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  1. #1
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    Talking Rutland and "The Twelve Tribes" Hostel

    Some thru-hikers were raving about the new free hostel in Rutland. The keepers were warm and friendly, the food is great, etc.Smoothies, soups, home-made bread. It's good that this religious group has seen fit to provide hospitality to hikers, but a basic internet search turned up some controversial information about their worldwide fellowship and "apostle".

  2. #2
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    Apparently they beat on thier children. I lived in northern Vermont for 10 winters and remember something about the Island Pond sect being prosecuted for abuse.

  3. #3
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    Last edited by Lone Wolf; 08-19-2005 at 14:13.

  4. #4
    Registered User neo's Avatar
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    that,s scary neo

  5. #5
    Michael + Laura Ryan justusryans's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by L. Wolf
    Apparently they beat on thier children. I lived in northern Vermont for 10 winters and remember something about the Island Pond sect being prosecuted for abuse.
    The charges were later dropped, I was living in Vermont while this went on. Apparantly the work of a overzelous prosecuter
    "We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us."

    Kahlil Gibran

  6. #6
    Over 4,500 miles hiked on the A.T.
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    I personally lived with this group for some time and have friends still living with them. I would not advise staying there. They are certainly hospitable but be assured....there is MUCH more to them than meets the eye. Trust me. If anyone wants more info feel free to PM me. The raid in Vermont in the 80's was in fact bogus but trust me- all is not roses as they would have you believe. Lots of mental damage to a lot of people. I can tell you of many people that have served the majority of their adult lives with them, only to be kicked out or force/choose to leave penniless and being told they are going to hell.

    Not a good situation. I was not aware they opened a hostel. On the outside they seem like heaven, on the inside it is not the case, though there are some really great people there. Remember...power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! Be sure and ask them who Eugene Spriggs is.

  7. #7
    Springer - Front Royal Lilred's Avatar
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    That is absolutely frightening. I'm getting visions of the movie, The Lottery. God help those children....
    "It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone

  8. #8

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    Having met dozens of folks in the past few weeks that met these guys in Rutland, and who, WITHOUT EXCEPTION spoke well of them and of their knindness to hikers, I suggest that some of you try and keep an open mind about this, and acknowledge that there are always two sides to every story and dispute.

  9. #9
    Over 4,500 miles hiked on the A.T.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin
    Having met dozens of folks in the past few weeks that met these guys in Rutland, and who, WITHOUT EXCEPTION spoke well of them and of their knindness to hikers, I suggest that some of you try and keep an open mind about this, and acknowledge that there are always two sides to every story and dispute.
    Jack, I fully agree with you about keeping your own open mind. The problem with this group is that they are extremely deceptive of the inner life until you are deep into it. I assure you I spent a long time living with them and I have done extensive (and I do mean extensive) research about this group. I have met and talked at length with many, many ex-members. I know quite a few active members. I know families that have people in there. Trust me on this...I know a lot about this group...more than I care to get into in the public forums. Generally speaking, the individuals you will meet are some of the nicest, most sincere, amazing heart felt people you will meet. They live in a community with everyone trying to share. Heck, I personally spent a lot of time in the community in Rutland. I worked in their soap shop, played with their kids, ate many a meal with them, etc. In addition I spent time with them in St. Joseph, MO, and some of the communities in VA. In many, MANY ways, it is the ideal way to live. If they were who they say they are I would be there in a heart beat and would never have left. Their problem is their very subtle control of thought, behavior, environment, and feelings. It is like the old story of the frog in the water...let it boil slowly and they will never notice. I absolutely agree with much of what they say about God, our society (not everything do I agree with though...be sure to ask them about Ham and Shem and the black race! oh my!). I can tell you story after story of real and personal devastation caused in the lives of people who have lived and ultimately left this group. Despite what the community says of it's ex-members, i assure you most of them leave b/c the community takes away the ability to have free will to love God b/c they are too busy towing the party line. I could hike with you for weeks Jack and it would only touch the tip of the iceberg of what this group does to people.

    Please click on this link if you want an indepth study of this group:
    http://www.neirr.org/mcconclu.html

    I absolutely promise you this...there is not a member there that does not in fear that God will kill them if they leave. That is an absolute 100% cold hard fact. I also promise you this...if you visit you will love it. You will think it is the coolest place you have ever visited. You will think they are the coolest people you have ever met. You will love how they dress, how they act, how they treat you. It will feel great. If you are just looking for a relaxed place to stay, by all means it will be that. Just guard your personal freedom. Like Eve and the serpent, things start sounding really, really, really good. Just remember that walking with God is not about an address, it is not about our hair or our clothes or our name...it is about our heart. It is all too easy to hang out with everyone in identicle look and acts and ignore your heart.

