SAFE AND SOUND
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.
Mark 10:14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
Clearly from these verses, our loving Creator and His Son care for children more than we can ever imagine or demonstrate. Regrettably, children are often the brunt of society’s ills and cruelty. As Christians, however, we can help bring healing and restoration to families and children who are suffering.
But first we need to look are our place of worship and our church activities. Do we have a safe church for our children?
The Christian Reformed Church, the denomination that Sanctuary is affiliated with, has developed fairly extensive policies and procedures that aim to ensure that our children and our most vulnerable are safe from harm. Sanctuary CRC in fact has a written document that outlines these “safe church” guidelines and practices. These can be viewed upon request from our pastors. These policies are reviewed periodically by church leaders to determine if they still apply to our current congregation and whether they need revision.
What are some safe church practices?
· Anyone assisting children in an ongoing capacity should be thoroughly vetted to determine if he or she poses any risk. Fingerprinting and background checks while seemingly too odious are essential to maintain a safe environment for children to flourish.
· Training in safe church procedures must accompany any children’s ministry work.
· Children have the right to not be touched. We need to respect their boundaries. Some children love affection, hugs, and so on, but this has to be done in a way that is not disquieting to them. All touch must be limited to what’s appropriate and within the child’s comfort and the parents’ comfort zones. Children should understand what is a “good” versus a “bad” touch is.
· Teachers and assistants should know the signs that children may express when they are feeling discomfort and distress.
· Any indications from the child or parent that some ill-advised touching or actions by an adult has occurred, these must be confidentially reported to the head pastor within 12 hours.
· Two adults should always be with children even when taking a child to the restroom.
· Rooms where children are playing and learning should have clear visibility so that all areas of the environment can be readily accessed and monitored.
· Classroom doors should not be locked and have a window in them.
Hopefully it’s common knowledge that children who experience maltreatment and abuse tend to exhibit emotional scars for sometimes a lifetime. We cannot risk this. As church we need to redouble our effort to maintain a safe church and learning environment. Parents need to feel confident that their children are well cared for and attended to at all times.
A safe church is a caring and loving place, where all God’s children feel secure and protected from harm. Join me and many others in the effort to keep Sanctuary a place where children experience only love and warmth and are free from fear.
Chris Sink
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