By: Rev. Hannah Bryn
A story we often hear about Jesus is when Jesus welcomed children into his arms and blessed them. We hear about the crowd and the disciples rebuking the children and Jesus stepping in, saying “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (Mark 10:14, NRSVUE). This story is so often told as a lesson to churches, parents, grandparents, and caregivers to bring their children to Christ. However, Jesus doesn’t say “bring the children to me”, Jesus says, “let the children come to me”. I wonder what it would mean if we reframed our safety policies and practices by asking the question, “how are we creating spaces where children, youth, and vulnerable adults are safe to come to, so they feel safe to take that step towards Christ?”
In 2024, the Discipleship Ministries office of The United Methodist General Church released an updated resource called “Safer Sanctuaries: Nurturing Trust within Faith Communities”. This resource has updated best practices, templates, questions, and theological wonderings that encourage congregations to ask these questions.
This resource serves as a starting point for congregations and communities to ask those questions and begin to embed the practices, theologies, and questions of Safer Sanctuaries into their everyday lives of congregational ministry.
Why: Why do Safer Sanctuaries Matter?
Churches and communities of faith are called be to safer spaces where children, youth, and vulnerable adults can trust that they can explore their relationship to God and one another. We are called to create spaces that protect children, youth, and vulnerable adults from harm and abuse. We are also called to live out our faith through healthy, safer relationships with one another and with God. Safer Sanctuaries matter because embedding these practices, theologies, and questions of best practice into our everyday lives embodies the way that churches and communities of faith are called to be a reflection of the Kingdom of God.
How: How do we implement Safer Sanctuaries Practices?
Every church and/or community of faith should have a contextualized Safer Sanctuaries Policy that is:
- Updated at least every five years by the leadership of the local church or community of faith.
- Implemented in every ministry area of the church or community of faith, no matter the age-level of the participants
- All staff and volunteers in the church or community of faith should be trained annually on the Safer Sanctuaries Policy
- Incoming staff and/or volunteers should be background checked and trained on the Safer Sanctuaries Policy
- Background checks should be repeated at least every 2 years for ongoing or returning volunteers
See The Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church Safer Sanctuaries Policy for suggested best practices. Churches and communities of faith are encouraged to share and post the Safer Sanctuaries One-Page Document as an overview of the suggested best practices. Please notify Kim Johnson (kimjohnson@vaumc.org) for an editable template of this document.
These best practices, that churches and communities of faith use to create their policy, create consistent, accountable systems that aim to reduce risk and protect both children, youth, and vulnerable adults as well as staff and volunteers from harm.
Communicate: How do we communicate about Safer Sanctuaries with our congregation?
Churches and communities of faith are encouraged to take time annually to highlight the ministry of Safer Sanctuaries in the life of the church. This may look like:
- Providing small group discussions on how we are called to be a reflection of the Kingdom of God by creating spaces where people can enter into relationships with God and others in healthy and safe ways
- Preaching about Safer Sanctuaries and how it is a ministry, not just a policy
- Providing ongoing training, communication, and a shared understanding of Safer Sanctuaries will help the congregation and community of faith to embed the ministry of Safer Sanctuaries into their everyday lives
The Virginia Conference of the UMC also provides Safer Sanctuaries Trainers who are equipped to come to your church to be a resource in this ministry. The list of current Safer Sanctuaries Trainers can be found here.