Classis Hamilton Safe Church Team

Report to Classis

May, 2007

Dear Classis Delegates,

The office of Abuse Prevention is among the youngest of the CRC’s agencies and departments. Synod created the office in 1994 to serve all the congregations, agencies and educational institutions in the denomination. Synod created the office to design policies and protocols both to reduce the risk of abuse occurring in churches and to assist churches with an effective and just response to incidents of abuse.

 Since 1994:

• 346 churches wrote a child safety policy.
• One-third of the classes implemented a Safe Church Team for education, support, and response service.
• Approximately 21 Advisory Panels were held to assist councils when allegations arose against a church leader.
• Through the office, over 100 congregations received training on preventing, reporting, and responding to incidents of abuse; many other congregations received training through their classis Safe Church Team.
• In addition, the office receives many calls for assistance and policies from non-CRC pastors and leaders because their denomination does not offer abuse prevention services. Protecting children and adults from abuse is a worthy calling and worth doing well. 

Since our January Classis report, we have received two enquiries into situations where an abuse occurred over 40 years ago, and in both cases these persons were up for council nomination. Advice only was sought and no further action was requested. 

Faith Alive states the following:

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 2.9 million cases of child abuse are reported each year but the number of unreported incidents is nearly three times that amount: a staggering 8.7 million. It’s time to share the responsibility and help keep our children protected, nurtured, and safe.
We would expect the Canadian statistics per capita to be similar.

Faith Alive has a set of resources called Safekeeping: Session Plans for Developing Abuse Awareness in Kids a new 2-session program that is essential for any children’s ministry. Safekeeping helps children in grades K-8 realize that they are created in God’s image and that they are worthy of respect and love. These two sessions can be scheduled any time during the church education year. We recommend that you devote two weeks in a row to abuse awareness and that you repeat this program every two years. Each kit comes with a leader’s guide and six picture books to help explain this sensitive topic.

FAMILY VIOLENCE (from the Brant County Health Unit)

A child’s early experiences have a powerful impact on

• how they see their world

• how they grow

• and who they will become
   

Family violence hurts children. They:

• feel scared, helpless and unsafe
• may find it harder to control their anger and get along with others
• are at a higher risk of having low self-esteem and experiencing depression
• may have trouble learning and have difficulties at school
• are more likely to be violent or to be involved in violent relationships when they are older
  
  If you are being hurt, your kids are hurting too!

In His Service

On behalf of the Classis Hamilton Safe Church Team

John Gilson, Chairperson
www.classishamilton.ca/SafeChurchTeam.htm

classishamilton@bfree.on.ca