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65-472: The Iwerne camps were a series of Christian holiday camps were run in the Dorset village of Iwerne Minster from the 1940s until 2020, which aimed to spread conservative evangelical Christian faith to boys from Britain's most prestigious boarding schools . John Smyth had attended a camp whilst he was at university in the 1960s, and subsequently took a leading role in their organisation. He also gained access to

130-571: A petition was launched on Change.org calling for Welby's resignation. The petition was started by three members of the house of clergy in General Synod : Rev Robert Thompson, Rev Ian Paul, and Rev Marcus Walker. They noted that the Makin Review had concluded that Welby bore responsibility for the failures of the Church of England relating to Smyth. The petition received widespread coverage, including by

195-503: A "lack of interest in social issues" and "a large dose of self-denying otherworldliness." This heritage, and the link to the United States was awkward. Nash emphasised the need for a personal encounter with Jesus, and this "upset one of the ruling assumptions of places like Rugby - that Christianity was the cultural birthright of any Englishman baptised and confirmed in the Church of England." Nash wrote many letters to young men from

260-545: A Christian group at Winchester College , near where he lived. On 2 February 2017, Channel 4 News broadcast a report from Cathy Newman alleging Smyth had violently assaulted boys and young men in England and Africa. In England, Smyth had contacted the victims through his involvement in Winchester College and the camps, and, after a period of "grooming" that could last several years, subjected them to prolonged beatings with

325-399: A ballot; while anyone can be a write-in candidate , a candidate desiring that his or her name appear on printed ballots and other official election materials must gather a certain number of valid signatures from registered voters. In jurisdictions whose laws allow for ballot initiatives , the gathering of a sufficient number of voter signatures qualifies a proposed initiative to be placed on

390-725: A barrister best known for acting for Mary Whitehouse in her 1977 private prosecution for blasphemy against the newspaper Gay News , was a camp leader on the Iwerne camps from 1964 to 1984, chair of the Iwerne Trust 1974–81, and a Scripture Union trustee 1971–79. In 1979, according to a Iwerne Trust report, Smyth began to carry out beatings on boys from Winchester School and from the Iwerne camps. The report found Smyth targeted pupils from leading public schools and took them to his home near Winchester in Hampshire, where he carried out lashings with

455-634: A cane in his garden shed, assisted by a former Winchester pupil, Simon Doggart . After Smyth moved to Africa in 1984, he continued to run holiday camps and abuse a large number of victims. Smyth died of a suspected heart attack on 11 August 2018 at his home in Cape Town. Although the camps were not an official Church of England activity, many of the organisers and speakers were ordained Church of England clergymen . There were claims that these people had first discovered Smyth's abuse in 1982, covered it up, and facilitated Smyth's move to Africa. In August 2019,

520-556: A cause for a hearing is settled. Black's Law Dictionary specifies it as an obsolete method used in admiralty cases. In the United States, the "act on petition" has been used in maritime cases. The first documented petitions were made by slaves building pyramids in Ancient Egypt who petitioned for better working conditions. In pre-modern Imperial China petitions were always sent to an Office of Transmission ( Tongzheng si or 通政司 ) where court secretaries read petitions aloud to

585-600: A dead dog would not." One of Nash's favourite books was Torrey's Why God Used D. L. Moody . Nash's approach was reminiscent of J. C. Ryle 's "reach the few to reach the many" strategy used to counteract the rise of Anglo-Catholicism within the academy. David Fletcher remembers "Bash was told that his work would never succeed because it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but Jesus went on to say that with God all things are possible." The Iwerne camp influence also stretched to University Christian Unions in

650-620: A document in August 2021 detailing its role and actions. Andrew Graystone, a theologian and journalist, wrote a book, Bleeding For Jesus: John Smyth and the cult of the Iwerne Camps , which was published in August 2021. Winchester College commissioned an independent review into the abuse committed by John Smyth, which was published in January 2022. Iwerne camps The Iwerne camps ( / ˈ juː ɜːr n / YOO -ern ), were officially called

