Annual conference helps victims find their voice
The annual Voices of Hope Conference is coming to United Dayspring Mennonite in Berlin on March 24 and 25.
The annual Voices of Hope Conference is coming to United Dayspring Mennonite in Berlin on March 24 and 25. Since the first year of its inception in 2018, it has been steadily growing and spreading its intended word far and wide. The conference will run from 1-6 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The conference will have a featured speaker and guest speakers, and it is open to all ladies age 18 and older. Saturday also will offer an all-day men’s session at the Berlin Grande Hotel in Berlin.
Breakout sessions will happen on both days, and trained small-group leaders will be on hand to facilitate and encourage attendees to share from the well of their own pain, and in doing so find their voice.
Sexual abuse can shatter family units when kept secret. VOH was created by former Amish women and survivors of abuse as a pathway to help those bound in silence to communicate their pain out loud. When churches and the community hide abuses, it only serves to hurt those who need protection.
The goal of VOH is to give women a place to confide stories that might otherwise be difficult to share while uniting with others traveling the same path. Unfortunately, some religious spaces aid in keeping the abuse silent, creating shame for the victim. No-judgement spaces are critical in helping those who have been silenced.
“I have nothing but love and hope for all people,” said Dena Schrock, founder of VOH. “I always ask the Lord to show me his way, and in doing so, I no longer feel the shame inflicted upon me by any man or woman.”
Schrock spent her childhood in Tennessee and Kentucky, raised in a strict Swartzentruber Amish community. She felt burdened by the rules and secrets that governed them. She experienced spiritual abuse growing up, and after sharing about it as an adult, she left her community for Ohio. And for speaking the truth, she experienced shunning and rejection. Schrock has experienced the confines of keeping a secret that should never be kept hidden and the freedom that comes from sharing it.
“As a young woman, I felt like I was living in a box with no say-so,” she said. “I wanted a close connection with God, but I could only listen to the words of the Bible through another man’s voice.”
Schrock wanted to create a place where women could use their voice without fear of repercussion. When the idea to create the Voices of Hope ministry came to be with co-founder Lizzie Hershberger, she knew it would be life-changing for her and for those involved.
“We are here to lift and encourage one another in the hopes we can become stronger, better, and experience loving relationships with family and friends,” Schrock said. “By sharing our story, we talk about forgiveness, which leads to healing. This is not about condemning the people in our past who have hurt us, but rather the emphasis is on who we can become because of what we went through. We can become better and move on from that place of betrayal and hurt.”
Taken from the book, “Invisible Girls” by Dr. Patti Feureisen, is the following quote that often is used for the ministry: “Whether through counseling, poetry, songwriting, art, writing stories, or through telling a friend, a therapist, a parent, a school counselor or a volunteer at an abuse hotline, the most important thing you can do is simply tell someone because telling is the beginning of healing.”
Hershberger brought her rapist, then a deacon in his church, to justice in Minnesota back in 2019 after she lived with the trauma for 25 years.
Sarah McClure wrote an article in 2020 for Cosmopolitan magazine on the abuses some of the women who created VOH suffered, Hershberger included. In detail it describes the moments of sexual abuse and rape that many of them were pressured to keep silent.
When cases such as these do end up in court, it’s rare. And the abuser, especially in conservative religious communities, is often given more support than the victim.
“Voices of Hope was started to give people a voice,” Hershberger said. “It’s a very rare case to have justice brought in an abuse case older than 25 years, so I wanted to remind others that there is hope.
“The No. 1 question I get about this conference is who is it for? My answer is it is for anyone between the ages of 18 and 98. Our speakers and small-group leaders come from over a dozen states. They represent many guests that come from plain communities to very traditional homes.
“Many receive healing at our conference from the small-group settings where they share their personal stories in a safe environment. We equip them with resources to take home and often a friend or mentor to continue this journey. It’s not just for men or women who have suffered abuse, but those who love and support survivors.”
Walk-in guests are not guaranteed a seat due to limited seating, but all are welcome to come. Preregistering is preferred to help prepare for small-group sessions and food. Berlin Grande Hotel has reserved 20 hotel rooms under the VOH room block. Call 330-403-3050 to reserve.
The Voices of Hope Conference will be held at United Dayspring Mennonite, 5641 Township Road 362, Millersburg, on Friday, March 24 at 1 p.m. through Saturday, March 25 at 4 p.m. The men’s segment of the conference is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost to attend is $45 for an individual, and couples are $75. Tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com. Search for the Voices of Hope Conference. More information can be found at www.voicesofhopegivers.com/.