Fletcher Brothers
Encyclopedia
Pastor Fletcher A. Brothers is a fundamentalist preacher and author from Rochester, New York
, USA.
in 1981. The campus building was the site of the defunct Lakemont Academy, a secular boys boarding school
. Freedom Village also operates an office in Burlington, Ontario
and has many students from Canada
.
Patterned somewhat after the reform homes established by Lester Roloff
, FV uses a physical discipline similar to the Roloff Homes and other Fundamentalist recruit training
programs. Representatives of FV have been invited to speak at public schools in the USA and Canada.
Parents are only allowed to visit their children on a prearranged basis after three months, and students are asked to commit to remain in the program for one year. In addition all mail incoming and outgoing is read by a staff member. Children are required to write one letter a week to their family. No letters from former friends are given to the children. Phone calls are limited to one a week made in the presence of a staff member.
The intake process is the interview process where children individually meet with a staff member who will ask several questions regarding their application to Freedom Village. While information about past criminal history, drug use, etc., are factored into the decision to accept a child, the primary criteria for acceptance is a stated willingness to cooperate with the rules and guidelines of the program.
During all meals, chapel sessions, school and church sessions the teenagers are segregated by gender. Dating is only allowed among program students once they have obtained a certain privilege level, and with staff approval.
Freedom Village abides by very restrictive standards of personal dress and conduct. Young people are to wear proper fitting, modest apparel. Pastor Brothers also preaches against secular music and has been outspoken against "Christian rock" as well.
Like Roloff, Brothers has preached on radio
, and indeed uses radio as a recruiting tool. FV produces the daily 30-minute "Victory Today" radio show, featuring his preaching and occasional interviews of FV staff or students. Often Brothers' preaching is a thinly veiled support for the Republican Party
. His theological outlook is generally informed by an apocalyptic form of fundamentalism which considers the imminent return of Christ as within his own lifetime, a view that is common in fundamentalism, despite the fact that many of its protagonists are now dead. Like Hal Lindsey and others, his eschatological
perspective is based on the bibically discredited view of the Rapture
. Brothers' radio program often exhibits clear evidence of an "off the cuff" approach that painfully indicates little preparation or carerful thought. He disdains any serious scholarship as "liberal" thus protecting him from having to give serious effort to understanding other "non-American, non-Republican, non-modern" theological views.
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, USA.
Freedom Village
He is best known as the founder of Freedom Village (FV), an intensive care home for troubled teens operated from a Christian Fundamentalist perspective and founded in Starkey, New YorkStarkey, New York
Starkey is a town in Yates County, New York, USA. The population was 3,465 at the 2000 census. The town is in the southeast part of the county and south of Geneva, New York.- History :...
in 1981. The campus building was the site of the defunct Lakemont Academy, a secular boys boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. Freedom Village also operates an office in Burlington, Ontario
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
and has many students from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Patterned somewhat after the reform homes established by Lester Roloff
Lester Roloff
Lester Leo Roloff was an American fundamental Independent Baptist preacher, and founder of teen homes across the South.- Early ministry :...
, FV uses a physical discipline similar to the Roloff Homes and other Fundamentalist recruit training
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
programs. Representatives of FV have been invited to speak at public schools in the USA and Canada.
Parents are only allowed to visit their children on a prearranged basis after three months, and students are asked to commit to remain in the program for one year. In addition all mail incoming and outgoing is read by a staff member. Children are required to write one letter a week to their family. No letters from former friends are given to the children. Phone calls are limited to one a week made in the presence of a staff member.
The intake process is the interview process where children individually meet with a staff member who will ask several questions regarding their application to Freedom Village. While information about past criminal history, drug use, etc., are factored into the decision to accept a child, the primary criteria for acceptance is a stated willingness to cooperate with the rules and guidelines of the program.
During all meals, chapel sessions, school and church sessions the teenagers are segregated by gender. Dating is only allowed among program students once they have obtained a certain privilege level, and with staff approval.
Freedom Village abides by very restrictive standards of personal dress and conduct. Young people are to wear proper fitting, modest apparel. Pastor Brothers also preaches against secular music and has been outspoken against "Christian rock" as well.
Like Roloff, Brothers has preached on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and indeed uses radio as a recruiting tool. FV produces the daily 30-minute "Victory Today" radio show, featuring his preaching and occasional interviews of FV staff or students. Often Brothers' preaching is a thinly veiled support for the Republican Party
Republican Party
-Africa:*Republican Party *Republican Party *Republican Party -Asia:*Republican Party *Republican Party *Republican Party *Republican Party of Afghanistan*Republican Party of India...
. His theological outlook is generally informed by an apocalyptic form of fundamentalism which considers the imminent return of Christ as within his own lifetime, a view that is common in fundamentalism, despite the fact that many of its protagonists are now dead. Like Hal Lindsey and others, his eschatological
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
perspective is based on the bibically discredited view of the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
. Brothers' radio program often exhibits clear evidence of an "off the cuff" approach that painfully indicates little preparation or carerful thought. He disdains any serious scholarship as "liberal" thus protecting him from having to give serious effort to understanding other "non-American, non-Republican, non-modern" theological views.