715-449: A five talent man." Nash remained on the staff of Scripture Union until 1965 when he stepped down from overall leadership of the camps, though he continued to attend and speak at the camps into his late 70s. He died on 4 April 1982, a few weeks before his 84th birthday. After Nash stepped down in 1965, David Fletcher (son of Labour politician Eric Fletcher ) became responsible for the camps, The holidays were, in theory, run under

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780-573: A garden cane in his shed. It said eight of the boys received a total of 14,000 lashes, while two more received 8,000 strokes between them over three years. Smyth's actions were reported in 1982 to the Iwerne Trust, which carried out its own internal report, compiled by Mark Ruston, vicar of the Round Church Cambridge and Iwerne camp commandant David Fletcher (employed by Scripture Union ). This report detailed abuse against 22 young men, and led to Smyth's removal from involvement in Iwerne, but

845-416: A lawsuit that seeks non-monetary or "equitable" relief, such as a request for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus , custody of a child, or probate of a will, is instead called a petition . Act on petition is a "summary process" used in probate , ecclesiastical and divorce cases, designed to handle matters which are too complex for simple motion. The parties in a case exchange pleadings until

910-409: A senior level delivering serious child and adult case reviews where there has been abuse or neglect. Her work had included reviews of non-current cases and ensuring that victim and survivor input was central to the review process. She had also delivered work with services to implement changes to improve responses as a result of findings from reviews. In October 2024, the Church of England announced that

975-427: Is a highly unusual, even paradoxical hybrid." Gumbel himself will only admit an indirect link. Andrew Atherstone says "parts of Gumbel's Alpha course had their roots in the basic gospel foundations provided by Iwerne." Petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication . In

1040-466: Is no excuse or good explanation that justifies that decision. On 7 November 2024, following publication of the review, a number of Smyth's victims released a public statement through Andrew Graystone. On the same day, Cathy Newman interviewed Justin Welby on Channel 4 News. Welby apologised for the church's failings and indicated that he had considered resigning, but would not be doing so. On 9 November 2024,

1105-469: The BBC , Channel 4, The Times , and The Guardian . John Smyth was an appalling abuser of children and young men. His abuse was prolific, brutal and horrific. His victims were subjected to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks. The impact of that abuse is impossible to overstate and has permanently marked the lives of his victims. John Smyth’s own family are victims of his abuse. Smyth

1170-625: The Inter-Varsity Fellowship . Between 1935 and 1939 all the presidents of the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union were 'Bash' campers, and, according to scholar David Goodhew, "the union was marked by [Nash's] methods: a very simple evangelical gospel; meticulous preparation; a wariness of emotions or intellect and assiduous 'personal work' before and after conversion." John King said: "Many 'Bash campers' went from school to Cambridge and became pillars of

1235-532: The Varsity and Public Schools ( VPS ) holidays and later Iwerne and Forres Holidays . They were commonly known as Bash camps , and were British evangelical Christian holiday camps aimed at children from UK public schools . E. J. H. Nash ("Bash") ran his first holidays in 1930, and from around 1940 these were hosted at Clayesmore School in Iwerne Minster , Dorset . The original camps were aimed at boys from

1300-635: The top thirty private schools . They promoted " muscular Christianity " and conservative evangelical theology, enabling many to become Christian leaders in the Church of England. Later camps were held in other venues and aimed at girls and boys from lower-ranking private schools. The camps were influential in the British post-war evangelical resurgence, with attendees including theologian John Stott , Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby , bishops David Sheppard , Timothy Dudley-Smith and Maurice Wood and Alpha course founder Nicky Gumbel . From 1932 until 2000

1365-540: The 1980s... the steps taken by the Church of England and other organisations and individuals were ineffective and neither fully exposed nor prevented further abuse by him. Church officers and others were made aware of the abuse in the form of a key report in 1982 prepared by the Reverend Mark Ruston. The recipients of that report participated in an active cover-up to prevent that report and its findings – including that crimes had been committed – coming to light. There

