Wall of Silence

Episode 21 features the continuation of a conversation with Sam Lacy, a lawyer and one of the authors of the lay lead presentment against Bishop Stewart Ruch. While combining two interviews from 2025 recorded before the Ruch presentment trial verdict was announced, this episode offers more reflection on Ruch's actions, Sam's extended thoughts on the challenges involved in attempting to address abu...

Episode 20 features an interview with Dr. Stephen Backhouse, political theologian and former host of the Tent Talks podcast he used to produce with Chris. Two years ago, right before the Wall of Silence was first released, Chris interviewed Stephen with insights about the approach he should take in starting a podcast about church abuse and abuse advocacy. Here Chris shares the interview in full (w...

In this episode ACNAtoo turns the microphones around and interviews the podcaster himself, Chris Marchand. Getting him to share aspects of his story he's never fully told, Audrey Luhmann asks him about why he started the podcast in the first place, his experiences meeting with his former bishop when he was being asked to stop the podcast under canonical obedience, why he decided to eventually...

Episode 18 is a continuation of the Zoom conversation with ACNAtoo members Abbi Nye, Audrey Luhmann, Heather Griffin, and Whitney Harrison answering questions from listeners and supporters about the verdict of Bishop Stewart Ruch's presentment trial. With questions about transparency, the trial process itself, and what ACNA members can do in response, one course of action is to set about getti...

On December 16, 2025 the Anglican Church in North America's Court for Trial of a Bishop released their verdict for the presentments against Bishop Stewart Ruch: acquitted on all charges. In this episode members of ACNAtoo (Abbi Nye, Audrey Luhmann, Heather Griffin, and Whitney Harrison) discuss their reactions to the verdict and the 71 page trial order the court released. Did the members of th...

This episode features another conversation with Sam Lacy—a lawyer and co-author of the lay presentment against Bishop Stewart Ruch—with reactions and reflections about the series of Washington Post articles with allegations toward ACNA archbishop Steve Wood and new revelations from survivors of clergy abuse in Ruch's diocese. Lacy specifically offers his insights about where the church gets of...

This episode features a live conversation with members of ACNAtoo responding to the aftermath of the Washington Post articles that have come out by journalist Ian Shapira. Along with details about the articles and the abuse survivors that did not fit into the articles, they also share their insights about what is happening at the provincial level regarding the accusations towards Archbishop Steve...

Episode 14 features the story of Sam Lacy, a lawyer and ACNA churchgoer, who helped to write the lay lead presentment against Bishop Stewart Ruch. While in part about the careful work that went into preparing the presentment document, Sam's story is largely about the frustrations he faced as he sought to bring up Bishop Ruch's actions within his church community, particularly the reactions...

This episode features a conversation with four members of ACNAtoo (Abbi Nye, Audrey Luhmann, Conor Hansen, and Whitney Evans Harrison) covering the significant details found the the Bishops' presentment against Bishop Stewart Ruch. This presentment was not previously available to the public, but was published by the ACNA on June 11, 2025 and then quickly taken down after ACNAtoo addressed a nu...

This second episode surrounding Bishop Stewart Ruch's presentment trial centers around a letter Megan Tucker (featured in the first episode as one of the writers of the lay presentment) read to Bishop Ruch in 2023. Also included in the episode is a followup response to the Nephtali Matta interview from the Holy Post podcast with a reflection surrounding "safety" in our churches, exce...

This bonus episode features a segment you can hear in full on the podcast's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/c/WallofSilencePodcast Addressing the issue of the podcast being a conflict interest, this episode also features audio from former archbishop Foley Beach. The full Patreon episode also addresses the issue of canonical obedience and how Chris decided to continue with the podcast des...

This is the first in a series of episodes covering the details in the presentment of Bishop Stewart Ruch. This episode, featuring interviews with Audrey Luhmann and Megan Tucker, goes into the backstory of how the presentment came together and the evidence of the seven abuse cases contained in the presentment that occurred in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest under Ruch's leadership. You can re...

