OSTERVILLE - A Baptist minister embroiled in a lawsuit with a former Sunday school teacher who claimed he made unwanted advances is leaving the church.
The Rev. Michael A. Rowe of Osterville Baptist Church made the announcement at the end of a worship service Sunday.

Rowe, 48, said he will deliver his last sermon on Mother's Day and leave to work at the First Baptist Church in Wheaton, Ill.

"I cannot call this so much a resignation from this ministry as rather a God-ordained transfer to a new place of service," Rowe announced and wrote in a letter. "We love those of you in our congregation here with all our hearts, and it is acutely painful to contemplate leaving you."

Copies of his letter were distributed to church members Sunday.

Rowe, his wife Marjorie and church deacon Paul R. Gage were sued in August 2000 by former Sunday school teacher Cynthia Hinckley of Centerville, who claimed Rowe made passes at her in 1997 and later impugned her reputation by telling lies to other church members.

In February 2001, the Rowes and Gage filed a countersuit against Hinckley and two of her friends, Rona Hart and Tori Packer, alleging the three women libeled and slandered them with the allegations. The resulting furor in the church led to a 59-2 vote by its members to oust Hinckley in April 1998.

Hart and Packer left the church of their own accord. Rowe did not return phone calls seeking comment.

A Barnstable Superior Court judge imposed a gag order on Hinckley, Hart and Packer last summer, forbidding them from corresponding with others about the lawsuit.

The three women were also ordered to stay 200 feet away from the Rowes, Gage and the church.

In August, Hinckley was cited for contempt for violating the order on correspondence and was told by Barnstable Superior Court Judge Richard Connon that she would be fined if the order were violated again.

"I'm puzzled that the Rowes have chosen to leave in the midst of litigation," Hinckley said. "But I'm confident that given the evidence, justice will prevail and these terrible wrongs will be made right."

Hart said she was "stunned" by the news. "I wish that he would tell the truth," she said.

"It's a surprise," Packer said. "I hope that he would do right."

The Rowes attended Wheaton College and were wed there, and two of their five children are planning to attend Wheaton College.

Rowe made no mention of the lawsuits in his letter Sunday.

He came to Osterville Baptist in 1989 from a youth pastor's post in Nashua, N.H.

Lawyers on both sides are still collecting documents and deposing witnesses. The cases are not expected to go to trial until next year.

Rowe's final day in the pulpit will be on May 12, Mother's Day, and May 15 will be his last day in the office.

He plans to hold a joint baptism service on June 16 at Dowses Beach with Brad Peterson, Osterville Baptist's youth minister.
Copyright, 2002, Cape Cod Times. All Rights Reserved.

OSTERVILLE – A defamation case brought by a parishioner against a former Osterville Baptist Church minister and his wife will  go to trial.

In a ruling dated April 29, Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson denied a motion to dismiss charges of slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress against pastor Michael Rowe and his wife, Marjorie.

“The judge has made his ruling and we’ll proceed to trial,” said Harold Jacobi III, the attorney representing the Rowe family.

The family moved to Illinois last year after Michael Rowe accepted a position at a larger church in his home state.

The case was brought forward in 2000 by Cynthia Hinckley, a former assistant Sunday school teacher, who claims Rowe and others forced her out of the church after she spoke about instances when the pastor allegedly kissed her.

The first alleged incident occurred in 1997 after the baptism of Hinckley’s son at Dowses Beach in Osterville.  As he walked out of the water, Hinckley claims Rowe grabbed and kissed her.  “She interpreted the kiss not as one of religious fervor but of carnal passion.” According to court documents.

The religious teacher claimed she met with Rowe to talk about the incidents.  After their meeting, Hinckley claims, Rowe told church members she was pursuing him.

Both side claim what happened afterward was a series of letter campaigns and slanderous attacks.  Hinckley twice removed herself from the church and then rejoined but was voted out of the church after a disciplinary hearing.

Hinckley then filed suit, which prompted the Rowes to file a counterclaim against Hinckley and two of her friends, Tori Packer and Rona Hart.

Nickerson ruled there was enough question of fact to warrant a trial.

“What this means is my complaint is valid,” Hinckley said yesterday.  “Eventually they will be exposed.”

A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 14.  A trial could run tow weeks, Jacobi estimated.

A settlement agreement is unlikely, according to Gerald F. Williamson, the attorney representing Hinckley. “She wants to be vindicated.  She wants her trial.”

I don’t think this case is about money,” Williamson said.  “ Its about a married woman’s reputation.”

Nickerson dismissed similar charges against deacon Paul R. Gage, saying the comments he made about Hinckley were mostly confined to a church disciplinary hearing, which is not subject to civil actions.  The judge also ruled that a comment made outside the hearing by Gage was his opinion and not subject to defamation claims.

Jacobi said he will ask the judge to clarify his decision because many of Hinckley’s defamation claims against Rowe stem from internal church hearings.

“ I think it’s going to be a very interesting to see what facts come out,” Jacobi said.  “eventually we will prevail”

BARNSTABLE - The trouble at Osterville Baptist Church began with a single disputed kiss between a Sunday School leader and the pastor. But the turmoil ended up churning the congregation of the white-clapboard church, disrupting Bible studies, and dividing prayer partners.

At the height of the controversy, a former Bible teacher planted herself outside the church that overlooks the village's pricey and picturesque center, wearing a custom-designed pink sweatshirt that read, "Tell the truth." A deacon hid inside a closet to eavesdrop on a meeting between the woman and the pastor. Church leaders took out restraining orders against the woman and two former church members. Along the way, the church expelled Cynthia Hinckley, the woman who said the pastor kissed her. She sued, alleging church leaders defamed her by suggesting she was an emotionally needy woman who pursued the minister against his will and tried to seduce him with miniskirts.

"A lot of people got into a feverish pitch over this thing," Hinckley said in a recent interview. "They just went into a frenzy of, `Shut her up, get her out of here, save the church.' "

After Hinckley sued, the pastor and his wife countersued. The case could go to trial this summer.

Such public scandals are rare in Osterville, a village of Barnstable, where a 20-room mansion complete with three-hole golf course set a record this spring when it went on sale for $26 million. But church disputes spilling into public view are increasingly common.

