Episcopalians from across the diocese—and a few from the Diocese of Olympia—gathered Saturday, July 6 at Grace Memorial Church in Portland for an in-person Safe Church training. Safe Church, Safe Communities is a comprehensive program within the Episcopal Church dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of all members, particularly the most vulnerable, by promoting a culture of respect, transparency, and accountability through rigorous training, policies, and support systems.
Sponsored by the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon and facilitated by Rev. Martin Elfert and Rev. Lara Halsey, the group learned about important safeguarding practices, policies, and procedures through discussions, role-playing, and other collaborative activities. Rev. Elfert described the gathering as “hopeful and energizing,” adding that hosting the training in person instead of online led to its being “unexpectedly successful.”
Canon for Lifelong Formation Derek Moyer said, “In striving to live out our Baptismal Covenant, we are called to respect the dignity of every human being. As the people of God in the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon, we are committed to the safety of all God’s people. The Episcopal Church’s Safe Church, Safe Communities curriculum is one important way that we live out this commitment.”
To facilitate convenience in order to achieve better compliance with the Episcopal Church’s Model Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth, the recently revised Safe Church curriculum is designed to be completed online on the Praesidium Academy platform. Canon Moyer said, “We recognize that online trainings do not work for everyone, and so we have begun to make the Safe Church, Safe Communities training available at occasional in-person trainings.” Rev. Elfert added, “Always available often means never done.”
Additional in-person trainings will be scheduled in Eugene and Salem later this year. If your community would like to host an in-person Safe Church, Safe Communities training, please contact Canon Derek Moyer.
Safe Church, Safe Communities: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/safe-church/