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1430-556: The BBC, Channel 4, and The Guardian. On 11 November 2024, Helen-Ann Hartley , the Bishop of Newcastle , also called for the resignation of Justin Welby. She felt that the Church's response to the Makin Review had been disappointing, that its leadership was failing, and that the Archbishop's position was untenable. Welby announced his resignation on 12 November 2024. His resignation letter referenced

1495-513: The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, so that it was possible, when the movement was at its zenith for a boy to go from public school to Cambridge, to ordination, to a curacy and to a parish of his own without encountering the kind of life lived outside those particular circles..." Some have noted that Nash created an "oddly male, oddly elitist, and oddly simplistic world." In 1969, it could be said that much of

1560-534: The Christian gospel of salvation." Nash considered American evangelist R. A. Torrey (1856-1928) to be his theological mentor, and valued the Keswick Convention , encouraging his leaders to attend. In line with Keswick thought, Nash spoke of "being dead to sin" ( Romans 6 :7) using the analogy of a dead dog in the gutter: "A touch of the foot would show if it was only sleeping: it would instantly respond where

1625-630: The Iwerne camps. John Stott reports: "His letters to me often contained a rebuke, for I was a wayward young Christian and needed to be disciplined. In fact, so frequent were his admonitions at one period, that whenever I saw his familiar writing on an envelope, I needed to pray and prepare myself for half an hour before I felt ready to open it." Nash focused on those individuals that he felt had special leadership qualities, "not from snobbery, but from strategy." According to Bishop David Sheppard , Nash would pray "Lord, we know that thou dost love one talent and two talent men, but we pray that thou wouldst give us

1690-465: The Iwerne name. In later years they were grouped with the Forres holidays for younger ( prep school age) children. In 2018, information emerged about abuse carried out in the 1970s and 1980s by Iwerne Trust chairman John Smyth against boys from the camps, with Titus Trust reaching a settlement with survivors in 2020. Further allegations followed of abuse by another Iwerne leader, Jonathan Fletcher. In 2020,

1755-481: The Iwerne operation, with Scripture Union seen as a separate organisation that provided administrative support. Fletcher stepped down from overall leadership of the holidays in 1986, when he became vicar of St Ebbe's Church, Oxford . He became chairman of the Iwerne Trust, serving until the trust's closure in 2016, as well as becoming a trustee of the Titus Trust on its formation in 1997. John Smyth (1941–2018),

1820-624: The John Smyth and Jonathan Fletcher abuse reports, the trust announced that it would be closing down the Iwerne brand. It continues to run holidays under other brands (Lymington Rushmore, Gloddaeth and LDN), some of which originally descended from the Iwerne camps. Nash used a simple "A, B, C" formula to explain what needed to be done for conversion: "Admit your need of Christ; Believe that Christ died for you; Come to Him." The talks, morning and evening, were described by one attendee as "a wonderfully clear, biblically faithful and winsome presentation of

1885-555: The Justice Alliance of South Africa for some years. It transpired that he had practised the same vicious beatings on many more young boys in these countries. The Titus Trust was set up in 1997 to replace the Iwerne Trust, with the aim of clarifying the previously confused relationship between Scripture Union and the trust. In 2000 it took full control of the running of the holidays, with Scripture Union ceasing to be involved. The Iwerne Trust continued to exist until 2016, with some of

1950-474: The Makin Review and accepted that he needed to take "personal and institutional responsibility" for the failures identified by the review. Rev Ian Paul, writing in Evangelicals Now, noted that the resignation was unprecedented, as no previous Archbishop of Canterbury has ever resigned. On 20 November 2024, Keith Makin gave his first interview since the publication of his review. Makin said he was pleased with

2015-521: The National Safeguarding Team of the Church of England announced that it had appointed Keith Makin, a former director of social services , to carry out a "lessons-learnt" review of the handling of allegations of abuse against Smyth. The review was planned to start in August 2019 and finish by May 2020. It actually commenced in November 2019, but completion was significantly delayed. Keith Makin