Last year, the state Supreme Judicial Court considered a lawsuit brought by an Episcopal priest who sued after he was disciplined for "immoral" conduct with a female parishioner. And the clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic church has resulted in hundreds of public lawsuits.

Hinckley said church leaders ruined her reputation by saying she flirted with Pastor Michael A. Rowe, wore seductive clothing, and pursued him even as he stood beside his wife, Marjorie, after services.

Church leaders filed a countersuit, contending that Hinckley, 51, had defamed them by spreading lies about Rowe's attraction to her across the Cape and beyond. She and her friends wrote hundreds of libelous letters, they charge, to other pastors and religious groups about the dispute.

In Osterville, whose population is about 3,600, Hinckley could not avoid the people she once worshipped beside. She said she was hounded by church members at the annual Osterville Christmas Stroll. Her husband hired a private investigator to document the harassment, she said.

One year, Hinckley alleges, the pastor's wife shouted at her, "Satan, we rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

Michael and Marjorie Rowe have since moved to a larger church in Wheaton, Ill. They could not be reached for comment.

But their lawyer, Harold Jacobi, said that Hinckley rejected chances to resolve the dispute more amicably outside the courtroom. "I think it's been devastating to the Rowes because they've been emotionally abused by this woman," he said.

Hinckley, a day-care provider in Centerville, another village of Barnstable, was looking for a new church when she settled into Osterville Baptist in 1994. At first she went alone to the Sunday morning service. Then she began taking the older of her five children to Sunday school. Gradually, they began to spend more and more time at the church.

Hinckley was named assistant Sunday school superintendent in 1997. Her sons joined the youth group and attended Teen Discipleship meetings. Wednesday night was the mid-week prayer meeting.

The trouble started, Hinckley said, on a June day in 1997. Rowe was baptizing several members of the church, including one of Hinckley's sons, at Dowses Beach in Osterville. As Hinckley and Rowe were talking after the baptism, Hinckley said Rowe kissed her passionately.

She was deeply upset by the kiss, she said, and by two other kisses that followed over the next few weeks. Even so, Hinckley acknowledges initiating another kiss herself to cheer Rowe up.

Hinckley met with Rowe several times, she said, and he apologized, admitting that he had "a problem in that area." Hinckley said he promised to limit physical contact with her to a handshake.

But that fall, she said, some members of the church began ostracizing her. They would give her dirty looks. Eventually, she sat alone in her pew.

Rowe denied that he had kissed Hinckley inappropriately.

When Rowe and the church's assistant pastor met with Hinckley at her house in late 1997, a deacon hid in a closet in Hinckley's house and listened to their conversation, according to court papers filed by both sides.

Hinckley said the deacon, who has since moved out of state, wanted to hear Rowe's explanation; she said Rowe admitted at that meeting that she was blameless. The former deacon, John Marino, will testify for Hinckley at the trial.

After the church's board of deacons determined that neither Rowe nor Hinckley had committed any sin, the deacons announced they would "not tolerate any further discussion, letter writing, phone calling, or gossip" about the issue, according to the Rowes' counterclaim.

But Hinckley continued to make accusations, both in letters and in speech, the Rowes' suit contends. In late April 1998, church members voted 61 to 2 to rescind Hinckley's membership in the church.

"It's like I'm hanging out there to dry all alone," Hinckley said.

Church officials also went to court and got a restraining order against Hinckley, her friend, Tori Packer, and another friend, prohibiting them from writing letters about the dispute or setting foot on church property. All three women were later found in contempt of the order.

When Hinckley joined a new church, Living Hope Family Church in Hyannis, she said the Rowes called her new pastor. In an affidavit, Pastor Michael Petzer, who now works in Arizona, said Osterville Baptist Church leaders told him Hinckley was deranged and urged him to discipline her or throw her out of the church.

In their countersuit, the Rowes say Hinckley was the aggressor, with an unrequited crush on her pastor. Once she was appointed to the Sunday school post, the suit contends, Hinckley began to call or write Rowe five or six times a week.

Their lawsuit calls the exchange that transpired after the baptism a "brief hug and kiss" viewed by others nearby. In the ensuing months, they say, Hinckley tried to kiss Rowe again, including after church when he stood beside his wife and greeted members of the congregation.

In July 1997, Rowe met with Hinckley to discuss her unwanted attention, asking her to stop all attempts at physical contact with him, according to court documents filed in the Rowes' case.

Jacobi said that Hinckley and her friends wrote letters disparaging the Rowes to other pastors on the Cape and to the Rev. Jerry Falwell in Virginia.

"We're talking about very close to 600 letters that were written by Mrs. Hinckley [and her friends] in which they castigate Pastor Rowe and his wife and hold them up to contempt and ridicule in the larger community," he said.

CAPE COD TIMES 6/14/2003

BARNSTABLE - Claims of slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress filed against a former Osterville Baptist Church pastor will be aired in a trial this fall. 

The trial, set yesterday for Oct. 6 by Superior Court Judge Elizabeth B. Donovan, comes three years after a former assistant Sunday school superintendent cried fowl against the Rev. Michael Rowe and his wife Marjorie.

Rowe has since moved to serve at a larger church in Illinois.

Cynthia Hinckley brought the case forward in 2000 after the pastor allegedly kissed her in the moments following a beach-side baptism. Hinckley claims when she tried to speak to the pastor and others in the church about that incident and subsequent events, they set out to ruin her reputation.

Attorneys for both parties could not be reached for comment. 

On April 29, Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson denied a motion filed by Rowe attorney Harold Jacobi III to dismiss the charges. 

The trial is set to run between three and four weeks.
 

The case brought by Cynthia Hinckley against the Rev. Michael Rowe, former pastor of the Osterville Baptist Church, will go to trial in the fall. The charges include claims of slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Rowe has moved on to a church in Illinois. Hinckley is a former assistant Sunday school superintendent. Her complaint was made three years ago.

Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson ruled in April that the charges against Rowe should not be dismissed.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Judge weighs suits over church dispute
BARNSTABLE (MA)
Cape Cod Times

By EMILY C. DOOLEY
STAFF WRITER
BARNSTABLE - Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson heard arguments Thursday to dismiss a case filed by an assistant Sunday school superintendent who claimed former Osterville Baptist Church pastor Michael Rowe harassed her and then disparaged her character to other members of the church. 

