Senior Minister Jeff Adams, College St. Christian Church
Photo from Lacey’s College St. Christian Church website
A letter I wrote to the Nisqually Valley News (NVN) was published last week explaining who frequent NVN letter writer Jeff Adams is, questioning his motives and asking why we have not heard about this man in the newspaper.
NVN publisher/editor Graves replied,
“Jeff Adams has always been forthright with the Nisqually Valley News about his profession as a pastor and intent to someday expand his congregation to Yelm.”
A Yelm Community Blog reader wrote to me about Mr. Graves reply saying,
“How are the READERS supposed to know who he [Jeff Adams] is if neither he, nor the paper, say so. I guess they’re supposed to ‘know.'”
Good point.
After all, the NVN won an investigative journalism award for a story published in 2005 due to Jeff Adams supplying the NVN with information for reporters to pursue. Mr. Adams was mentioned in the story, yet his profession and intent were mysteriously missing. Previously, the NVN published over a half dozen letters to the editor by Adams where he interjected himself into a Yelm political campaign with venom about someone he knew nothing about nor has ever met. My, oh my, is this how Christian values are being practiced by this man?
Never once has the NVN mentioned Mr. Adams title or position in the newspaper. Mr. Graves got a promotion to publisher and committed in his February 5, 2007 editorial saying “we won’t gloss over the truth to protect sources, nor will we twist it to suit our whim or agenda.” This may be his stand, yet we must rely on other newspapers and journals outside of Yelm to give us the bigger picture, in particular when important information is missing in our local paper. Searching the NVN archives for their coverage of Jeff Adams’ identity resulted in none being found. And, now we have Mr. Adams letter published 2 weeks ago stating he is “an ever-increasing-personality in Yelm,” again without identification from the NVN. And, Mr. Adams was a public speaker at a Yelm meeting last weekend. HMMM!
You can read the letter published in the NVN
I wrote about the Minister Jeff Adams of College Street Christian Church in Lacey.
The NVN never identifies Jeff Adams in their front section stories or letters, however you will find his name and position buried in the Living Section at the bottom of their October 19 Worship Guide:
“Limited space is available for Bible Studies in Yelm, the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 7 p.m., led by Pastor Jeff Adams. Call 360-491-7372 if interested or go to www.cschristian.org .”
If this man is “an ever-increasing-personality in Yelm,” shouldn’t area citizens know all about him?
Joseph Pulitzer, the editor and publisher in whose name the most prized honor in journalism is awarded, stated in May, 1904, “Our republic and its press will rise and fall together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.”
This writer says the time has come for our local journalists to be more vigilant and steadfast in keeping the public interests in mind.
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8 comments
Thank you Steve for your insight re Jeff Adams. Being a retired minister, I find it difficult to reconcile his letters to the editor in the NVN and what his website professes to be about. From my perspective, if one is a true Christian, then one follows and teaches the teachings of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount should be the foundation for every Christian to live by. When a minister or a spokesperson for a ministry begins to take ‘potshots’ at others who are not in alignment with their views, I sense fear as their basis. I also recall about a year ago when there was the sale of the property near 93rd St – and I think it is now Tahoma – that in its master plan was to build an all-Christian community and perhaps Adams is part of that. Sounds to me like discrimination. Again, thank you for your input.
Bettye Johnson
Brilliantly writtten Steve!!
I agree 100%
Hi Steve,
You did state at the beginning of your web site that this site was for “…anyone ..to provide.. their …opinions”
I guess using the word provide gives you some weasle space.
In any case, in the event that the NVN chooses not to publish my reply to your letter. At least I have found a place to reply directly.
Please find it below:
Editor,
I am writing in response to a letter I happened across in the October 26th, 2007 edition authored by a Mr. Steve Klein of Yelm.
First allow me to point out in the interest of disclosure that I reside in Los Angeles and happened to be in town as a speaker and participant for the LARSE meeting featured on your front page of the same issue. I found it a bit incredulous for Mr. Klein to be asking the paper to investigate Mr. Jeff Adams for being an ever increasing personality in Yelm.
As I understand it, Mr. Klein recently ran to be elected to the position of Mayor of Yelm and was resoundingly defeated. If one of his duties would have been to investigate” persons for their ever increasing personality I breathe a large sigh of relief that reality prevailed among the voters.
Mr. Klein continues on, including words like covertly, subterfuge, deception and ulterior motives in his depiction of Mr. Adams. In addition, he attempts to instill fear in Adams parishioners that the Church tax exempt status is at risk because Mr. Adams acted within his first amendment rights as a citizen (another sigh of relief this guy never made it into public office).
I had the pleasure to meet briefly with Mr. Adams at the LARSE meeting where we were both speakers and found him extremely open and honest in his manner with me, as well as his public pronouncements at the meeting.
