Complaint Review: Maureen Ellen Strand - Vernon Connecticut

OMG! this can't be true!  she was my teacher and was always nice.  i hope this isn't true:(

Why do people who have NO knowledge of a situation feel the need to comment on it? You have NO idea what you are talking about! Drop it already!!

What a sad story that has hurt so many people... Clergy, spouses, fiances and worst of all, children. I have to agree that there are so many guilty parties involved, such as the men that betrayed their wives or fiances. Surely they knew of the destruction to their loved ones their infidelity would cause, especially being men of the Church. I also feel sorry for Leigh, Stephen (the husband) and Joe, who appears to be a new "love" interest of this woman (was there a divorce?). There is no greater pain than the betrayal of the heart these people have felt. I can't help but wonder, did Joe actually propose marriage he was considering after such a disturbing discovery? I do hope for the sake of himself and his children that he carefully considered everything before committing himself to this woman. Finally, what of this woman, Maureen? There is an old saying - "once a runner, always a runner." One might consider a single infidelity an unfortunate moment of bad judgement in the heat of passion - a potentially forgivable sin that one can learn from and never commit again. However, it appears this woman has far surpassed that, having slept with multiple men (of the church, no less!). This can no longer be considered a regretful mistake, but is instead a disturbing pattern of behavior. This woman must have little or no self esteem to behave like this. How could any man ever trust her? True, none of these acts were committed singlehandedly, as others have pointed out, but it cannot be overlooked that this woman is THE constant in all of this. There is plenty of guilt to go around and this woman seems to be at the heart of all of it. So sad...

Um, I believe an affair, or liason, or one night stand takes at least TWO consenting adults of their own free will. My heart goes out to Leigh and Joe if this is true. But I haven't ever been able to comprehend blaming the 'other person'. It is your mate whom owes you the honesty, fidelity, and loyalty, very rarely the one they were with.

Excuse me but if this woman slept with these men, they also slept with her, so their choices had a hand in ruining their careers too. I assume she didn't rape them. How typical of churchy types to lay the blame all on the woman, the temptress, she who must be held responsible and stoned for everything men do with their dicks.

I find it hard to believe that this is one sided. I have known of many Pastors that can't keep there pants on, as well as other church employees. Plus many other people in general. They are human and will ansawer to God in his good time. But you call yourself a good Lutheran and Christian, did you give any thought to the fact that one of the children of the many families envolved may read this and cause more hardship then they already have. This is not a christian thing to do. I am sorry you did not get married, but its better to know now what he is like. This may have been a blessing for you, if he is dropping trow now just think how you would have handle it 5 years from now. They did what they did, but for you to air it here is just as sinful as they were. If I were you I would ask God to forgive you for your thought less action you tock in anger. Reread your bible, it looks like you have forgot some things.

Leigh, ever since I read this post this morning, which I found totally by accident, I have been beside myself with confusion and concern. I have been in a serious relationship with Maureen for some time and I am now on the verge of proposing marriage. She has been nothing but wonderful to me and my children so, knowing her like I think I do, it is difficult to comprehend what you have said. I do not mean to call your integrity into question, nor resurrect painful memories, but I MUST know... as time has passed is it possible you have come to learn that this was a mistake or misunderstanding and that this did not occur as you originally thought? PLEASE, I MUST KNOW. Again, I am sorry for any distress my message may cause. That is certainly not my intention. I hope you are well and enjoying a happy and joyous life. Regards, Joe

These are very serious allegations against a loved and well-respected member of our community. Great care should be taken before one so freely accuses others in a public forum such as this. Many lives are affected and not just that of the accused. Please keep this in mind. Can you substantiate any of your allegations with concrete evidence or is your report based on rumor and supposition? Thank you, Joe

Sammy and Nicole: I most certainly agree that it takes two to tango, and I suppose that since it was in fact myself that was the jilted fiancee, I don't care about revealing Maureen's evil ways. But believe me, I blame him as well, most certainly, and it ultimately destroyed our relationship, and we have gone our separate ways. There is alot of pain and humiliation involved with situations such as these, and sometimes (albeit immature, perhaps) sometimes, in an unfair society, even a moment of revenge does feel liberating. I DO NOT however feel that the affair had anything to do with me, as was implied. It certainly was not me who invited this person whom I trusted to sleep with the man I loved. It was not something that I failed at that caused him to stray...they chose that path of their own volition. And it hurt. I wonder if those who are quick to criticize have felt such keen betrayal? I also can't see how being upset about my heart being broken brings my Christianity into question, but, I guess that is between God and I. I think that the shame should be on those involved in the affair, and not me.

I agree with you Sammy! These men are to blame also, and to think that they have not been blamed by the original poster is silly. If nothing else, they should have resisted and kept their pants on! They have an obligation to the Church. They made a vow, and I hope they are not teaching the Word to anyone. Shame on the OP! I hope you do not consider yourself to be a Christian.

I'm responding to the original message of this lady who has committed adultery. With the exception that it is indeed true, I'd like to add that adultery wallows the stability of marriage. This lady can continue a vicious cycle of self-destruction and wake up one day as an old lonely lady. This will be the punishmnet of her sexual excapades. In the long run what one fling offers could never replace the years of hard work. Let's face it marriage is hard work and raising children and keeping a home is demanding. The reward is that after several years of committment one can truly put their head to rest and say I followed my marriage vows, without swaying! Everyone expierences moments of temptation, it is what we do in that hour that could affect our years of personal achievment. In my opinion it's not worth the sacrifice for selling ones soul for a few empty moments of physical pleasure. Only at the expense of the eyes that seek our support(children and spouse). I'd like to add to the rebuttal Sammy waged, Yes it takes two people to have intimacy. Each does have their own responsibility, but you don't know if this person was in the intimate circle. Perhaps she was a loved one who saw an intimate member of this love triangle broken. How can you condemn someone's feeling when it's dealing with the trust factor and the heart? I don't know but maybe counseling needs to be addressed first.And then a person can grow, grow up and deal with life issues.

Since you are speaking on behalf of someone- let me ask you this: How can one person ruin anothers life when they were both unfaithful- as you state, she caused him to lose his finace whom he loved dearly- well, if he loved her so much, why was he cheating on her? Why does everyone forget that it takes two to tango- you also have tons of maturity to post someones dirt online to smear them. Grow up.