{"id":21422,"date":"2025-07-11T14:29:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=21422"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:29:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:29:22","slug":"anne-beiler-founder-of-auntie-annes-overcame-abuse-from-a-pastor-and-found-her-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/07\/anne-beiler-founder-of-auntie-annes-overcame-abuse-from-a-pastor-and-found-her-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne\u2019s, Overcame Abuse From a Pastor and Found Her Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Anne Beiler | Inset: soportography \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Auntie Anne\u2019s giant pretzels are an iconic staple of shopping malls. What may not be known, however, is the darkness the company\u2019s founder, Anne Beiler, had to wade through to create the iconic brand. Beiler was born to an Old Order Amish family, meaning she grew up without electricity and modern conveniences. Her family would eventually become \u201cblack car Amish,\u201d meaning they could have some modern conveniences. Spiritually, Beiler was absorbing her family\u2019s motto: \u201cLife is good, and God is harsh.\u201d \u201cI wanted to be a good girl and obey all the Ten Commandments. I lived with the fear that, if I did something bad, God would be displeased with me,\u201d she told The Christian Post<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her spiritual life took an especially dark turn after a tragic farming accident killed her 19-month-old daughter, Angela Joy. The event devastated Beiler\u2019s marriage to her husband, Jonas, leading to a period of silence and inner darkness. As Anne floundered, she sought pastoral counsel. Little did she know, the \u201ccounseling\u201d would only make things worse. When she informed the pastor of the distance between her and Jonas, she found he had ulterior motives. \u201cThe pastor said that Jonas and I would never be able to connect again because of the tragedy. But, he said, he could be what I needed. By the end of the session, I was feeling confused about everything,\u201d she recalled on the \u201cOvercome<\/a>\u201d podcast. \u201cIn my mind, \u2018meeting my needs\u2019 meant getting together, talking, and sharing. But at the end of the session, the pastor walked me to his office door, gave me a long and close hug, and then \u2026 kissed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pastor threatened her not to tell anyone. The abuse would continue for seven years, intensifying into rape. On the outside, Beiler continued to appear as the good housewife and mother, but inside she was dying. It wasn\u2019t until rumors of her pastor abusing other women in their community, including her own sister, came to light that Beiler finally found the courage to leave. It took her six months, however, to tell her husband, thanks to reading James 5:16, which states, \u201cTherefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.\u201d When she confessed, she didn\u2019t find anger but concern. Her husband offered to let her leave the marriage but to take the kids since the children needed their mother. The couple chose to stay together and after seeking real counsel, Beiler was able to understand the full extent of the abuse and her role as a victim.<\/p>\n

Five years after confessing to her husband, Anne and Jonas opened a pretzel stand in 1987. What started off as a modest way to make additional money, however, soon took off. \u201cNo capital, no business plan, no education beyond eighth grade. But God had a plan. He saw who I really was. He taught me and led me every step of the way,\u201d Beiler recalled. That small stand would grow into the beloved pretzel chain that noses across the US, and globally, have come to love. Beiler sold the chain in 2005 but still travels around sharing her story and giving hope to others. \u201cGod gave me a pretzel,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cAnd then He gave me a platform.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Auntie Anne\u2019s giant pretzels are an iconic staple of shopping malls. What may not be known, however, is the darkness the company\u2019s founder, Anne Beiler, had to wade through to create the iconic brand. Beiler was born to an Old Order Amish family, meaning she grew up without electricity and modern conveniences. Her family would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":21425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages"],"yoast_head":"\nAnne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne\u2019s, Overcame Abuse From a Pastor and Found Her Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Auntie Anne\u2019s founder overcame deep trauma and abuse before building her pretzel empire, showing how God can bring purpose from pain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/07\/anne-beiler-founder-of-auntie-annes-overcame-abuse-from-a-pastor-and-found-her-faith.html\" 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