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2080-487: The Titus Trust announced that it would cease to run holidays under the Iwerne name. The trust continues to run related holidays under its other brands. In 1930, conservative evangelical cleric and Wrekin College school chaplain E. J. H. Nash (1898–1982), known as "Bash", ran a camping holiday for 33 public school boys near Eastbourne , East Sussex . In 1932, Nash was appointed as a staff member of Scripture Union and

2145-564: The United Kingdom, a petition to the parliament in 1990 against ambulance service cuts attracted 4.5 million signatures. Today, petitions in Britain are often presented through the UK Parliament petitions website , the forerunner of which was set up in 2006. Such online petitions are a new form of a petition becoming commonplace in the 21st century. Change.org was founded in 2007 and became

2210-479: The abuse, and the culture of the Trust that enabled John Smyth to evade justice despite awareness amongst so many trustees, associated clergy and senior figures within the Church of England. In August 2018, it was reported that a group of survivors had launched a legal claim against the Titus Trust, who were running the Iwerne Trust camps. The group of men who launched this action said that the Trust had remained silent since

2275-430: The allegations about Smyth emerged. They engaged Richard Scorer to act for them. In March 2020 the Titus Trust reached a settlement with three men "who have suffered for many years because of the appalling abuse of John Smyth". The Trust expressed “profound regret” for the abuse, and apologised for “additional distress” caused by the way it responded to the allegations. A group of Smyth's victims called in response for

2340-463: The assertion that the Trust had done all it could to ensure Smyth was properly investigated, as well as its statement that the Trust was only notified of the allegations in 2014. The survivors went on to say that the Trust had refused to engage with victims, show concern for their well-being, or offer support, and that the survivors "do not believe [Titus Trust] are fit to work with children". In 2018 there were calls for an independent inquiry into both

2405-425: The auspices of Scripture Union, with the Iwerne Trust as merely a fundraising organisation. However, by time of David Fletcher's leadership, the holidays were in practice run as an independent operation, with no meaningful oversight from Scripture Union. Its senior leaders remained legally employed by Scripture Union, but were paid with money provided by the Iwerne Trust, and in practice understood their loyalty to be to

2470-678: The ballot as possible replacements for Davis. After that step, a vote on the recall was scheduled. Other types of petitions include those that sought to free Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment by the former apartheid government of South Africa . The petitions had no legal effect, but the signatures of millions of people on the petitions represented a moral force that may have helped free Mandela and end apartheid. Non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International often use petitions in an attempt to exert moral authority in support of various causes. Other nongovernmental subjects of petition drives include corporate personnel decisions. In

2535-467: The ballot. The 2003 California recall election, which culminated in the recall of Governor Gray Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger , began when U.S. Representative Darrell Issa employed paid signature gatherers who obtained millions of signatures at a cost to Issa of millions of dollars. Once the requisite number of signatures was obtained on the recall petition, other petitions were circulated by would-be candidates who wanted to appear on

2600-477: The colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, or may be transmitted via the Internet. Petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a legal case. The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be called (in most U.S. courts) a complaint . An initial pleading in

2665-572: The development of jurisprudence . The emergence of petitioning during the reign of Edward I of England (1272-1307) contributed to beginnings of legislative power for the Parliament of England . Petitions became a common form of protest and request to the British House of Commons in the 18th and 19th centuries; one million petitions were submitted to the UK's parliament between 1780 and 1918. The largest

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2730-553: The early 1740s, petitions were separated from other affairs and recorded in a unique archive. Hundreds of thousands of petitions were archived in Istanbul between the 15th and 20th centuries. By the early 16th century, a large portion of day-to-day decisions were made in response to petitions. Negotiations between city leaders and the empire often used petitions; this practice continued into the Tanzimat period. These negotiations contributed to

2795-477: The emperor . Petitions could be sent by anybody, from a scholar-official to a common farmer, although the petitions were more likely read to the emperor if they were persuasive enough to impeach questionable and corrupt local officials from office. When petitions arrived to the throne , multiple copies were made of the original and stored with the Office of Supervising Secretaries before the original written petition