Acting as a halfway point for this season, episode 10 is a recap of the story the Wall of Silence has told so far as well as an overview of other ongoing abuse cases in the ACNA and broader Anglican world as the July 2025 presentment trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch is now quickly approaching. Along with this, Chris shares a personal reflection telling more of the background of what happened this past...

This brief bonus episode is a teaser to a full extended interview with Helen Keuning, containing all the segments that did not fit into the episode Helen's Story Part 2. The full extended interview is only available to Patreon backers or to those will to pay a one time fee. See the Wall of Silence Patreon page to become a backer or for how to listen to this bonus episode: patreon.com/WallofSilence...

In the second part of Helen Keuning's story, she shares what happened after she resigned from the Bishop's Council of the Diocese of the Upper Midwest and offers reflections about her experiences and what she's learned in the years since. ACNAtoo member Abbi Nye published a thematically related article on her Substack this week, which you can read  ⁠here⁠ . You can read a transcript of this episod...

Episode 8, begins the story of Helen Keuning, who served on the Bishop's Council of the Diocese of the Upper Midwest as the sexual abuse of Mark Rivera was made known by Cherin and Joanna Rudenborg. Her account goes into the details of how Bishop Stewart Ruch and the Council dealt with Rivera's abuse and the abuse survivors, how Ruch stepped away from ministry (and why he ultimately returned), and...

In "Survivors are the mission" Kelley Goewey offers her account of why she decided to leave Church of the Resurrection in the wake learning how Mark Rivera's abuse was handled by Bishop Stewart Ruch and the Diocese of the Upper Midwest. You can read Kelley's article "Loving the Abused With the Love of Christ" on the ⁠ ACNAtoo website⁠ . You can watch the video Kelley re...

Here is the second part and conclusion to Joanna Rudenborg's story where she continues to offer insights surrounding the psychological manipulation by Mark Rivera and how she came to realize she had been raped by him. This episode details the second rape and also contains her insights about serial abusers and how communities can begin to learn to recognize their behaviors. Episode Transcript:...

This short episode offers a brief explanation on why the podcast was paused for nearly three months and what is behind the decision to now resume it. If you would like to support the work of the Wall of Silence podcast you may do so through our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/WallofSilencePodcast You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://www.acnatoo.org/episode-6 A disclaime...

An announcement about the present and possible future state of the Wall of Silence Podcast. For the original Twitter/X post with this announcement, please go here .

This episode features the detailed account of Joanna Rudenborg, who was raped and sexually harassed by Mark Rivera, a lay pastor at Christ Our Light Anglican, a church in Big Rock, Illinois. Although much of her story is already available online in different forms (see the links below) here Joanna speaks in her own voice and offers insights about how this happened to her, and, to quote the episode...

Here are a few updates and days of commemoration related to the Wall of Silence. 5 years since Cherin's daughter disclosed Mark Rivera's sexual abuse to her mother. 600 days since the Husch Blackwell report was released and then taken down. 3 open letters from ACNA clergy and lay people. Todd Atkinson has been deposed from ministry. Open Letters: ACNA Clergy ACNA Laity Anglican Diocese of...

As a followup to Cherin's story detailing the abuse of Mark Rivera and the mishandling of that abuse by her church leaders and the Upper Midwest Diocese, this episode asks the question: what should have happened? What can we learn about the role of church leaders in the midst of abuse allegations and what are the dire consequences if they fail survivors in that process? Full episode transcript...

Episode 3 details the story of Cherin and her daughter's sexual abuse by Mark Rivera and how her church leaders responded to it over the course of the next two years. Told in her own words by ACNAtoo members Audrey Luhmann and Abi Nye this episode highlights her personal accounts and correspondence along with a letter from Bishop Stewart Ruch to his diocese addressing the abuse and how he hand...

The second episode of the Wall of Silence continues to set the stage for the podcast by first telling a parable, a kind of alternate version of the abuse case of Cherin Marie's daughter and Joanna Rudenborg in the Upper Midwest Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. From there we hear more accounts from survivors and anti-abuse advocates, some initial advice from theologian Stephen B...