The Cult on the Cape

Rock Harbor Truth

This is podcast about the Community of Jesus in Orleans, Massachusetts and its affiliated boarding school, Grenville Christian College. Join us as we talk to survivors who lived inside this system, survived it, escaped it, and are now telling the truth of what happened to them.

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 46 The Ocean I Swam In

    The Ocean I Swam In: Elizabeth Alina’s Story Elizabeth Alina’s earliest memories are memories of growing up inside the Community of Jesus. She remembers sleeping in a basement as a small child. Being taught, in ways she didn’t yet understand, that something was wrong with her. Learning to feel shame around her body, her thoughts, her emotions, and even her desire for connection with her own mother. As Elizabeth puts it, “That’s the ocean I swam in.” In this deeply personal conversation, Elizabeth takes us through her childhood and adolescence inside the Community of Jesus—from her earliest memories, through the homes and families she was moved between, the constant scrutiny and “light sessions,” escalating anxiety and obsessive thoughts, and the gradual erosion of her confidence and sense of self. For years, Elizabeth believed what she was experiencing was guilt. She didn’t understand that the overwhelming fear, insomnia, obsessive thoughts, and anxiety were symptoms of something else. She simply knew that she was always trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. This is Part One of Elizabeth’s story. It is a story about childhood, shame, control, family, and what happens when a child grows up believing that the very things that make her human are evidence that something is wrong with her. The Cult on the Cape is a podcast of Rock Harbor Truth, a survivor-led nonprofit working to bring light to the experiences of those harmed by high-control systems. Listen. Learn. Share. And help us continue telling the stories that have been silenced for decades.

  2. Sep 29

    Episode 45 Voices of Truth Live from UUC Brewster

    What happens when survivors tell their stories—and a community chooses to listen? On September 20th, over 100 people gathered at First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church as Shawn DeLude, Tim DeLude, and Bonnie Zampino shared their personal stories of growing up inside the Community of Jesus. Introduced by Susan Smith of First Parish Brewster UU, the event explored our experiences within a high-control religious community and the Community of Jesus’ presence and reach in Brewster, including through the performing arts. This is the live audio from that evening. Three survivors. One room. Nearly 100 people listening. This is Voices of Truth.

  3. Sep 22

    Episode 44 Stories from the Stand

    Rock Harbor Truth gathered in Brewster for a Stand for Truth near the Performing Arts Center—a building survivors say was constructed, in part, through the labor of children from the Community of Jesus. In this special episode, hear the voices from that gathering. Together, they speak about abuse, accountability, survivor support, and the courage it takes to tell the truth in the very place where so much was hidden.

  4. Sep 15

    Episode 43 Religious Trauma and Spiritual Abuse Part 2

    Bonnie continues her discussion with psychotherapist Kari Fillian, LICSW, about how faith can become a weapon in high-control environments. Together, they explore ways to heal from this kind of abuse. .Bonnie connects Kari’s clinical insight to her own experiences at the Community of Jesus—including “light sessions,” chronic exhaustion, family separation, and the regulation of emotions, sexuality, and personal choice. They also examine why leaving a high-control group is so difficult—and why the effects can remain in the body long after someone is physically free. ⁠Kari Fillian Psychotherapy

  5. Sep 8

    Episode 42 Religious Trauma and Spiritual Abuse Part 1

    In this deeply personal conversation, Bonnie speaks with psychotherapist Kari Fillian, LICSW, about how faith can become a weapon in high-control environments. Together, they explore the BITE Model of control, the use of shame and forced confession, and the ways religious trauma can disrupt a person’s identity, relationships, nervous system, and ability to trust themselves. Bonnie connects Kari’s clinical insight to her own experiences at the Community of Jesus—including “light sessions,” chronic exhaustion, family separation, and the regulation of emotions, sexuality, and personal choice. They also examine why leaving a high-control group is so difficult—and why the effects can remain in the body long after someone is physically free. Kari Fillian Psychotherapy

  6. Sep 1

    Episode 41 When God Becomes Your First Abuser Part 2

    In Part Two of her story, Becky reflects on parenting a daughter with profound autism, confronting the lasting effects of Grenville and The Community of Jesus, and questioning the faith she inherited. Through fear, exhaustion, and deep self-examination, she discovers acceptance, a more expansive understanding of love, and the possibility that the life she has built is enough.

  7. Aug 25

    Episode 40 When God Becomes Your First Abuser

    Becky Hathaway Dirksen was seven years old when her family moved to Grenville Christian College to live the life mandated by the Community of Jesus. What followed was a childhood governed by rigid schedules, forced labor, constant correction, family separation, and spiritual teachings that equated suffering with holiness and love with giving up what mattered most. In Part One of her story, Becky describes trying desperately to become the “good” person Grenville demanded—while never knowing exactly what was wrong with who she already was. She reflects on the lasting damage of being taught to distrust herself, the loneliness of being sent to Bermuda as an unpaid worker, and the dream of horses and Montana that became her imagined path to freedom. Becky eventually left determined to begin her life. But, as she explains, appearing resilient is not the same as escaping unharmed: “The fallout comes later.”

  8. Aug 18

    Episode 39 A Disney Horror Movie

    Author Heather King came to the Community of Jesus expecting a Benedictine retreat. Then she Googled “Community of Jesus Cult.”

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4.7
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

This is podcast about the Community of Jesus in Orleans, Massachusetts and its affiliated boarding school, Grenville Christian College. Join us as we talk to survivors who lived inside this system, survived it, escaped it, and are now telling the truth of what happened to them.

Information

  • Creator
    Rock Harbor Truth
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Rock Harbor Truth
  • Show Website
    The Cult on the Cape

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