From Your Clergy: Our New Safe Church Process

“Safe Church” is the name of the Episcopal Church’s program and process for ensuring a safe and welcoming environment. People with special roles in the parish and diocese are required to complete this process. Our Vestry adopted new policies in compliance with the improved diocesan policies in September of 2022; they are posted on our website here.

Safe Church involves two parts: a background check, and a video-based online training. The video training varies depending on your role in the parish. It is “designed to increase awareness regarding sexual misconduct and abuse of power, to outline steps toward preventing abuse, to offer ways to intervene when misconduct occurs and to equip anyone in a position of congregational leadership with ways of healing and rebuilding the body of Christ” (as the diocese says here).

In the last four years of transition, the staff have worked hard on finding a good way to make sure that we are in compliance with our policy. After quite a bit of struggle to find a good process that works for the varying rhythms of the staff’s years, we have found a new approach that will work for the three staff members involved (rector, assistant rector, administrator) and will also simplify things for the parish.

We will now have two regular deadlines: in September and in February/March. In addition to sending out reminders and doing the checks at these times, we will also offer a morning of tech support before each deadline. As in 2023, participants can bring in their laptops and headphones, and we will offer a light breakfast and be on hand for trouble with logging in, selecting the right videos, etc. 

This year, Safe Church Tech Support will be offered on August 18 for the September 7 deadline, and on February 9 for the March 1 deadline.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “Should I have this training?!”--don’t worry! If you need this training, we will reach out to you by the first of August. It’s our job to make sure you know about it and have what you need.

Onward!

Rev. Megan and Mtr. Emily