Guest Speaker - Rev. Beth Nelson, Directory
of Training Resources, Care Team & Safe Sanctuaries for the WPA
Conference Center
All persons working in any staff or
volunteer ministry capacity at the church are required to attend
this training. This includes
but is not limited to:, Staff, Nursery Attendants, Children & Youth
Ministry workers, Church Ushers & Greeters, Welcome Center
Volunteers, Praise Band members, Sound and PowerPoint team,
Committee chairpersons and Church liaisons to outside groups.
As part of the training process photo ID pictures for
volunteer and staff ID badges will be taken. All employee and
volunteers are required to wear their badge anytime they are in the
building or church campus. Please register at the Welcome Center
for the Safe Sanctuary training. Contact Susan Winters with
questions.
WE
ARE A SAFE SANCTUARY CHURCH
First and foremost, this is the house of God. The
United Methodist Church advertises that we are a church that has
Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors. With that comes a sacred
responsibility that we must never take lightly. The individuals
who enter our doors not only have a right to worship God, but to
be safe while doing it.
We serve as a sanctuary for those who are hurting and
we must strive to foster a sense of trust so they can experience
well-being while they are in our midst. We especially owe this to
the children who come to us with the most open, trusting, hearts
of all. If we neglect to do whatever we can to ensure their
safety, we fail as good leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ.
The well-being of our children must be paramount in our minds and
our hearts.
We train our volunteers and staff in these practices
as well as mandate an FBI Fingerprinting and clearance for all.
Please keep in mind the real reason we are doing this. We are
doing it for the children, to keep them safe as they look to us
for guidance at the beginning of their faith journey.
When we baptize and confirm our children, we, as
members of the congregation, promise to guide these children on
their faith journey and to be responsible for them in the church.
That promise that we made to our children and that we will make to
future generations of children must be taken seriously and as a
covenant.
Our Director of
Children's Ministry,
Susan Winters, is the coordinator of our Safe Sanctuary program. Please
call her in the office with questions regarding these
practices.