    Jack, in all respect, I encourage you to be cautious of what you advocate or encourage in this situation without doing a LOT of research. If I told you the many nightmares that have been created, the real, lasting, and deep pain and harm that has been inflicted upon people in this group (most of it all being psychological harm), I assure you you would be much more cautious in your endorsement of them.
    Be cautious. They are not satan worships or child beaters or wife beaters (they do actually use a good bit of physical force to keep their kids in check though as a visitor you'd never see it. you will notice you have never met children so quiet and calm to an almost unnatural level). I lived with several christian intentional communities back in the day and trust me...this group excersises behavioral, mental, emotional, and physical control upon it's members at an almost unprecedented level. It's subtly though is almost an art form. I am not some crazy anti-community person that is "jaded" like they say most their ex-members and non-supporters are, but rather, I have lived by their side in a way that very few have done without officially joining and I am tied to the ex-member community of people who struggle to put their lives back together after leaving. If all this sounds odd...just think- when most people decide to leave a church they just leave and move on with their faith in God. When someone leaves this group they typically leave absolutely shatter sprititually and emotionally- living in fear and pain for years afterwards until they have been able to sort through their feelings.

    Be cautious. I will see if i can't encourage some of the ex-members I know to register and post a bit of their testimony so that you really will get the other side of the story. I will put every dollar I have to my name down on the bet that you certainly won't hear the other side from the community. Not sure any of them will register though and speak up as they are a bit reclusive and I can't say that I blame them one bit for what they have been put through.
    Last edited by Israel; 08-19-2005 at 21:04.

  10. #10
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    They're a ******ing cult preying on weak people. Pretty simple. ****** em. I'd rather hang out with Catholics.

  11. #11
    Over 4,500 miles hiked on the A.T.
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    Lone Wolf,
    They are unfortunately a cult but i would say they actually pray on the sincere people who want to make a difference in the world, who want to be doing good things and living a Godly life. Funny you mention catholics too...they despise the catholic religion (actually they believe ALL christian faith protestant or otherwise to be satanic and evil), yet there are so many parrallels between their system and the catholics it is almost ironically funny.

  12. #12
    Over 4,500 miles hiked on the A.T.
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    To put it in a nutshell:

    http://www.neirr.org/conclusn.html

    To me, the very last sentence of that page says it all.

  13. #13

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    Hey Jack,

    Why not spend a few months there and let us know how you make out?

  14. #14

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    Sounds like the free hostel in Rutland is TOO expensive !

  15. #15
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    Aren't they the same ones who used to recruit in grateful dead show parking lots in a big school bus? We used to call 'em joshuas. Had a brief encounter in '03 where they invited the group I was hiking with to stay, but after we had begun to settle in they wanted to drive the female members of our party to another location "...a few miles away" and would bring them back in the morning. There were no others occupying the space we were going to sleep in, and we all preferred to stay together, but they insisted, so we left. Later we partied with some locals and they told us some pretty weird stories. Nice restaurant though.

  16. #16
    Over 4,500 miles hiked on the A.T.
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    that would be them. They did a lot of evangelizing at dead shows back in the day.

  17. #17
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    Exclamation I helped build the hostel...

    I lived in the Twelve Tribes for 7 years and spent 6 months in the community in Rutland working in the cafe and also building the hostel above the cafe. The communities support them selves through different cottage industries but the ONLY reason they have cafes and hostels, they also have a hostel in Nelson BC and many cafes throughout the world,, is to recruit new "disciples". They are definitely a destructive high control group and have destroyed families and damaged many lives. All is not as it seems. The link that Isreal provided is one of the best I know. I actually spent 3 mos at http://www.meadowhaven.org/ to help get my head straight in order to go back into the real world. If anyone has any questions about the TT, feel free to ask.

    A friend of mine made this site http://www.twelvetribes-ex.org/ and will tell you the other side of the story that someone here was talking about.

    Also if anyone wants to email me privately, my email address is [email protected]

  18. #18

  19. #19

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    My husband, Snowman, just stayed there a few days ago - taking a zero. He said they were nice and friendly. He was doing *work for stay*. I have to admit after reading their website that I was a little freaked out that he would be staying there...BUT:

    My husband is a strong person - both physically and spiritually - so no worries. As someone said - they prey on the weak.

    At the end of the day - he got hospitality - a free stay - food - and he got to help them out a bit (he *loves* doing that) - so nothing wrong with that.

    As far as recruiting disciples - they won't get much luck with a die hard thru hiker that's made it that far! They hike on.

    Let's just see it as any other hostel and leave it at that.

  20. #20

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