Family members seek contact with cultists

Christian Century, Jan 27, 1999

Relatives of members of Concerned Christians, an alleged doomsday cult, are trying various means, including going to court and holding vigils, in an effort to make contact with family members in the group and woo them away from what some believe is a cult that may be headed for a millennium-oriented act of self-destruction.

In England, meanwhile, police have warned Israeli diplomats of a possible attack by members of the Denverbased group. The cult's leader, Monte Kim Miller, is believed to be hiding in England. On January 8, 14 members of the group were deported from Israel and returned to Denver. In an effort to speak to their loved ones, relatives held a vigil at the Denver hotel where the cult members were staying. "All they want is to talk to their loved ones and to tell them they love them," said Sherry Clark, speaking on behalf of the relatives. Clark's daughter is a member of the group but was not among those deported.

Jennifer Cooper, the daughter of sect member John Cooper, went to court in Boulder, Colorado, to petition for conservatorship over the estate of her father. She said she believes her father has given at least $1.5 million to Miller and the cult. On January 7, Boulder District Judge Carol Glowinsky granted the petition. The elder Cooper did not appear in court to contest the ruling. Coopers daughter said she hoped the action "will bring him back home and make him think about something besides that cult." In her petition, Jennifer Cooper said she thinks her father has been "brainwashed" by Miller, a native of Burlington, Colorado, who formed the Concerned Christians group in the late 1980s.

In London the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported that Israel and Britain have been sharing information in an effort to track the movements of cult members. Some of Miller's disciples are believed to have accompanied him to Britain, while others are thought to be in Mexico and Greece. About 70 members of the group disappeared from Denver last fall.