In response to Cynthia Hinckley's lawsuit, Rowe, his wife Marjorie and deacon Paul Gage filed a countersuit claiming defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He included Hinckley's friends, Tori Packer and Rona Hart as defendants. 

Boston attorney Harold Jacobi III argued Hinckley's case should be dismissed because it was based on belief and not fact. "She imagined or perceived that people were talking about her to the church," Jacobi said. 

He also claimed disciplinary actions within the church were not subject to civil proceedings and that her claims of slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress were not matters for the courts. "Civil courts can not intervene in matters of religious discipline," Jacobi said. 

But Hinckley's attorney, Gerald F. Williamson, disagreed and pointed to recent court cases in Boston surrounding the Catholic Church clergy sex abuse cases. "There is something wrong that says priests can't be held accountable in courts," Williamson said. "If that's the case, there are Catholic priests who were tried in violation."

Posted by Kathy Shaw 7:59:55 AM
 

By EMILY C. DOOLEY
STAFF WRITER

HYANNIS - A defamation dispute involving a former Osterville Baptist Church parishioner and her pastor begins tomorrow in Barnstable Superior Court, six years after alleged kisses between the two led to charges of slander and libel on both sides. 

Former assistant Sunday school superintendent Cynthia Hinckley filed a lawsuit against the Rev. Michael Rowe, his wife, Marjorie Rowe, and deacon Paul Gage in August 2000 claiming slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

Hinckley claims Michael Rowe kissed her after a group baptism at Dowses Beach and on one other occasion. After she tried to talk about what happened and move forward, Hinckley said, the congregation began to turn on her. She claims it was because of comments coming from within the church and, specifically, from Gage and the Rowes. 

During the ordeal, she left the church twice and then rejoined, but was voted out by the membership after a disciplinary hearing. That's when she filed the suit, which seeks unspecified damages. 

Four months after Hinckley filed her lawsuit, the Rowes and Gage filed a countersuit alleging defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They also named Hinckley's friends Tori Packer and Rona Hart in the suit. 

In May of this year, Judge Gary Nickerson dismissed the case against Gage but ruled there was enough evidence to go to trial regarding the rest of the suit and countersuit. 

The jury trial, which could last up to four weeks, begins at 9 a.m. in front of Nickerson and could likely become one of the most unusual local cases to come out of the courthouse. 

Hinckley, Hart and Packer are all representing themselves. Hinckley is also waiting for Nickerson to rule on a request she submitted to place the Rowes' attorney, Harold Jacobi III, on the stand for questioning. She claims comments Jacobi made during a request to dismiss the case were slanderous. 

"Line after line after line was absolutely untrue," Hinckley said. "Untrue to the degree that he lied knowingly and willingly." 

Jacobi's office declined to comment. 

Rowe, who moved to become senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Wheaten in Illinois last year, was en route to Cape Cod last week and not available for comment. 

There is a large cast of witnesses that will be called, including Barnstable School Supt. Andre Ravenelle; a former Osterville Baptist Church deacon who hid in a closet to eavesdrop on a conversation between Hinckley and Rowe; and a pastor from a Baptist church in Hyannis where Hinckley joined after being voted out of the Osterville church. Hinckley alone has a list of 22 witnesses. 

"I'm actually not sure why I am subpoenaed," Ravenelle said. "I don't know these people personally. I've never interacted with them." 

A letter to the editor of the Cape Cod Times written by Ravenelle is what brought him to the witness list. Hinckley claims it libels her and she wants to know if the Rowes provided information to Ravenelle. "What did the Rowes tell him," Hinckley said. 

Nickerson expects to make it through jury selection and on to opening remarks during the first day. 

"I'm so glad the truth is finally going to be exposed," Hart said. "It shouldn't have gone on all this long."

(Published: October 13, 2003) 
source http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/churchdispute13.htm

The head deacon at First Baptist Church in Wheaton said the congregation is "fully supportive" of its pastor, who faces a defamation lawsuit that goes to trial in Massachusetts today.

First Baptist's senior pastor, the Rev. Michael Rowe, and a parishioner at Rowe's former church in Osterville, Mass., have sued each other, accusing the other of libel and slander.

Three years ago, Cynthia Hinckley, a former assistant Sunday school superintendent at Osterville Baptist Church, sued Rowe and his wife, Marjorie, claiming slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Four months later, the Rowes counter-sued, alleging Hinckley and two of her supporters, Rona Hart and Tori Packer, defamed the Rowes and caused intentional emotional distress.

The dueling suits stem from claims by Hinckley that in 1997, Rowe grabbed and kissed her after a group baptism and on one other occasion.

Reached Monday at her Cape Cod home, Hinckley said she was prepared at first to forgive the whole incident, and admitted she later gave Rowe a "quick kiss" to show she was not mad at him.

But Hinckley, who is representing herself in Barnstable Superior Court, said she then became the subject of glares and whispers by fellow parishioners led to believe she instigated the original kiss.

Hinckley said she lost her Sunday school job and claims Rowe and other church officials humiliated her, smeared her name and eventually forced her out of the church after she spoke out about the alleged kiss.

About two years after leaving the church, Hinckley said, she decided to file suit after she learned that Rowe had disparaged her to her new pastor.

Rowe is in Massachusetts for the trial and could not be reached for comment Monday.

But First Baptist deacon board chairman Jim Stamoolis (pmi: more on Stamoolis at email  women&abuse) said Hinckley's charges were fully investigated by the church's search committee, and shared with the local congregation, before Rowe was invited to be pastor in Wheaton last year.

"We are fully supportive of and have complete confidence in the Rowes, and don't believe there is any substance to (Hinckley's) account," he said.

Stamoolis said Rowe even took pains to protect Hinckley's identity when discussing her allegations with Wheaton church officials.

The Rowes have "acted in an exemplary manner," Stamoolis said.

The civil trial is expected to last a few weeks.

