Classis Hamilton Abuse Response Team — Communicator

Fall, 2004 — Issue 1
Current Members

John Gilson, Chairperson
Hope CRC, Brantford
(519) 756-6534

Judy Cook
Fellowship CRC, Ancaster

Lori Hensen
Ancaster CRC

John Benjamins
Immanuel CRC, Hamilton

Monica Heeg-Admiral
Community CRC, Hagersville

Colleen Laing
Community CRC, Hagersville

Tony Boer
Ebenezer CRC, Jarvis

Brenda Hofland
Ebenezer CRC, Jarvis

Bette Vander Giessen
Bethel CRC, Waterdown

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Inter-Classis Abuse Prevention Response Training
You are invited:
March 5, 2005, 9:00 a.m. Kitchener Community Church 1275 Bleams Road, Kitchener
Contact: Atie Ott (519) 576-0965 or wmott@uwaterloo.ca 

The Classis Hamilton Abuse Response Team was formed in March, 2002 to deal with allegations of abuse against a church leader. We deal with these allegations in ecclesiastical hearings in a non-adversarial environment.

As stated in our mandate below, we also provide education on abuse prevention and child safety policies, and provide support to those affected by the abuse.

The Classis Abuse Response Team is a group of representatives of member churches. Each member of the team must be approved by Classis Hamilton. Ideally we would like to have at least one representative from each Classis church. If you feel that this is an area that you may wish to serve in, please call John Gilson for more information.

Our Mandate
  1. Advisory Panel: When requested by a church council, to form a fact finding panel when an allegation of abuse has been made by an adult survivor against a present or former church leader* when the accused is currently a member of the church that is making the request. The panel is to provide a written report on its findings along with recommendations to council.
     
  2. Education: To provide education to classis churches upon request to either pastors, councils, congregations, etc. on the dynamics of abuse and to assist in establishing abuse prevention policies.

  3. Support: To provide initial and ongoing support to victims and/or offenders of abuse in the areas of civil/criminal proceedings, family breakdown, the stress of relationships within the church and personal impacts.

* Church leaders include pastors, chaplains, ordained and unordained staff, professional staff, paid and unpaid staff, council members, directors, superintendents, teachers, counselors, supervisors and all volunteers.


What You Need To Know — Victim

If you were abused by a church leader and want to request an Advisory Panel:

  1. To begin the process within the Christian Reformed Church, you or your representative must contact a member of the Council. This is the Council of the church where the alleged offender is a member (only this Council has spiritual authority over the accused). You do not need to be a member of the church; however, you must be of legal age in the province to request a fact-finding panel.

  2. Once you have informed Council of the allegations (minimal detail required), the Council's Executive should inform the Classical Abuse Response Team and the Advisory Panel process begins. The Advisory Panelists may not be members of your church or of the accused's church nor may they have any ongoing affiliation with you or the accused. All members of the Advisory Panel will have had training in the Panel process and work under a strict pledge of confidentiality.
     
  3. The Chairperson of the Advisory Panel will contact you to arrange a meeting. There you will make your presentation detailing your allegations. Be prepared with all pertinent information and supporting witnesses if necessary (any written material, depositions, oral testimony, including hearsay testimony). The Panel proceeding is an ecclesiastical proceeding intended to give you a non-adversarial environment in which to present your allegations.

  4. The Panel will then weigh the information from the meeting to determine probability and gravity. If the Panel finds the allegations not substantiated, the Panel will write a report for the Executive and the process ceases.

  5. If the Panel determines the allegation to be both probable and serious, the accused person is notified that an accusation has been brought against him/her and that an Advisory Panel meeting with you has taken place. He/she is then given full disclosure and invited to present his/her defense before the same Panel preferably within seven days.

  6. Following this, a written report of findings and any recommendations by the Advisory Panel will be given to the Council's Executive and a brief summary of the report given to you.
     
  7. The Council has responsibility to proceed with the matter. They may decide to close the matter, accept the report of the Advisory Panel, or conduct their own hearing.

  8. If at any time during the above process, you decide to take criminal or civil action, the work of the Advisory Panel ceases. You retain the right to take this action at any time.

Classis Hamilton Abuse Response Team