Safe Ministry Update
Dear friends,
As a church, we are robustly committed to Safe Ministry and the protection of children, young people and the vulnerable. I pray that we will work hard together to protect all the people in our care (and the name of Jesus) from those who wish to do evil.
I am so thankful for the task that Jesse Baker, Tash McConnell and their teams undertake each week to safely facilitate excellent gospel ministry to hundreds of young people. I want to commend them to your prayers, but I also want us to raise our eyes to the ongoing safety needs of all the Children and Youth at Christ Church. It’s not just Jesse & Tash’s responsibility.
With this in mind, there are four things I would like you to know.
First, this Sunday our Safe Ministry representative will be speaking at all our church services to remind us of our shared responsibility to care for young and vulnerable people and to let us know what to do if you have concerns about things happening in the safe ministry space at church. I am so thankful that we have extremely competent people involved in this work.
Second, we have established a new committee of Parish Council to help us remain proactive and compliant as we seek to abide by both Anglican Church Safe Ministry rules and the NSW Government Childsafe Standards. The Childsafe Standards Committee will meet at least twice a year to review our progress across the 10 standards and deal with any other matters of concern.
Third, our site is a complex and busy space. Add in the presence of 100s of children (often in the dark) on Fridays and Sundays and the risks escalate. Parish Council are attentive to the need for improvement and are working on some solutions to this but today I am asking that we might all remain attentive while driving in the carpark and surrounding area. Please drive carefully and slowly every time you are in the carpark, being watchful for people of all ages who are moving around.
Finally, I continue to encourage all our church members to complete Safe Ministry Training. This training exists to inform and equip leaders, parents and church members for safe, godly and careful ministry to young and vulnerable people. It is compulsory for all those who serve in such ministry but when a whole church gets on board and gets trained, the safety of young and vulnerable people in our midst improves dramatically.
The more people who know about our Safe Ministry procedures and are trained in them, the better we will be as a community in protecting each other.
To get started, head to safeministry.training. This is the only place to find Sydney Anglican approved training. And once you have completed the course, email us your certificate so we can thank you and also remind you to renew your training in three years time. Ensuring we are engaged in Safe Ministry is not just the job of our Safe Ministry Representative, nor just the staff. Safe Ministry ought to be the concern of all of us so thanks for jumping in, being trained and being a part of making Christ Church St Ives a safe place for young and vulnerable people.
Safe Ministry is about more than the course. Thanks for loving the children in our midst through your prayers, let’s keep loving them through our actions as well. Amen.