• Cape Cod (Mass.) Times Staff Writer Emily C. Dooley contributed to this report.

source:http://www.dailyherald.com/dupage/main_story.asp?intID=3790817

10/23/03 Mrs. Tori Packer witnessed [step three Matthew 18] that as far as she and her former attorney's knows and Mrs. Cynthia Hinckley and Mrs. Rona Hart and their attorney's know, they were NEVER contacted by anyone from the First Baptist Church of Wheaton for their witness.

These Emails were sent 10/20/03 from whom we're still waiting their replys...

info@ostervillebaptist.org
Hello...Please direct this to your Head Deacon/Elder for his review and response...

Dear Elder/Deacon, can you please confirm or clarify Rev. Jim Stamoolis-Head Deacon Wheaton First baptist Church quote...thank you, Bill Fields

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <stewards@peacemakers.net>
To: <fbc.info@fbcwheatonil.org>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 9:00 AM
Subject: Rev. Jim Stamoolis-Head Deacon Wheaton First baptist Church
 

> Hello Rev. Stamoolis, if I may ask a few questions for clarification based  on your quote...
>
> "But First Baptist deacon board chairman Jim Stamoolis said Hinckley's charges were fully investigated by the church's search committee, and shared with the local congregation, before Rowe was invited to be pastor in Wheaton last year."
>
> Wheaton pastor's defamation lawsuit goes to trial today
> By Diana Wallace Daily Herald Staff Writer
> Posted October 14, 2003
>
> 1. Is this quote accurate?  If yes, did you use a Matthew 18 "church discipline" process to investigate?
> 2. Did you "establish every word" with Biblical witnesses by all parties/sides in these disputes?
> 3. Did you "tell it to the church" all findings from all sides of these disputes?
>
> Thank You, and you all are in our prayers for God's justice, mercy and grace...
>
> bill fields
> stewards@peacemakers.net
 

Opening remarks in a Cape Cod courtroom centered around an alleged kiss in 1997 between the Rev. Michael Rowe, then pastor at Osterville Baptist Church in Osterville, Mass., and former Assistant Sunday School Superintendent Cynthia Hinckley.

The aftermath led to dueling civil suits between Hinckley and Rowe, who left Massachusetts last year to become senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Wheaton.

Hinckley, who eventually lost her job and was expelled from the church, claims her efforts to get past the kiss led to an orchestrated effort by church leaders to discredit her.

In 2000, she filed a lawsuit against Rowe and his wife, Marjorie, as well as Osterville deacon Paul Gage, claiming slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

"They have done so with a vengeance, with heartless malice," Hinckley told the jury in her opening remarks, "all to cover up the indiscretions of a married pastor."

The Rowes and Gage counter-sued four months later, adding Hinckley's friends Rona Hart and Tori Packer to the case. The Rowes and Gage alleged defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Judge Gary Nickerson dismissed the claims against Gage earlier this year.

"This case is really one of contrasts, between fiction and truth, between what is misconstrued by Mrs. Hinckley and what is reality," the Rowes' attorney, Harold Jacobi III, said in court Tuesday.

Jacobi questioned the libel claim, saying he knew of one letter that his client sent out about Hinckley. This, he said, was in contrast to an estimated 118 letters Hinckley wrote about the church and the Rowes.

"This is much ado about nothing," Jacobi said.

Hinckley, Hart and Packer are all representing themselves.

The bitter relationship between both sides came out almost immediately. At one point, Nickerson had to change the seating arrangements for the plaintiffs and defendants so as to "minimize the risk of confrontation."

He also stopped the trial, sent the jury out of the room and explained court rules to Hart while she gave her opening remarks. Emotional fervor and personal attacks were not allowed, he said.

Once the jury returned, Hart continued with her opening, saying the church leaders committed an ecumenical cover-up. She spoke about a time when Michael Rowe needed to stop a deposition to talk with his attorneys.

Nickerson threatened her with contempt of court for attacking the Rowes. He later refused to let her continue opening remarks.

"It is obvious you don't have any notion as to what an appropriate opening argument is," Nickerson told Hart.

Before moving to the Wheaton church, Rowe spent 13 years as senior pastor in Osterville.

Only two people testified Tuesday. One was Patricia Greene, a former church member who led prayer groups and sat on the church's board of Christian education. She spoke about conversations with Marjorie Rowe. Greene said that during a prayer meeting, the pastor's wife once said, "Whoever hurts my family, let there be a curse upon them."

• Emily C. Dooley is a staff writer for the Cape Cod (Mass.) Times.

source:http://www.dailyherald.com/dupage/main_story.asp?intID=3790929

BARNSTABLE - A registered nurse being sued for allegedly defaming a former Cape pastor and his wife admitted in court yesterday to providing false information to a reporter, sending letters to people about the couple and speaking with patients about the leadership at her former church.

Rona Hart took the stand yesterday as a witness for Cynthia Hinckley, who in 2000 sued former Osterville Baptist Church Rev. Michael Rowe, his wife and a deacon claiming they slandered and libeled her. Hinckley's lawsuit claimed the trio were part of a concerted effort to ruin her reputation after she tried to talk with Michael Rowe and other church members about a kiss that allegedly happened between the two after a beachside baptism in 1997.

In response, the Rowes and Deacon Paul Gage countersued claiming defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They named Hinckley, Hart and Tori Packer in the lawsuit.

Hart testified that during the 1999 Christmas Stroll in Osterville she heard Marjorie Rowe loudly say "Satan, in the name of Jesus, we rebuke you" in the direction where Hinckley standing.

"It was almost like an incantation, over and over and over," Hart testified.

But on cross-examination, Hart came under fire for a comment she made to a Cape Cod Times reporter in which she claimed to have seen a "white-faced" Hinckley after the kiss.

"It was incorrect," Hart testified, saying she had confused dates. A groundbreaking event the following month was when she saw a disturbed Hinckley, she said.

Attorney Harold Jacobi III said Hart wrote more than 100 letters to people about the situation between Hinckley and the Rowes. One was to Gail McDonald, who is affiliated with the evangelical organization Vision New England.

Jacobi questioned her motives for writing the letter.

"It was my purpose that Mrs. McDonald would encourage the Rowes to tell the truth by letting her know what was going on," Hart testified.

