Previously located in Bellingham and run by a woman who lived in Custer, Eva’s Eden was seen by most as a nonprofit cat rescue organization. But, according to others, it was a front for a religious cult.
An article recently published by the Nashville Scene, is the result of its author’s effort to follow up on claims that followed Sheryl Ruthven (formerly Sheryl Walker) to Columbia, Tennessee after she and several other people moved from Whatcom County to there in 2013. Claims are many left families who haven’t been able to make contact since.
The article points out how, in public, Ruthven and her cat rescue organization appear innocuous. But former followers have taken to social media in an attempt to shine a different light on her and Eva’s Eden.
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But a group of former followers says Ruthven’s ministry is a cult of personality, devoted to its prophet, who they say claims to be a Divine [Mary] Magdalene, a reincarnated messiah figure who will create a new Eden after the apocalypse. Those former followers say they once worshipped Ruthven, following her every command, even leaving their families for her sake. They now run a Facebook page aimed at exposing what they call an abusive cult.
Former followers have created a Facebook Page, “Is There a Cult in Columbia, TN?” on which they share what they report is correspondence from Ruthven to her followers and their own renditions of time spent as followers, members of The Oneness Foundation (formerly Freedom Fire Ministries).
The caring for cats became part of Ruthven’s religious preaching. Followers were expected keep dozens of cats in their care. According to one former follower quoted in the article, the belief was, “As long as you take care of them, then in your time of need, they will transform and take care of you.”
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According to the article’s author, just a day after he made contact with the Eva’s Eden shelter manager, their Facebook page, website, twitter account and Instagram account went dark (and remain so 4 days later). This happened after he was told,
… she would have to contact the FBI, the local sheriff and their lawyer before commenting. Eva’s Eden had been harassed in the past, she said, and was considering legal action against her critics.
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