2860-498: The findings were not communicated to the police until 2013, and the report was not made public until 2016. Smyth fled the United Kingdom in 1984 and moved to Zimbabwe where, in 1986, he set up summer camps for boys from the country's leading schools. He was arrested in 1997 during an investigation into the drowning of Guide Nyachuru, a 16-year-old adolescent, at the Marondera camp. He then moved to Cape Town , South Africa, where he ran

2925-411: The holidays came under the auspices of the charity, with Nash as the charity's first dedicated independent schools worker. The holidays ran separately from Scripture Union's other holidays under the brand Varsity and Public Schools holidays (VPS), with Scripture Union's name rarely used. The Home Missionary Trust was founded in the 1930s to fund the holidays. In 1945 this became the Iwerne Trust, which

2990-612: The holidays were nominally run under the auspices of Scripture Union , but in practice ran independently, with funding from the Iwerne Trust . In 1997, in a move to regularise oversight of the holidays, the Iwerne Trust was succeeded by the Titus Trust , which in 2000 fully took over formal responsibility for the holidays from Scripture Union. In the early 2000s the holidays moved from Iwerne Minster to Gresham's School in Norfolk , but retained

3055-423: The leadership and passed down the line. The loyalty of the rank and file is such that decisions are respected; any who question are liable to find themselves outside the pale... It does not give a place to the process of argument, consultation and independent thought which are essential to any genuine co-operation, inside the church or outside it. Bishop David Sheppard remarked that Nash could be "single-minded to

3120-574: The leadership of the British Evangelical church had been "Bash campers". King goes on to say that in order to understand the Evangelical mind, therefore, it was necessary to understand the "Bash camp" mind: Controversy is eschewed by "Bash campers"; it is held to be noisy and undignified - and potentially damaging. As a result many issues which ought to be faced are quietly avoided. Any practical decisions that must be made are taken discreetly by

3185-426: The opportunity to see justice done". The trust said that its board had been informed of the allegations in 2014, and since then had done all it could to ensure the matter was investigated. A statement was issued by advocate Andrew Graystone on behalf of a group of survivors who described themselves as 'amongst the scores of victims'. The statement said the survivors were "appalled" by the Trust statement and disputed

3250-424: The point of ruthlessness" and "courageous in challenging people about their actions or priorities," but that this could become "over-direction"; some even needed to make a complete break in order to be free of his influence. Even if some cast doubt on his "rigid focus" and his hope for a national "trickle-down effect" in 2005 John Stott , his most famous protégé, was ranked among the 100 most influential people in

3315-484: The report which had been completed on John Smyth's abuse by the Iwerne Trust in 1982 was communicated to the police, and in 2016 it was made public. An investigation by Channel 4 News in February 2017 revealed reports of abuse by Smyth against at least 22 boys. Smyth died in 2018. Following his death, the Titus Trust released a statement saying it was "deeply regrettable that John Smyth's death has robbed his victims of

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3380-421: The review would be published on 13 November 2024. However, it was actually published on 7 November 2024. It amounted to 253 pages plus 245 pages of appendices. In an interview with Times Radio on 15 November 2024, Cathy Newman stated that the review had been leaked to Channel 4 , which prompted the Church to publish it earlier than initially announced. Publication was reported by many media outlets, including

3445-480: The review's impact and indicated that he had heard from a number of Smyth's victims, who felt that Welby's resignation was the right outcome. Scripture Union commissioned an independent case review into its role in the camps. It published the executive summary in March 2021. The Titus Trust , the successor to the Iwerne Trust which had financed and effectively run the camps at which Smyth contacted many victims, released

3510-488: The same trustees as Titus Trust and channelling its income to the Titus Trust. In the early 2000s, the camps moved from Clayesmore School in Iwerne Minster to Gresham's School , Holt , Norfolk , but retained the Iwerne name. Revd Paul Bolton was overall leader of the holidays in their final years, as a Titus Trust employee from 2001-21, after which he left to become a curate at St Ebbe's Church, Oxford . In 2013,

