Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 173
Follower Kermit Nowlin said the compound residents should be distinguished from the
people who have been protesting York‘s conviction in front of the courthouse. ―They are
actually trying to do him harm. It appears their purpose is to make us all look ridiculous.
They walked with him for years, but they didn‘t hear his message,‖ Nowlin said. (Gary
Turner, Macon Telegraph, Internet, 7/14/04)
Word of Faith Fellowship
Wife Agrees to Keep Kids Out of Group
Stella Hamrick has agreed to take her two children and leave the home of her brother, Rick
Cooper, a member of the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Her husband, Rick, gained a
court order last week to remove the children from the Cooper home because he does not
want them indoctrinated and socialized in WOFF. Mrs. Hemrick, who retains custody of the
children — her husband has weekend visitation rights — will soon move into her own place
and be joined by her mother, who is a WOFF member.
The agreement stipulates that the children will not be allowed to attend WOFF, Mrs. Hamrick
will not use ―strong prayer‖ or ―blasting‖ in her child rearing, and she will not expose them
to WOFF literature. (Jerry Stensland, Daily Courier, Internet, 4/6/04)
Children File for Emancipation
Two of four children involved in a custody dispute between current and former members of
the Rutherford County, NC-based Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), have filed for
emancipation. Sarah and Rachel Almanie, 17 and 16, had been left by their mother, Shana
Muse, with a WOFF couple, the Covingtons, when she left town in 2002 to seek counseling
at an Ohio facility for ex-cult members. When Muse returned to North Carolina, the WOFF
couple only reluctantly gave the children up to the Department of Social Services following a
judge‘s ruling that the church environment was abusive to children.
The two teenagers, who say they prefer to live with the Covingtons, whom they treat as
parents and who have begun to finance the girls‘ college educations, now want to be free of
their mother‘s claims on them, while she has requested that they be returned to her
custody. (Jerry Stensland, Daily Courier, Internet, 6/16/04)
Follower Kermit Nowlin said the compound residents should be distinguished from the
people who have been protesting York‘s conviction in front of the courthouse. ―They are
actually trying to do him harm. It appears their purpose is to make us all look ridiculous.
They walked with him for years, but they didn‘t hear his message,‖ Nowlin said. (Gary
Turner, Macon Telegraph, Internet, 7/14/04)
Word of Faith Fellowship
Wife Agrees to Keep Kids Out of Group
Stella Hamrick has agreed to take her two children and leave the home of her brother, Rick
Cooper, a member of the Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Her husband, Rick, gained a
court order last week to remove the children from the Cooper home because he does not
want them indoctrinated and socialized in WOFF. Mrs. Hemrick, who retains custody of the
children — her husband has weekend visitation rights — will soon move into her own place
and be joined by her mother, who is a WOFF member.
The agreement stipulates that the children will not be allowed to attend WOFF, Mrs. Hamrick
will not use ―strong prayer‖ or ―blasting‖ in her child rearing, and she will not expose them
to WOFF literature. (Jerry Stensland, Daily Courier, Internet, 4/6/04)
Children File for Emancipation
Two of four children involved in a custody dispute between current and former members of
the Rutherford County, NC-based Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), have filed for
emancipation. Sarah and Rachel Almanie, 17 and 16, had been left by their mother, Shana
Muse, with a WOFF couple, the Covingtons, when she left town in 2002 to seek counseling
at an Ohio facility for ex-cult members. When Muse returned to North Carolina, the WOFF
couple only reluctantly gave the children up to the Department of Social Services following a
judge‘s ruling that the church environment was abusive to children.
The two teenagers, who say they prefer to live with the Covingtons, whom they treat as
parents and who have begun to finance the girls‘ college educations, now want to be free of
their mother‘s claims on them, while she has requested that they be returned to her
custody. (Jerry Stensland, Daily Courier, Internet, 6/16/04)
