HUNTINGTOWN, Md. – The website SurvivorsofChesapeakeChurch.com was launched in February, consisting of a series of blog posts. The blog posts seem to center around speaking out against the leadership of the Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown.
The main page of the site explains, “These are the stories of the people who are willing to speak out against the leadership at Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, MD. They deserve your attention.”
So far, there are seven blog posts on the site. The posts seem to speak out against the senior pastor of Chesapeake Church, Robert Hahn. Some tell the story of Allison Morrison (most names had been changed for privacy), who was physically and verbally abused by her husband, Jason. When Allison sought the help of her friend Sara, they decided to consult pastor Robert Hahn for guidance since they were recently employed by the church.
The posts claim that Hahn urged the two not to go to the police and instead meet with him. The meeting is described in detail in the blog post, “Robert Hahn ran the meeting like an inquisition, with Allison as the target. He expressed suspicion of Allison’s story and asked her if she was sure she was being abused. None of the other elders spoke up for Allison. None expressed sympathy for her or indicated that they believed her.”
The post says that Hahn not only urged Allison not to leave her abusive husband but also told Sara that if she were asked to testify in court on the matter, she should lie about what she had seen of the abuse.
The blog posts outline Allison and Sarah’s story in greater detail about Hahn ignoring this abuse and also cite instances where Hahn abused his power and allegedly acted inappropriately.
In the fourth post titled “The Prodigals,” a story is told supposedly from the perspective of a pastor named Daniel Palmer. Daniel Palmer is married to Caroline Palmer, Robert Hahn’s daughter. Daniel’s story also describes instances in which Hahn acted inappropriately.
“On a mission trip to Honduras, Daniel witnessed Robert Hahn, drunk, behaving belligerently toward the other (female) executive pastor and a female staff member. As months went by, he watched multiple families leave the church because husbands didn’t like the way Robert eyed their wives. He saw Robert bully and use and abuse local politicians and church vendors to get what he wanted.”
Caroline Palmer was also interviewed for the blog posts, and in the fifth blog post titled “The Aftermath”, she speaks on her experience with the church.
“I’ve been a part of that church since I was seven years old,” said Caroline. “I was the senior pastor’s daughter and married to an executive pastor. Not one of the elders came to me. Why was our struggle and subsequent fallout swept under the rug? Why was Robert allowed to manipulate and lie and spin to keep himself on top?
Caroline and Daniel Palmer also recently released a video on Facebook discussing the website and how their family left the church and Caroline’s side of the family. These details are also discussed in “The Aftermath.”
“When Daniel and Caroline Palmer left Chesapeake, they lost all of these things and more. Their children lost a set of grandparents. Cousins. Aunts and uncles. They lost not one but two sources of income. They walked out of that church with little else but what physical items they could take with them. They. Felt. Alone.
Caroline observes that Daniel saw that Robert Hahn was willing to sacrifice anything, even his own daughter, in order to retain tight control over the church. When Daniel realized that he, too, was wrongly prioritizing the church over his own marriage, it alarmed him. That wasn’t the person he wanted to be. He chose to walk away from the life he’d lived for nearly thirteen years.”
In the site’s Q&A section, one individual supposedly asked, “What is the ultimate goal of sharing these stories?” The answer provided is, “To expose the truth. The leadership at Chesapeake Church should submit to a full investigation from an outside team. They should accept recommendations regarding organizational changes and should commit to providing the congregation with a leadership model based on transparency and accountability. We believe Robert Hahn should step down, with pay, pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
On March 25th, 2022, an update was released on the site “In response to this forum, Pastor Hahn and Chesapeake Church have initiated litigation in Calvert County, Maryland. While I unequivocally stand by the work of this site, as a solo individual now embroiled in litigation, I must pause so I can focus my attention on defending against the efforts to silence this forum now pursued by Pastor Hahn and Chesapeake Church.
Thank you again for all your past and future interest, for your prayers, and for trusting me with your stories. I am working toward getting back to each person who has reached out to me.
I look forward to getting back to telling your stories soon.”
TheBayNet.com will be following the litigation proceedings. We will work to provide more details on the situation and litigation in the coming days.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
April 3 POST – “court struck down Robert Hahn injunction restraining order. It was unconstitutional” ~ FB BLOGGER
Thank you for reporting on this!