3575-565: The second tier of public schools, and at Sandroyd School in Rushmore Park, Dorset for girls. Randle Manwaring (in a book later criticised as offering "more partisan pieties than it does historical analysis" ) wrote: The keynotes of Iwerne were always very simple bible teaching and pastoral care through strongly developed friendships at all levels. Attendance was by invitation only and limited to boys at major public schools, at least boarding schools. The unofficial, sotto voce , slogan of

3640-495: The top thirty British public schools . Attendance was by invitation only. Nash used military terminology: he was known as commandant , his deputy, adjutant and the leaders were officers. His prayer was "Lord, we claim the leading public schools for your kingdom." Unobtrusive, yet highly strategic, the enterprise involved simple Bible teaching accompanied by personal friendship and pastoral care. Additional camps began at Walhampton School near Lymington , Hampshire for

3705-456: The trust to disband, as it had protected its own interests rather than offering care and support to victims. The Church of England commissioned the Makin Review into its handling of the abuse allegations. After protracted delays, the review was published in November 2024. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was criticised in the review and resigned shortly afterwards. In 2020, after

3770-611: The world by Time magazine . Alister McGrath describes Nash and his ministry as one of the factors leading to the post-war Evangelical renaissance, saying his work "laid the nucleus for a new generation of Evangelical thinkers and leaders." The Alpha course founder Nicky Gumbel participated in the camps under David Fletcher's leadership. Fletcher described Alpha as: "basically the Iwerne camp talk scheme with charismatic stuff added on." Rob Warner says: "Alpha can therefore be summed up as Bash camp rationalistic conservatism combined with Wimberist charismatic expressivism... this

3835-436: The ‘Bash Camps’ (Bash being the very affectionate name given to E. J. H. Nash) was ‘key boys from key schools’ and, whilst this strategy of creating a patrician, elitist Christian society was criticised by many, the results were most remarkable. Nash secured the support of Head Teachers by recruiting the Christian staff of their schools to his camp. Although he was an Anglican visiting Church of England institutions, his message

3900-430: Was described as "arguably, the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England". He was found to have abused between 115 and 130 boys and young men, and was active from the mid-1970s until close to his death in 2018. The review criticised the response to initial reports of Smyth's behaviour, finding that there was an "active cover-up" to conceal the abuse: John Smyth's activities were identified in

3965-459: Was described as having an extensive knowledge of and background in safeguarding. He was a Director of Social Services, a Chief Executive of an independent child care company and the Director of a Local Government Improvement Agency. He previously led on a large number of abuse inquiries and reviews for both children and adults. Makin was assisted by Sarah Lawrence, who was described as having worked at

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4030-589: Was not necessarily welcome, as many parents would not have been open to their children embracing Evangelical religion. John Stott describes the meetings at Rugby as "strictly off the record and conducted with a good deal of secrecy". Nash lent his favourite books out, (often by R. A. Torrey ) covered in brown paper to disguise them. His approach was shaped by methods common to Evangelical circles in North America, including an expectation of definite decisions for Christ, inquiries into people's spiritual state,

4095-515: Was registered as a charity in 1963. After the outbreak of the Second World War , due to the proximity of their Eastbourne location to Battle of Britain flight paths, the holidays moved to Clayesmore School in the village of Iwerne Minster , Dorset , which would give the camps their name and remain their home for over 60 years. The holidays aimed to preach the Christian Gospel at

4160-548: Was sent to the emperor. Inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire , as individuals and as groups, had the right to petition local representatives of the empire or to petition the sultan directly. In the capital city of Istanbul , a bureau influenced by the one that had existed in Byzantine Constantinople tracked and archived all petitions along with any annotations and administrative actions related to them. Beginning in

4225-642: Was the Great/People's Charter, or petition of the Chartists . The Petition Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The right to petition has been held to include the right to file lawsuits against the government. Petitions are commonly used in the U.S. to qualify candidates for public office to appear on

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