She also admitted that as a nurse working in Sandwich she talked with people about the problems at the church if they had ties to Osterville. On one occasion she spoke with a woman who was a student at the same college as one of the Rowes' children. When the woman did not know what was happening at the church, Hart briefly filled her in on the matter, she testified.

Hinckley, Hart and Packer are representing themselves in the Barnstable Superior Court jury trial. They did not see the testimony as damaging.

"I'm confident we're in very good shape," Hinckley said.

Neither Rowe nor Jacobi would comment.

Also yesterday, Pastor Michael Petzer testified about conversations he had with Rowe when Hinckley joined his Baptists church in Hyannis. In an affidavit, Petzer *said Rowe told him Hinckley was "delusional" and "not all there."

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday. 
source:capecodonline.com 10/17
* this portion of the article is to be corrected similar to this phrase
 

By EMILY C. DOOLEY
STAFF WRITER

BARNSTABLE - The wife of a pastor accused of kissing a parishioner and then spreading lies to discredit her took the stand yesterday and said the exchange was no big deal. 

Marjorie Rowe, wife of former Osterville Baptist Church Rev. Michael Rowe, testified in Barnstable Superior Court that she was standing 5 feet from her husband when she saw former assistant Sunday school worker Cynthia Hinckley approach him after a 1997 beachside baptism.

She testified that the two embraced but she did not see a kiss. "It was a totally insignificant greeting," Marjorie Rowe said. 

The fallout from the alleged kiss brought on a battle within the church between Hinckley, two of her friends, the Rowes and a church deacon. 

Hinckley claims she tried to settle issues with the pastor but then heard rumors being spread and endured nasty looks. Three years ago she filed a lawsuit against the Rowes and deacon Paul Gage for slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

They filed a countersuit claiming defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Their lawsuit listed Hinckley and two of her friends, Rona Hart and Tori Packer. A judge earlier this year dismissed Gage from the suit. 

Much of yesterday's testimony centered around two Christmas celebrations during 1998 and 1999 in Osterville. 

Marjorie Rowe said during the 1998 event, Hinckley and Packer approached her and said "You can't hide from us" and "Maggie, why don't you tell the truth" while people were singing. 

A year later, Marjorie Rowe said she saw all three women approach during the same event and begin to call out accusations about her husband. 

"I do remember feeling sick to my stomach that it was happening again," Marjorie Rowe said. "It was like being invited to a fight we did not want to go to." 

A key part of Hinckley's slander suit involves an instance at that second Christmas event where Hinckley claims Marjorie Rowe referred to her as Satan. 

Hart had earlier testified that she heard Marjorie Rowe say "Satan, in the name of Jesus, we rebuke you" in the direction of Hinckley. 

But the pastor's wife did not confirm that. "I may or may not have said 'Satan,' " she said. "I do not recall."

Private investigator Garrett Linnehan also testified yesterday. He had been hired by Hinckley's husband to watch over his wife during the 1999 stroll. He said that he heard Marjorie Rowe say Satan and rebuke Hinckley. 

He also said he videotaped the event. 

But on cross-examination, attorney Anthony Campo, who represents Marjorie Rowe in the countersuit, questioned him about his memory, notes and videotape. 

Linnehan admitted that notes about the Christmas event were not written until a year after the incident and that they were aided by the video, which he had edited. 

Also, he admitted his original notes said that it was someone else, not Marjorie Rowe, who offered up the Satan rebuke.

source:http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/wifeof22.htm

By EMILY C. DOOLEY
STAFF WRITER
BARNSTABLE - When a church-based ministry asked the Rev. Michael Rowe if he wanted to bar a former parishioner from a religious conference, he said extreme measures weren't in order. 

"We don't want to aggravate things," Rowe recalled saying.

But that's what happened. 

Rowe is embroiled in a slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit that came about after he shared hugs and kisses with former assistant Sunday school superintendent Cynthia Hinckley.

She claims her efforts to resolve feelings about the encounters led to a church-orchestrated backlash. She was fired from her job and, after twice quitting the church and then rejoining, the membership at Osterville Baptist Church voted to expel her. 

Three years after the events, she sued Rowe, his wife Marjorie Rowe and deacon Paul Gage in 2000. They responded with another lawsuit, claiming defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Tori Packer and Rona Hart, two friends of Hinckley, were also named in the countersuit. 

Rowe testified Thursday and yesterday about his relationship with Hinckley. He said they shared a hug and kiss after he baptized Hinckley's son at Dowses Beach in 1997. 

It happened while the two were talking about the baptism. "She was bubbling, kind of bouncing, tears running down her cheeks," Rowe said "At the end, all of a sudden this kiss took place and that was a surprise." 

In a two-week period, three more instances of hugs and kisses took place, all at or after church events. 

After the kisses, Rowe said Hinckley would send him notes, bring him orange juice and talk about how she was having marital problems. 

He said he began to feel uneasy and once rushed out of a prayer meeting to avoid Hinckley. "I was not comfortable with the hugs and kisses," Rowe said. "I had been uncertain about how to talk to her." 

When the two met one night to talk about problems in her marriage, the conversation switched to their interactions. Rowe said he thought it best that they maintain an "arms-length" relationship, meaning handshakes instead of hugs and kisses. 

Hinckley asked if she were to blame, Rowe testified. He said there was no blame, just a situation that had to stop. "So hugs and kisses took place, that's not immoral," Rowe testified. 

But a few days later, another note came to Rowe. It made allusions to an attraction shared between the two and that Rowe had confessed feelings to her. "To me, it became obvious she didn't get what I was trying to communicate," Rowe said. 

That's when Rowe, who is now senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Wheaton, Ill. , went to others in the church. He said he and another pastor decided to throw the note away. 

But then other church members began asking questions and Rowe testified that he soon told the board of deacons he thought a parishioner was attracted to him. 

He said he did not reveal her name at first. 

source:http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/ostervilleminister25.htm

By EMILY C. DOOLEY
STAFF WRITER
BARNSTABLE - The five people at the center of a defamation trial involving a pastor, his wife and three former parishioners were found to be both perpetrator and victim, a jury ruled yesterday in Barnstable Superior Court. 

They were all awarded damages of $0.