Lots of abuse in churches nowadays….I certainly experienced it when I was a younger man involved in church leadership. Senator Tim Ferguson
There’s always more than one side to a story. His perspective, your perspective and what actually happened. I’d love to see an article that allows both sides to give their perspective and then allow the readers to make their own decisions based on their experiences with both sides.
There are two sides to every story, but Robert Hahn lost all credibility with me when he gave his sermon back in September when the first incident mentioned in the blog blew up. He told the congregation that he couldn’t talk about it because legal proceedings had taking place, but “now the truth can be told.” What he failed to tell the congregation was that the legal proceedings were against him, in the form of a peace order. He painted a very different picture on the pulpit, with him being the victim. If that didn’t do it for me, I definitely would’ve been put off by his “sermon” he gave on March 13.
I had some negative experiences with Pastor Hahn and Chesapeake Church some time ago. My family took Christian Counselling there that sounds strikingly like Allison’s. I broached the topic of Pastor Hahn with other members and felt that they all had him on a pedastal. Indeed, it was fairly obvious that he had put himself up there. I continued to attend and tried to work through what I saw as “my” problem. My family and I got heavily involved in groups and committees. I hoped it would resolve my issues. It did not. The last straw was when he preached that only those who were ” good enough” should partake of communion. We left and never went back. The way I was treated as a woman there always gave me a bad feeling. To this day, driving past the building makes me uncomfortable. I wonder if The Baynet or Ms. Palmer would be willing to share an email address where those of us who are just learning of this could respond? Whatever the outcome, God bless her and others who seek to expose the truth behind people in power who are not handling it correctly. That takes nerve and it takes faith!
Hi J- I’d love I’d you’d reach out to me, the author of Survivors of Chesapeake, at SurvivorsofChesapeake@gmail.com or through the contact form on my site, SurvivorsofChesapeake.com if you’d rather not share your email. I’d be interested in hearing your story; I respect your privacy.
So you can use it in your online blog or do you genuinely care?
Homer-
Most people don’t want to publish on the blog. They are scared or simply just want to tell their story to SOMEONE who will listen. I’m making no money on this- am actually in the hole (and being sued!) so I can honestly say I genuinely do care.
Loved the kids program and family nights and thing they did for the community. The kids program was the only thing keeping us there.
There are so many stories…so many! We were victims and God pulled us from that place because there is NO TRUTH in that church. So if you need more perspectives, be careful because you might end up with more lawsuits against Chesapeake Church.
Please reach out if you’re interested in telling your story. I promise – respect your privacy.
There are always two sides and different perspectives, to find the truth a non-partial, outside investigation is required.
This is exactly what I’ve called for since the beginning.
https://www.netgrace.org/
There is so much context missing from this article, the blog and story in its whole entirety. It’s no doubt why they are all being sued. You do know this blog is run by the sister (a journalist) of the church employee who was fired for cheating on his wife, and then repeatedly lying about to the church (where he was a pastor!) Sounds a little too much like revenge to me. And Daniel (his son-in-law who is friends with that cheating, lying pastor who was fired) is another disgruntled, former employee who was hell bent on taking over the position of senior pastor and couldn’t. This whole thing is just sad & wreaks of bs.
I am not the sister of the pastor who was fired and have never once condoned his actions, and he and Daniel haven’t spoken in over five years.
“Truthteller”… not so much. Your commentary is loaded with false information. And if you are going to say something reeks, you should probably spell it correctly. Now I can’t take you seriously.
Samantha- what false information?
Try and stick to the facts instead of critiquing my spelling. Your vague accusations have no substance. I very often admit when I’m wrong. But I know Daniel and Ron aren’t friends. I definitely know I’m not Ron’s sister. And I certainly know I have concrete evidence to back up every statement I made on my blog. I gladly invite everyone to follow the case. I have nothing to hide. So what’s your problem now?
You can’t take someone seriously if they spell a word wrong?!? So you never take dyslexics seriously? ESL students? Four year olds? People who are just bad at spelling? You know spelling has nothing to do with intellect, right? You sound like a truly terrible person. Just the type of person who’s defend Robert Hahn.
