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My Husband Assaulted Me,(Los Angeles - August 5, 2009) - Sheri Ferber wasviolently attacked by her husband. What happened afterwas just as abusive.** Editor’s Note: The following story was brought to our attentionthrough the incredible women in our Community, where outreachand support for Sheri Ferber abounds. We attempted to contactSaddleback Church for a comment, but we have yet to hear back.Five years ago, SheriFerber was violentlyattacked by herhusband on the wayhome from Sundayservice. Strong in her Christianfaith, she turned to herchurch, Saddleback Churchin Lake Forest, CA, for help.She attempted to confide ina pastor, who refused to hearher story. The pastor evencalled her husband to warnhim that she had been “gossipingabout their marriage.”As a parishioner for 10 years,Sheri was devastated.Her church, like manyother Evangelical denominations,believes in traditionalgender roles. These rolescommand a wife to be submissiveto her husband, as heis the leader of and providerfor the household. Along withthis comes the belief thatthere are very few reasonsfor divorce. Domestic abuse,as unfortunate as it is, is notone of them.Momlogic sat down withSheri Ferber to hear her sideof the story and learn moreabout her church’s views ongender, abuse, and marriage.ML: Most Evangelicalchurches teach from thepoint of view of traditionalgender roles, where wivessubmit to husbands’ protectionand leadership. Do youthink this allows abusers tojustify their actions?Sheri: I believe an abuserwill use any method ormeans to justify their actions.But on the reverse,there are men who love theirwives like the Bible indicates,and like what I believe wasits true intention, where aman would stop at nothing toprotect his wife and family—providing for them, leadingthem with a servant’s heart.Men and women need to betaught to love, honor, andprotect one another better.Marriage is a partnership,not a dictatorship. There isa humble submission andpreference for one another’sneeds, never forcing ourselveson the other person.I also believe most churchesteach the true meaningof the word SUBMIT. EvenSaddleback Church teachesfrom a perspective of mutualsubmission. There are thosewho take the submit termout of context and make ita buzzword for feminismtopics.ML: What does your supportgroup consist of now?(Note: Sheri has become veryclose to her former husband’sex-wife, who was also a victimof extreme physical andemotional abuse.)Sheri: I have an amazingset of friends—true friends,some neighbors, some I grewup with or went to collegewith. When I make a friend,I usually keep them for life.The sad reality is, those whowere there for me the mostwere friends who were notaffiliated with any church orreligion. It hurt me deeplyto watch my non-Christianfriends see what the churchwas and was not doing. Whenthe storm hit, my non-Christianfriends were the mostChristian in love and deed.They came to my side, madesure my home had what itneeded, made sure my sonhad everything he needed,and more. They brought food,they did my laundry, helpedkeep my shades open, tookwalks with me. I also have avery supportive mother. Sheloved me through it all.Angela, my former husband’sfirst wife, and I areclose now. We connectedafter the incident with Mark.Initially, when I met Mark, I20 Focus on Women Magazine