The jury found that former Osterville Baptist Church pastor Michael Rowe libeled Cynthia Hinckley, a former assistant Sunday school superintendent who claimed kisses between the two led to a campaign to hurt her reputation. 

She had estimated her damages to be $25,000, according to court documents. 

The kisses happened over the course of a few weeks in 1997. 

Hinckley sued Rowe and his wife Marjorie Rowe three years later claiming slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

The jury found that Marjorie Rowe intended to inflict emotional distress upon Hinckley. But the panel also found fault with Hinckley and two of her friends, Tori Packer and Rona Hart. 

All three were named in a countersuit filed by the Rowes, who made claims of slander, libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

The jury ruled that all three women - they represented themselves in the litigation - libeled the Rowes. Packer and Hart also were found to have intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the couple, who now live in Wheaton, Ill. where Michael Rowe is senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Wheaton. 

The Rowes and Hinckley could not be reached for comment yesterday. 

After the verdict, Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson permanently prohibited Hinckley, Hart and Packer from physical contact or being within 100 miles of the Rowes, and vice versa. 

Both sides also were enjoined from any conduct that would cause emotional distress upon the other. They also are barred from defaming each other by use of slander or libel, Superior Court assistant clerk Scott Colgan said. 

During the trial, no one disputed that hugs and kisses has occurred. But they diverged on the events that followed. 

Hinckley claimed that when she tried to talk about the encounters, Michael Rowe and other church members began to spread rumors about her. 

Rowe testified that he tried to politely request that their relationship consist of handshakes and talks, but that Hinckley did not listen. 

Marjorie Rowe testified she was afraid of Hart, Packer and Hinckley when they appeared at a holiday event and began yelling out at her. 

"It was like being invited to a fight we did not want to go to," Marjorie Rowe said. 

But, other witnesses testified they heard the pastor's wife say to Hinckley, "Satan, in the name of Jesus, we rebuke you."

The trial lasted for 13 days before the jury took up deliberations.

source: http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/defamationsuit1.htm

In a verdict as complicated as the church scandal that led to it, a Wheaton pastor and three of his former parishioners were found by a jury to be both perpetrators and victims of libel.

But the court in Barnstable, Mass., also determined that no one in the case should pay or be paid monetary damages.

A unanimous jury found the three former parishioners guilty of libel against the Rev. Michael Rowe, now senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Wheaton.

Two of the women, Rona Hart and Tori Packer, were also found guilty of inflicting intentional emotional distress.

But a divided jury also found Rowe guilty of libel against his three former parishioners at Osterville Baptist Church in Cape Cod.

**And Rowe's wife, Marjorie, was found guilty of inflicting intentional emotional distress, even though, in an unusual outcome, she was cleared of libel and slander in the dueling defamation lawsuits brought between the Rowes and former parishioner Cynthia Hinckley.

The mixed verdict stemmed from a defamation suit Hinckley, a former Sunday school teacher, filed three years ago. She accused the Rowes of attempting to discredit her after she came forward with claims that the pastor had made a romantic overture to her.

But the Rowes then filed their own suit against Hinckley, Hart and Packer to stop what they said was the women's own campaign of defamation against the Rowes.

During the three-week civil trial, the Rowes' attorney presented more than 100 letters written by the women he said defamed his clients. Some had been written to people in the larger church community on the East Coast who did not know the Rowes or the women.

By contrast, the women, representing themselves, showed evidence of only one letter written by Michael Rowe that addressed the situation. Rowe's attorney, Harold Jacobi, said the letter was written "in self-defense."

Hinckley had estimated her damages at $25,000, according to court documents, but said she wasn't after money, only the truth.

Jim Stamoolis, the head deacon at Wheaton's First Baptist Church, where Rowe became pastor last year, said the congregation remains fully supportive of the Rowes.

He said Hinckley's allegations were fully investigated by the church before Michael Rowe was invited into the congregation.*

"Our complete faith in the Rowes was vindicated," Stamoolis said.

He also said the church community doesn't "hold any malice or hatred against" the Rowes' accusers.

"We want to pray for them," Stamoolis said.

Reached at her Cape Cod home, Hinckley said she was surprised by the verdict.

"I found the case (against the Rowes) really strong for libel," she said. "I'm accepting of it and saying, OK, we did everything we needed to do. I'm not at odds with anything."

However, Hinckley said she was "bothered" by the injunction the judge enforced after the jury was dismissed that forbids all parties to talk or write about the case, or be within 100 feet of each other.

Hinckley said the judge "took away my freedom of speech."

• Emily C. Dooley of the Cape Cod Times contributed to this report.

source: http://www.dailyherald.com/dupage/main_story.asp?intID=3792925

Theologian's wife subject of new play
By Robert Sanchez Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted 11/12/03 

A Wheaton woman is using the marriage of one of American history's most significant religious figures to inspire others to maintain faith amid the challenges of life.

Marjorie Wallem Rowe has penned a one-woman play about the life of Sarah Pierpont Edwards, the wife of author and theologian Jonathan Edwards.

Now Rowe is scheduled to perform "Dear Companion: Sarah Pierpont Edwards" this weekend at First Baptist Church in Wheaton, where her husband is the pastor.

Sunday night's event will be the first time Rowe performs the drama since presenting it at last month's Jonathan Edwards Tercentennial Conference. The dramatist was commissioned to write the play especially for the October conference.

"I am excited about doing it in Wheaton because so many people here are interested in history," Rowe said. "And this, to me, is a way to make history come alive. I want it to encourage the lives of people today. I don't want to just do it as a historical reenactment."

Rowe became acquainted with Sarah Edwards two decades ago after reading about her in Gail MacDonald's 1981 book titled "High Call, High Privilege."

That book talked about the marriage that Sarah Edwards had with her famous husband, who is best known for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

Rowe said the union was exemplary. Sarah and Jonathan Edwards were very close and shared a mutual love and respect. They also shared an extraordinary partnership in ministry, where they balanced each other, Rowe said.

"He was the brilliant academic, but he had no social graces at all," she said. "Sarah was more of the hostess - the social lubricant of things."

They did not have it easy, though.