I agree that are two sides to every story. I only see one side being represented here. A lot of accusations. Unfortunately public accusations can lead to lawsuits. I understand there are former employees involved, and since there’s only one side of the story represented, that in and of itself is questionable. Truly sad to see this being hashed out in a public forum.
Robert Hahn at Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, Maryland is a toxic leader. Who sues their own family? What church sues individuals? Chesapeake Church has been built upon a large ego, weak leadership, and an insecure and unfaithful leadership.
Any Christian who attends there really needs to ask themselves
Will this pastor and their leaders care for me if I need them?
What happens if I disagree?
Will they sue me?
Please like this is the first Mega church whose narcissistic pastor destroys a church. Ask yourself why? MONEY, GREED, the sins of man.
I think the best thing I can say is to please stop with the hateful words and put love and forgiveness in your heart. WWJD
Christians pray for one another. They forgive.
If Robert Hahn and the church have nothing to hide, they should have no problem submitting to an 3rd party investigation. Going on a legal attack, using his congregants’ tithes to secure legal representation, seems to suggest he’s got something to hide. As a former member, I am incredibly disappointed, and wish I could take back every cent and redirect it to a meaningful purpose.
There are three sides to a story, yours, there’s and God’s. I think the biggest question everyone should ponder is this; if there is nothing wrong going on at CC then why put a message out there on March 13th 2022 to defend your position and then remove it from social media? What Robert is doing to these individuals flies in the face of Christendom. Matthew 23:27-28
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
There are seven “woes” in that chapter. Jesus took seriously the leaders in His day playing politics and hypocrisy to the Body of Christ. Ches. Church is not the church of Robert Hahn and that is indeed what we are seeing play out right now. Don’t believe me, just watch and see. He is cleansing His temple AGAIN. I will not remain silent, my story will come all in good time.
Robert’s supporters created a private Facebook Group where they can talk privately without being “attacked” by the Survivors group. Meanwhile, they are monitoring the survivors group and making false reports to Facebook to get information removed. I posted about some pretty clear discrepancies with the reporting of End Hunger (with sources sited)…in return, his supporters reported my post to Facebook as “spam” to get it removed. It seems like they are trying hard to bury information, just like they tried to bury that sermon.
they are definitely hiding something or they would have no problem submitting for an independent review.
It’s also about reliable witnesses and the character of the people speaking out against him. All of whom are far more believable. Who in their right mind would ever want this to be true? Who wants to get attacked by the people they love and care about constantly? For fun? Please. No one is enjoying this. I completely and unequivocally believe them 100%.
Did that man seriously just blast everyone’s personal business from the pulpit? What in the world is wrong with this church? I cannot believe he had the audacity to get in front of a room packed with people and tattletale like a kid who got picked last for the soccer team in school. This is wrong and disgusting and anyone who believes this is ok needs a labotomy. The man is whack, bye Felicia.
According to the case file, “Plaintiffs demand judgement against each defendant, jointly and severally, in an amount that exceeds Seventy-Five Thousand and 00/100 ($75,000.00), punitive damages in the amount of Five-Hundred Thousand ($500,000.00), pre-judgement and post-judgement interest and costs, and for any such further relief as the nature of this cause may require.” That is a lot of money to take from his own son-in-law, subsequently having an effect on his daughter and grand-children…especially since he didn’t submit all of the blog posts as defamatory with his case file, which anyone can obtain at the court house. He did NOT submit blog posts 1, 5, and 7 in his claim. Post 7 is about his multiple extra-material affairs, lying about finishing Seminary school, etc. He also admitted to dropping out of seminary school and being drunk on campus “once” (as referenced in part of Post 4) during a June 6 “community meeting.”
Why has the Baynet not picked back up on covering this?
For A Father To Turn On His Daughter Is Not Acceptable. Totally Unforgiving.
Wow. I just stumbled across this article. I worked with Robert Hahn back in the 80s at EPA. I can’t believe he became a pastor. He was allowed to resign from his government job…he was caught lying about his credentials. See the pattern here? He clearly learned nothing. His other behaviors were present as well. I’m sorry your congregation had to endure this. He’s a charlatan, a scam artist.