It does not surprise me that Mr. Klein should have used the words quoted above, since they are ones which are included very often in the school in which he is intimately involved and has participated in for many years, most often they are used in the context of government conspiracies, railing against churches and inducing fear of secret aliens (of the ufo kind) conspiracies.
I guess that somehow he feels all that qualifies him to comment on Mr. Adams writings and motives .not being in alignment with the inclusive concepts of brotherhood practiced at Southern Christian.
While Mr. Kleins’ family might very well be friendly with former Senior Minister Bob Russell, I am fairly certain that Minister Russell would not have condoned the arranging of a plane ticket to carry a 16 year old girl across the country in collusion with a 43 year old man, knowing that this was all being done expressly against her parents wishes which is exactly what Mr. Klein did.
I know. I am her father.
Was that a collective sigh of relief from those that voted for Mr. Klein I just heard???
Perhaps we should check out as Mr. Klein suggests in the conclusion of his letter just who is hiding out about who he really is?
In all fairness, Mr. Klein was afraid that this might come back to haunt him when he initially participated in the above-mentioned event.
Happy Halloween, Mr. Klein!
Robert Menna
Los Angeles, CA
Mr. Menna,
Your letter was the first one on the editorial page this week, in the NVN. While the NVN chose to abridge your letter, all letters here are published unabridged, unless their content denigrates another individual or uses unsuitable language.
Therefore, yours is printed here, unabridged in any way.
Thank you for your interest in the Yelm Community Blog.
The policy of this blog is to always allow anyone to share their views … with the request that they are based on true facts… With that in mind, let’s get the true facts of my experience in response to Mr. Menna claims…
In mid – 1991 I was asked by Bodananda to assist him in procuring an airplane ticket with his credit card for one of his friends, as I have done with other friends and acquaintances. I gladly agreed to help him with the purchase of a ticket from NYC to Seattle for an Alexandra Menna, about whom I knew nothing at the time.
Since this was 10 years prior to 9/11, there were no ID requirements, unless a person was an unaccompanied minor (14 and under). Bodananda confirmed the fact that she was older than 14 at the time, which Mr. Menna has verified as well.
Later that year I was contacted by the NYC Police at the request of Mr. Menna asking questions for an investigation as to my involvement in Ms. Menna’s “disappearance” and whereabouts, since they had subpoenaed her airline record with my name as the contact. I answered all I that I knew, which was only about the airline ticket and purchaser. I was cleared of any wrong-doing or of being part of an accessory in the NYPD case.
That was the last I ever heard of this until Mr. Menna’s stories surfaced last week.
Dear Mr Klein:
Congratulations on holding your tongue while others wagged theirs filled with lies, superstition, innuendo, and greed.
A wise man once said that “Timing is everything”. So I congratulate you again for raising the question “Who Is Jeff Adams?”
Thanks to your letter to the editor, NVN readers are finally brought up to speed – is it 2 years now? – on who this person is and why he has such a keen interest in Yelm.
Thank you for shedding the light on this heretofore subsumed issue. Most appreciated!
I knew no-thing as to this woman’s parents’ wishes at the time, nor who her parents were, not until I received a call from NYPD, long after the airline flight. There was no law or requirement at the time for a 16 year old to have an ID or parental consent to board an aircraft in this country, so there was no reason to question an airline ticket purchase for a 16-year old. Indeed, there is no parental consent required today for a 16 year old to board an airline’s flight within the USA, regardless of who purchased the ticket.
If all is as you say, then:
1. you knew who purchased the airplane ticket
2. you knew the destination, address and host of your daughter and indeed her exact locale,
then why as a concerned parent did you not get on an airplane and come get her? That is what is so baffling, these 17 years later in your pressing this issue?
To quote you,
“We respected that and in any case at the age of 16 she had the right to self emancipation.”
And that is the truth, so any issue you have had with me about assisting with a plane ticket is mute.
Quoting you from your Nov. 1, 2007 post:
“While Mr. Kleins’ family might very well be friendly with former Senior Minister Bob Russell, I am fairly certain that Minister Russell would not have condoned the arranging of a plane ticket to carry a 16 year old girl across the country in collusion with a 43 year old man, knowing that this was all being done expressly against her parents wishes which is exactly what Mr. Klein did.
I know. I am her father.”
This is also irrelevant since your daughter was “at the age of 16 she had the right to self emancipation.”
I wonder if you would write a Letter to the NVN, post an entry on Enlighten Me Free & address Pastor Adams’ group so that recipients of your published, denigrating remarks about me issuing a plane on your daughter’s behalf know that your daughter was “at the age of 16 – she had the right to self emancipation”?
I expect not.
Regarding your closing comment,
“Since our daughter left RSE along with her husband, they are enjoying a wonderful family, and prospering careers and continue to grow in many more avenues then were offered in the limiting environment of RSE.”
Then isn’t this wonderful?
You are a blessed and rich man all of these 17 years later!
Time to move on…
I wish you well in your endeavors and life’s adventures, Mr. Menna.
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