Bronwyn Clark Skov
Manager for Safe Church and Special Projects(646) 242-1421
Safe Church
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. The authority with which leaders—ordained persons, adults who minister with minors (children and youth), youth in leadership roles, and adults who minister with vulnerable humans—are entrusted creates an inherent power imbalance in the relationship. This power imbalance derives from the leadership role and, in the case of clergy, the symbolic authority of an ordained person. Christian leadership is intended to provide occasions for guidance and grace, and its abuse is always and unequivocally wrong.
The Episcopal Church updated the Model Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth and added a Model Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults in 2017. A General Convention task force was empowered to create updated training materials to help us live up to and live into our responsibilities to foster appropriate relationships, and to know how to recognize and respond to power imbalances. Safe Church, Safe Communities courses were launched in 2021 on the Praesidium Academy online learning platform. Currently there are eight courses, in English and Spanish, comprising the Safe Church, Safe Communities series that can be accessed by learners through your local parish or diocesan learning portal.
Please check with your diocese or organization to discover how they have adopted and adapted the new model policies and to learn your local protocols for training, responding, and reporting.
¡Muy pronto!
Latest Safe Church News
- Safe Church ContactsWe strive to keep dioceses up to date on the latest resources. Everyone on our general distribution list receives this quarterly update. We also keep a schedule of online trainings and drop-in sessions for diocesan-level staff who facilitate policy, protocols, training, and responding. Please use this link to update your diocesan staff contacts. Julie from… Read more: Safe Church Contacts
- Spanish Language Training MaterialsAll eight of the Safe Church, Safe Communities courses offered on Praesidium Academy are available in Spanish. Spanish-language learners will still need to navigate setting up their account with Praesidium’s English platform, but administrators can send instructions in the account invitation in Spanish and direct them to the Spanish-language version of the courses. The video… Read more: Spanish Language Training Materials
- The Anglican Communion Safe Church CommissionThe Anglican Consultative Council in Accra, Ghana, in 2023 (ACC-18) committed itself to making the safety of all people in the provinces of the Anglican Communion a priority of its focus, resource allocation and actions; again encouraged member churches and agencies to use and implement the International Anglican Safe Church Commission Charter, Protocol and Guidelines; and requested that the commission… Read more: The Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission
- Safe Church at General ConventionAttending the 81st General Convention in Louisville this month? Please come visit us at booth No. 515 in the Exhibit Hall. Our consultants, Tim Spannaus, Eric Travis, and Julie Travis, will provide some giveaways and share resources and wisdom. Christy Schiller from Praesidium Inc. will also be there to respond to questions and share information… Read more: Safe Church at General Convention
- New WebpagesWe have finally reorganized and refreshed our webpages at www.episcopalchurch.org/safe-church. We hope you will find the new navigation more intuitive and user-friendly. There is a password-protected area that offers resources for diocesan-level trainers and administrators only. Within The Episcopal Church the diocese is the primary unit of organization, with jurisdiction over its parishes and institutions. Therefore… Read more: New Webpages