There’s no such thing as a safe church.

It may seem a strange thing to hear from the Diocesan Safe Church Officer, but I stand by it. Church at its best is risky. Community can be messy. Following Jesus comes at a cost. And we are so very human. Put it all together, and there is no such thing as a safe church, only church communities that try our best to be faithful, grounded, visionary, loving, welcoming, and as safe as possible for all whom we serve. 

This is where Safe Church training comes in. It is precisely because ministry in all its forms can be so very human and thus less-than-perfect that we need training, guidelines, a holding space, if you will, in which to do our ministry well. Safe Church is not about a set of rules to limit our creativity or to make our jobs harder. Nor is it designed to be a training for you to dread until you get it over with for three more years. Safe Church, to me, is about creating a culture that strives for safety at every level — from one-on-one pastoral relationships to the offices that oversee and resource ministries, and everything in between. It takes all of us, working together with a common set of guidelines to help create a culture of safety within our communities. It takes intentionality with regard to our buildings, our programs, our relationships, and our understanding of the power dynamics inherent in doing ministry.

We strive in all that we do to sustain ministries of true welcome. But to be truly welcoming is not simply to open the doors. To be truly welcoming is to be open to meeting others right where they are, and to be open to being changed by them. To be truly welcoming is to strive to make our communities as safe as possible for those who enter into them.

What does it look like to be a church community that welcomes unconditionally those who come before us? What does it mean to be safe? If you ask four different people you will get at least five different answers, because safety is subjective and conditional. It will look and feel very different for folks depending on age, gender, race, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, past trauma, and a host of other identities and experiences we carry with us. To enter into community takes a certain level of openness, which creates vulnerability. We can’t predict what one person needs to feel safe. But we can create and maintain trainings, programs, systems, and policies to be sure we are doing all we can so our ministries can thrive. Safe Church trainings and policies help to ensure we are doing just that.

When it comes to Safe Church trainings, I get a lot of questions about which and when and how, but the underlying question, I think, is why? Why do I have to attend a Safe Church class, or why on earth do I have to do it again? Here’s a stab at the “Why Safe Church?” Top 10:

Why Safe Church?

10. Because the obligation to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being is binding for all the baptized who have made these promises through the Baptismal Covenant.

9.Because to be truly welcoming is to be intentional about how we welcome.

8. Because ministry is inherently risky, and being in community can be inherently vulnerable. 

7.Because the authority with which leaders are entrusted creates an inherent power imbalance, while Christian leadership is intended to provide occasions for guidance and grace, and its abuse is always and unequivocally wrong.

6. Because it takes a village (community) to create a culture of safety.

5. Because 3-6 hours of training once every three years is not too much to ask for the privilege of engaging in life-giving ministry. And it’s canonically required for most of us (but open to all)!

4. Because you will receive valuable tools for ministry, and you will get to engage with faithful leaders from throughout the diocese who will support, challenge, teach, and inspire you when we gather together.

3. Because policies and practices change over time, and because it is likely you will learn something new and/or see things in a new way each time you gather with a new learning community.

2. Because learning to care for people who are vulnerable is useful in many parts of our lives.

1.Because almost everyone who attends a training leaves saying something like “that was so much better than I expected it to be!”

I am here as a resource and support for your ministries, and I am grateful for all who lean in to the challenges, learnings and best practices of Safe Church. There is no such thing as a safe church yet, but there sure are people and communities throughout our diocese who are striving to make our ministries as safe as possible for every child of God who comes before us. Thank you. And thanks be to God.