"Most people in colonial New England did not have an easy life," Rowe said. "They survived the loss of children and grandchildren. They lived in a time of war - the French and Indian War. So they had soldiers in their home, which was a lot of stress. Their home was constantly full of visitors."

Sarah Edwards also had to cope with her own depression and ill health. But despite these difficulties, she never lost her strong faith in God.

"I was impressed by the Edwards' partnership," Rowe said. "But I also was impressed that, even in an era where life is much harder than it is now, there were two things that no one could take away from them: their love for each other and their love for God."

So, when Rowe was asked three years ago to write a play about Sarah Edwards, it was a project she was excited to tackle.

Rowe has written similar dramas. A decade ago she wrote a one-woman play about the life of Mary, Jesus' mother. She since has performed it more than 100 times around the country.

But while there is a wealth of information available about Jonathan Edwards, there isn't much about his wife.

Despite the lack of source material, Rowe was committed to making sure the script was historically accurate.

"This is not going to be one of those TV docudrama things," she said. "Because, to me, truth is much more interesting than fiction.

"I want people moved by the reality of her life," Rowe said. "When people go away after watching this, I want them to say, 'That really happened. That woman survived those things.'æ"

Rowe spent a year researching and writing. In addition to using the books that are available, she contacted some of Edwards' descendants for assistance.

One challenge in writing the play was that Sarah Edwards spoke a form of English that was used 300 years ago. So Rowe sent copies of her manuscript to professors at Yale and Wheaton College to make sure its historical details are accurate.

The hour-long play starts at the end of Sarah's life, where she is writing to her children after the death of their father. Sarah Edwards died in 1758 - less than seven months after her husband.

While the circumstances of our lives may be different than what the Edwards went through, Rowe said she hopes the story inspires others.

"How do you survive tough times with your faith in God and marriage intact?" Rowe said. "I hope to give a renewed faith in the powerful God who sustained the Edwards throughout everything they went through."

source:http://www.dailyherald.com/search/main_story.asp?intID=3793759

Wheaton College students danced Friday night. And a national news audience took notice.

Amid television cameras, photographers, and interview seekers, hundreds of Wheaton College students streamed into the gym for the first real dance in their conservative Christian college's 143-year history.

Some, like Nathan Chapman, wondered what all the fuss was about. "It seems to me like it's not that big of deal that we are having our first dance," the 18-year-old freshman said.

Bethany Jones just needed to look at the flood of messages on her telephone answering machine and e-mail to be reminded of the event's significance.

"I don't even know what normal life is like anymore," said Jones, a student leader and organizer of Friday's dance. "I am kind of hoping the press dies off gradually so that I have a chance to slide back into normalcy."

The school-sanctioned swing dance came 10 months after Wheaton College lifted its longtime ban on dancing.

Until last February, the college prohibited alcohol and dancing for the entire campus community, including students, staff and faculty.

But earlier this year, college President Duane Litfin announced a new "Community Covenant" that lifted the dancing ban and also ended the prohibition on drinking by graduate students, faculty and staff members.

"The reception to the new Community Covenant has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic," said Sam Shellhamer, the college's vice president of student development. "And that's not just because now that we have expanded the dance policy. It's because the statement is really more positive in its presentation and embodies what we aspire to be as a community."

The new covenant came after campus officials spent two years mulling whether dancing clashes with Christian virtues. College officials said the resulting document is more biblical than the previous "Statement of Responsibilities."

"There is clear use of scripture in the Community Covenant," Shellhamer said. "There's also a desire to have the conduct based more clearly on biblical guidelines, rather than just cultural norms."

There was a time, for example, when Wheaton College prohibited students from going to movies and owning playing cards.

"There have been a variety of changes over time," Shellhamer said.

While dancing and drinking might have been frowned upon years ago, many students now come from Christian backgrounds where neither are seen as inherently sinful.

"One thing that impresses me with the new Community Covenant is that it is rigorously biblical in the sense that the college cannot prohibit anything the Bible does not," said Maggie Rowe, a 1975 graduate who now has a daughter and niece attending the school.

Therefore, vices specifically condemned in the Bible - like adultery, premarital sex, gambling and drunkenness - remain banned on campus.

That's why many Wheaton College students and faculty said they find it humorous when others question whether the changes mean the college is becoming more liberal.

So what if the school lifted its ban on drinking? That's just for faculty members and graduate students. And so what if the school lifted its ban on dancing? That's for school-sponsored dances only. And so what if the college hosted Bono, a rock star, last year? It was to promote an effort to end the AIDS pandemic.

"I don't think we are more liberal at all," senior Aaron Costerisan said. "I think that maybe even the opposite is true. Because the wording of the new covenant puts even more responsibility on us.

"We can do a few more things now. But we also are expected to live by a higher standard. It's not about the rules."

If anything, senior Peter Cairns said, the covenant better prepares Wheaton College graduates to be Christians in the real world.

"Once we graduate, we are going to be in situations were there is alcohol, dancing and all kinds of things the school didn't allow us to interact with before," the 21-year-old Cairns said. "Having that sort of interaction now will better prepare the students to deal with it properly."

Some students admit there was some apprehension about the college holding a dance because of students' experiences with similar events at high schools and other colleges.

That's why Cairns says he applauds the decision to have Wheaton College's first dance be a swing dance.

"I think it was a wise choice just because of the nature of dances in general," he said. "The way they go, they tend to be downhill. Having something that is a little more structured will be better for having a constructive community event."

Rowe said she has faith in how the college will handle future dances.

"There are forms of dancing I never want my daughter to do," said the Wheaton resident, whose husband, Michael, is senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Wheaton. "I have confidence they will never, ever encourage or permit dances that are erotic."

Wheaton College officials know that alumni and other Christian schools will be paying attention to how the college deals with change.

Shellhamer says he's already been contacted by a handful of administrators from other Christian colleges interested in reviewing their own community life statements.

"I think the fact that Wheaton has made a change has prompted a few of the institutions to take a look at their own community guidelines," he said. "Wheaton has been characterized by other institutions as being a flagship of Christian colleges."

Wheaton College already is preparing rules and guidelines that will be used for the planning of future events.

"How we implement any new changes is really important to us," Shellhamer said. "That's why we are want to be deliberate, and approach this in a way that's very thoughtfully and tastefully done."

