Prominent Presbyterian Minister Rev. Dr. William Weaver allegedly has been using what he called “healing acts” to help men who went to him for counseling since 1999.
Weaver, 69, served as pastor at Linden Presbyterian Church for 39 years. He also held numerous other public roles in the City of Linden, New Jersey. Weaver has been accused by three separate men. Their allegations include him using Native American exorcism rituals, oral sex, and gemstones to extract evil spirits from vulnerable men experiencing crises in their lives.
Weaver was scheduled to face his accusers during an internal church trial during the Winter of 2019, but renounced his jurisdiction of the Elizabeth Presbytery one day before the trial. This allowed him to avoid facing his accusers at an internal church court after he was accused of “multiple acts of idolatry and sexual misconduct.”
The charges of the church do not affect the secular government’s civil and criminal processes. As of yet, no public charges have been filed against Weaver. The men claim they reported the sexual assaults to authorities, but the Union County Prosecutor’s Office says they can neither confirm nor deny this.
However, The Presbytery determined through investigation “that there are probable grounds or cause to believe that an offense was committed by the accused.” However, by renouncing the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Church, Weaver is no longer a part of the church, meaning that they can no longer discipline him for his actions.
One of the men accusing Weaver, A.J. Meeker, gave a disturbing account of one of the former pastor’s counseling sessions. At the time of the abuse, he was a young college dropout with strained family relationships.
The minister told him to undress completely and lie on the bed. Then he placed an angel coin — a coin with an angel or saint printed on it used for praying — on Meeker’s forehead and wrapped a magnetic strip around his head to keep it in place.
After covering the naked young man in stones, Weaver ran a feather along his body, kissed him, and then performed oral sex to remove evil energy. Weaver referred to this evil energy as “hits.” Meeker wrote that the pastor would conclude every session in the same way.
“He would then hold me and say he loved me and he would protect me, and he would never let anything bad happen to me.”
Featured image: Jessica Lucia/Flickr
