Yesterday, I was turned away from an on campus ministry which I had been a part of for almost 2 years that prides itself in “never turning anyone away.” It happened under the radar, and their primary reason was because I had PTSD. They went on to accuse me of trying to use them as my therapists, even though at the time I attended their ministry, I was already in intensive outpatient therapy. What they’ve done is unforgivable.
Additionally, I actually learned recently that this organization, which has locations in thousands of colleges across America and the world, actually harassed members of the lgbtq community on a different campus. I did some more research, found several dozen accounts of such behavior, and also evidence to suggest that this organization may be a cult. I am absolutely astounded and I feel 10000% violated. The way this organization presents itself is nothing like the personal experiences people have written accounts of, which is not only manipulative, but it’s flat out lying.
On top of that, they tried to lock me out of all my social media, including Tumblr, because they thought that I was a sex addict, since I believed that it was healthy to masturbate on your own. They actually told me that I was no better than an alcoholic or a drug addict, and tried to force me to suppress my sex drive to the point that I got dangerously ill. I was in a bad place at the time, so I didn’t recognize the red flags, but now I see that this is blatantly wrong behavior.
NEVER go to a Chi Alpha ministry on campus. Please. Not only are they dangerous, but personally, I believe they are demonic.
Not to accuse you of deceit, but could I get the links to your research? I’d like to see for myself
Here is the email they sent to me rejecting me from their organization (Kayla is my biological name, but I prefer to be called Charley):
The letter says as follows, in case you can’t read the tiny font:
“Dear Kayla,
Thank you for reaching out to us and seeking reconciliation. We as Longhorn Chi Alpha Student Officers have prayed about this situation and want to see you walk in spiritual and emotional health. On our end, there are no hard feelings for the events which happened in the past. However, we do not think our community is best equipped to support you emotionally and spiritually in this season. Instead of coming back to Chi Alpha, we recommend that you find a place with counseling services to support you. Know that we are praying for you and believing for God’s best in this season of your life.
Sincerely,
Longhorn Chi Alpha Student Officers”
Just so everyone is aware, it’s illegal to ban someone from this type of organization because of their mental health. It violates Title IX law.
And here is a section of an article that can be found at this link.(Disclaimer: I do not attend this campus.)
Finally, here is a link to an entire blog dedicated to reasons why Chi Alpha is a cult. As a former member of their organization, I can attest that every reason is true from personal experience, and it’s horrid. https://xacult.wordpress.com/category/competition/
Update: I learned someone on the executive counsel of Chi Alpha this year at my school is homophobic. That person shared a testimony of how they found out “being gay is a sin” and “became straight,” and now they “witness to others” convincing other gay people that they’re sinning and they’re not actually gay. Let’s stop this madness before more lgbtq people are affected.
Update #2: Guys please help me signal boost this. Every reblog helps. I just learned that half the leadership for this organization this year are people that transferred from UTSA. UTSA is the campus on which Chi Alpha harassed LGBTQ people and other Christians, as stated in the article I screenshotted up above, which was published in the official campus paper. Chi Alpha has to be stopped, before they continue to abuse people who struggle from mental health issues, LGBTQ people, and Christians who choose not to be a part of their organization. Let’s put an end to this once and for all.
At the college I’ll be going to in a week, I met with the Chi Alpha organization. I met with them during the last Student Orientation. One of them saw my pin that said “Equality means EVERYONE”. The word EVERYONE is a rainbow.
I am a Christian, but…
I’m closeted as heck, but the face that this girl made at me… I just felt super uncomfortable. I decided I didn’t want to go to Chi Alpha, but of course, I can’t tell my parents why, so they’re convinced its from my social anxiety.
This is exactly the kind of behavior that Chi Alpha exhibits. They’re extremely exclusive and phobic of people that aren’t exactly like them. According to the religious dictionary, these are two factors that qualify Chi Alpha as a cult.
While there could be possible outliers out there, this behavior characterizes the organization as a whole, and it must be stopped. If we expose them, report them on our campuses, and warn each other to steer clear of them, we can take down and starve this organization.
I didn’t mention this before for confidentiality reasons, but the campus on which I’m being affected is UT Austin. People from UTSA (the school in the article) have transferred with such frequency over to UT Austin due to an exchange program between UT and their satellite schools. Due to the number of proud LGBTQ individuals and Christians on our campus, as well as the rising number of college students with mental health issues, I’m very concerned about the destructive force Chi Alpha will have on this university and this city.
UPDATE:
I got this email from them about half an hour ago. It is a response to the last email after I told them they were discriminating and that the adult staff (Pastoral staff) had told me I could come back. This is total bullshit and honestly I want to cry.
The email says this:
“Dear Kayla,
We are sorry that it has taken this long to get back to you. But we as student officers, in agreement with the pastoral staff, still fully support what was said in the previous email. We suggest that you seek professional counseling. Please refer to the previous email for further clarification. Know that you are in our prayers and we don’t mean this to hurt to you.
Longhorn Chi Alpha Student Officers”
I’d never go back to their club even if they did say I could go back, by the way. It just really sucks to be rejected in an email yet again, as if I didn’t have enough reminders that I should be in “professional counseling.”
Oh and by the way, Chi Alpha, I’m already in therapy.
Char, you dont deserve such negativity, and I promise you that this will all pass. Chi Alpha isnt worth anyone’s time because honestly, this is sad.
Edit: the first thing to come up when typing “Chi Alpha” into Google was this:
I think this may be a bit of an issue
Holy shit, that’s actually super sad.
Everyone needs to see this. Tumblr, we can shut them down together. I’m begging you to help me end this injustice. If enough people expose them, we can avoid the damage they may have caused us, and hopefully, get them off our campuses.
@charmingsides could you please list down the countries they’re in? I’m going to college next year and I want to inform my friends.
In the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
In Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and “many countries” which they won’t name (that’s creepy and weird).
In Asia: Asia Pacific (whatever that means), Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan
In Africa: Zambia
Be sure to watch out and steer clear of this “organizational campus ministry.” It’s a cult.
AlexTheGhost 