Dance: Other schools watch Wheaton College closely

source: http://www.dailyherald.com/search/main_story.asp?intID=3794049
 

When the torturous facts looped around to a perplexing conclusion, Saturday Night Live's "Church Lady"
character (Dana Carvey) would purse her lips and chide,"Well, isn't that special."

That's how we feel about the longrunning defamation feud that arose in the Osterville Baptist Church six years ago and finally concluded last week with a jury verdict that found everybody guilty. The jury showed just how special they thought the issue was by awarding both the ex-pastor's side and the disbarred church member's side zero bucks.

From the start (a couple of hugs and kisses), this was a personal misunderstanding fueled by high emotion, misread motives, paranoia and revenge. While the Barnstable Superior Court jury proved that common sense isn't dead, the case should never have taken up the public's time.

source: Opinion Cape Cod Times November 7, 2003

 My husband and I wish to express our grave concern about your Nov. 7 "thumbs down" editorial about Hinckley v Rowe et al. in which I was a plaintiff. The piece unjustly held me up to extreme ridicule.

This case was not about a "personal misunderstanding; neither am I highly emotional nor foolish, nor have I ever operated with "paranoia and revenge. Additionally I was on the stand for longer than a full day, and not one word of my testimony was ever reported in the Times. Yet nearly two complete articles were devoted to the testimony of the defendants. Why?

The Times knew in advance when Andre Ravenelle would be on the stand, yet no reporter was there. Barnstable's school Superintendent being questoned in Superior Court was news about which the public had a right to know. What happened?

I'm grateful to have had my case heard in court. Unfortunately, the trial was not covered fairly in the Times. Even a minimal effort to appear equitable in your coverage would have been nice.Your readers deserved a whole story and a true story.

Dear Ward,...I found your email addresses on http://www.district94.dupage.k12.il.us/guidance/Counselors.htm this is Bill Fields (Ward and I know each other from our college days) from PeaceMakers.net-PeaceMakers.net has a page documenting somewhat, the public dispute involving Rev. Michael & Maggie Rowe v. Hinckley, Hart and Packer...as an example of a church dispute unresolved Biblically and in the secular courts and in the public eye.

Is it accurate that Rev. Michael and Maggie Rowe are flying to Massachusetts, under subpoena (delivered by the DuPage County Sheriff's office), to answer to a Complaint for Civil Contempt, alleging they violated the Permanent Injunction ordered by Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson, at the close of the trial? 

Is it accurate that on On May 9, 2004, you, Ward, a church official spoke in a public meeting to those present concerning this dispute-which if true would appear a violation of the injunction by Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson, enforced, that forbids all parties to talk or write about the case?

As I gave Rev. James Stamoolis the opportunity to give his witness and he responded with silence-I now extend you the opportunity to give your witness of the biblical process you've followed...

1. Are these allegations accurate? 
2. Did you speak with Rev. Rowe and/or his wife Mrs. Rowe about the dispute?
3. Did you speak with any other person about this dispute? If so who and what is their capacity?
4. If yes, did you use a Matthew 18 "church discipline" process to investigate?
5. Did you "establish every word" with Biblical witnesses, by all parties/sides present, in this disputes?
6. Did you "tell it to the church" all findings from all sides of these disputes?
7. What steps did you take to settle matter quickly per Matthew 5:23-26?

Thank You, and you all are in our prayers for God's justice, mercy and grace...

bill fields
stewards@peacemakers.net

UPDATE...HEARING IS RE-SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 12, 2004
 

Kuala Lumpur, 9 May 2001 - The World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) - the official body representing 160 million Christians in 110 countries - has publicly opposed all forms of abuse and violence against women and girls, at its 11th General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In a strongly worded statement, WEF calls upon the Church to denounce abuse from the pulpit, to protect and provide for those in need of safety, to offer healing for victims, and to admonish offenders.

The statement was drafted by WEF's Commission on Women's Concerns and endorsed wholeheartedly by WEF's Theological and Religious Liberty Commissions. It was passed unanimously when it went before WEF delegates during their quadrennial gathering.

Winnie Bartel, chair of the women's commission, said: "I am thrilled that WEF is taking the issue of abuse seriously. Henceforth, we'll make a difference. And it should be a radical difference."

The statement comes on the back of a new report published by the women's commission, which has revealed that incidents of violence against women are nearly as bad in church circles as in wider society.

"We are very aware that our Christian leaders are abusing their wives and abusing women," Bartel said during a press conference to launch the book, No Place for Abuse.

The preface to the book states, "Christian believers worldwide tend to ignore, minimize and deny the abuse that is rampant in families of faith. Churches provide few resources for victims of abuse. Moreover, believers are discouraged from using available community services. The potential of emotional and spiritual healing is sacrificed to silence."

One of the book's authors, Nancy Nason-Clark, said the report was "a wake-up call to the evangelical Church to realize that violence is a problem in our communities."

James Stamoolis, executive director of the theological commission, added that the Bible was sometimes used to justify violence against women. He stressed, "There are no grounds for the often held view that the Bible supports the idea of women as mere property of their husbands or families."

This problem was identified at the last WEF General Assembly in 1997, resulting in the setting up of a 19-member task force on violence against women, to consider how the evangelical Church worldwide deals with this issue. In the process of carrying out their research, the women involved began to recount their own experiences of abuse.

Bartel herself was sexually abused as a child by a deacon in her church, which was covered up. Far from turning against the Church, Bartel says she found healing through true Christian love and grace - particularly when male members of WEF acknowledged her and many other women's pain and suffering at the last General Assembly.

"If more male leaders took a stand and went to bat on this issue, it might have a great influence on their peers and create a sense of accountability that's missing."

Already, the Washington D.C.-based Helsinki Commission has expressed interest in the WEF report, especially as world governments are increasingly looking to faith-based communities to provide answers to social problems that secular programs have not been able to remedy.

In addition to sermon outlines and Bible studies, No Place for Abuse contains counseling techniques and practical pastoral tips.

"We need to take the initiative on this issue, and show the world that the Church has the mechanisms to offer hope and transformation," says Bartel.

source:http://worldevangelical.org/ga_news.html