations and flyer to distribute on child protection.

  " Meza Child Memorial Fund-Donation memorial to local community and local child abuse support groups.

  " Lighting of candles and moment of silence for all silent lambs.

  Whatever faith you may have or whatever belief system you may subscribe to we all should have one belief in common, that is, children should never be silenced by any authority if they are abused.

  All are invited to attend, candles will be provided on site. There will also be a press conference at the Rock Hill City Hall Plaza Area, at 10:30 a.m. September 8th, the public is invited to attend.

  For further information contact Cindy Fondren 704-614-0684
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  Undaunted Danny

  
  

  JU STICE FAVORS THE NOT FORGOTTEN !
  
  
  
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  Undaunted Danny

  Vigil to call attention to 3 slain children Charlotte Observer (subscription), NC - 2 hours ago ... The throats of all three children were slashed. The Mezas were Jehovah's Witnesses. ... Bowen is a former elder with the Jehovah's Witnesses Church. ...
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  shotgun

  I don't know how that J.R Brown sleeps at night...PR frontman for the Creator of the Universes Visible Organization.

  J.R. Brown of the Jehovah's Witnesses denied that his church "protects" members from allegations of sexual abuse.

  "Our policy is to obey the law and in this instance, the allegations for the sexual abuse came to us in the form of a confession," Brown said from their New York offices on Tuesday. "And we took these allegations to the authorities. And we have documents to prove it."

  DSS officials say the allegations of abuse were reported to them May 3 but will not say who reported it. Brown would not say at what point prior to May 3 the church had knowledge of the allegations.

  Brown says the Rock Hill church did not participate at the Meza family funeral because surviving family members did not request their help. He said the Mezas' church did hold a memorial service the day after the funeral.
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  Undaunted Danny

  Candlelight vigil planned to honor children killed in house fire
  WCNC (subscription), NC - 1 hour ago
  By TIM KNOL / 6NEWS. ROCK HILL, SC -- A candlelight vigil next week will honor three York County children who were killed in a house fire last month. ... Print it | Discuss it | E-mail it to a friend Candlelight vigil planned to honor children killed in house fire

  01:52 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 1, 2004

  By TIM KNOL / 6NEWS

  ROCK HILL, S.C. -- A candlelight vigil next week will honor three York County children who were killed in a house fire last month.

  The vigil will be held at the National Guard Armory Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

  The bodies of Jayro, Denise and Denia Meza were found in their burned out home along with the bodies of their parents in August. The kids? throats had been slashed.

  Just weeks before their deaths, the children's father, Jose Denis Meza, was charged with sexually abusing 14-year old Denia. The coroner also found Denia had been raped within five days of her death.

  The family was a member of the Jehovah?s Witnesses Church. A group called Silent Lambs, which supports victims of abuse who were Jehovah's Witnesses, has set up a fund in the children?s names to support local child abuse groups.

  Silent Lambs has also asked churches to participate in child abuse watch. The group said they would like to change the law so that church leaders must report abuse.

  Discussion link at the top folks join it!
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  Undaunted Danny

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  Abuse awareness group plans vigil for Meza children Speak Out!

  Rock Hill Herald, SC - 43 minutes ago
  Silentlambs, a national support group for Jehovah's Witnesses who are victims of abuse, will hold a candlelight vigil Sept. 9 at ...
  
  
  
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  Aaac

  UD

  Thank you for these links. What a horrible, horrible case.

  I will light up a candle on 9th.
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  Big Tex

  Go in peace dear children.
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  Undaunted Danny

  Jehovah's witness charged with molestation and murder of own ...
  Kentucky Lake Times, KY - 5 hours ago
  ... The throats of all three children were slashed. The Mezas were Jehovah's Witnesses. ... Bowen is a former elder with the Jehovah's Witnesses Church. ... Kentucky Lake Times

  Jehovah's witness charged with molestation and murder of own children A national support group for abused children is coming to York County to bring attention to the recent murders of three children, one of whom was raped in the days before her death. Five members of the Meza family were found dead Aug. 9 after a fire at their house. The father, Denis, had been arrested three weeks before on charges he molested his 14-year-old daughter, Denia. The throats of all three children were slashed. The Mezas were Jehovah's Witnesses. In court cases, the church has been accused of not taking allegations brought to the church to authorities. However, in the Meza case, a national spokesman for the church said Tuesday that it knew of the molestation and reported it to authorities. Bill Bowen, director of Silent Lambs, confirmed Tuesday that he and other children's advocates will host a candlelight vigil Sept. 9 at the Rock Hill National Guard Armory at 7:30 p.m. He said his group will discuss ways to prevent child abuse and will also distribute stuffed toy lambs to area Jehovah's Witnesses churches. Silent Lambs has printed information on how to report allegations of sexual abuse. "A horrible crime took place in Rock Hill; three innocent children were murdered. And one of those children was sexually abused and later raped," said Bowen. "We want to bring attention to this case and the need for sexual abuse allegations to be brought to the authorities quickly so tragedies like this can be avoided in the future." Bowen is a former elder with the Jehovah's Witnesses Church. He quit the church in 2000 after he says church elders refused to address sex abuse allegations involving a member of the church. He says the member was later arrested but was never convicted. His allegations about his former church have been chronicled in The New York Times and by "Dateline NBC." Bowen's Silent Lambs group (www.silentlambs.org) reveals that the church "covers up" allegations of sexual abuse and sometimes does not report those allegations to authorities. Bowen said he decided to come to York County after being contacted by local Jehovah's Witnesses who disapproved of how the cult treated the Meza family. The five members of the Meza family all belonged to a Spanish Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses in their town. Church officials refused to publicly comment about the family, and another church stepped forward to help raise money to pay for the funeral and transportation expenses for family members from Nicaragua. On Aug. 9, the Mezas' three children -- Jayro, 5; Denise, 8; and Denia, 14 -- died before a fire destroyed their home. Officials say one of the parents -- Marbely or Denis Meza -- killed the children. The parents both died of burns and smoke inhalation. York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant said he's awaiting lab results to determine the killer. Denia, who was raped within five days of her death, and her mother had what could be interpreted as "defensive wounds" on their arms. Denis Meza was arrested July 16 on charges of sexually abusing his very own daughter and was ordered to have no contact with her after he moved out of the home in May. He died a week before he was to go to court. J.R. Brown of the Jehovah's Witnesses denied that his church "protects" members from allegations of sexual abuse. DSS officials say the allegations of abuse were reported to them May 3 but will not say who reported it. Brown would not say at what point prior to May 3 the church had knowledge of the allegations. A press conference will be held today at 11:30 a.m. at the Rock Hill City Hall Plaza area to announce the details of the candlelight vigil for the Meza children. Silent Lambs is also establishing a Meza Children's Memorial fund to make a donation in their memory; additional proceeds will go to local child abuse support groups. Want to Know More? To contribute to the memorial fund and to find out more about the vigil, contact Cindy Foundren at (704) 614-0684 --Story submitted by Jerald Higgins, Nashville, TN.
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  Undaunted Danny

  Kentucky Lake Times New memorial fund to be launched, honoring ...
  Kentucky Lake Times, KY - 35 minutes ago
  ... will be announced. The vigil will honor the recently murdered Meza children, whose father was active in the Jehovah's Witnesses. ...

  [...New memorial fund to be launched, honoring murdered kids Will Help Support Local Sex Abuse Victims Groups ..]