You’ve got a safeguarding policy in your church. Great! Now what?
Occupying the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead/Coordinator/Officer can feel like a lonely job – one that no one else signed up for, so you thought you’d step up into the role. Being on the after-service refreshments rota was a literal cup of tea compared to safeguarding. Whoever signed up for the welcome roster had the right idea. Even cleaning up after crèche seemed less messy than the emotional, sensitive and potentially traumatic ordeal of dealing with concerns about vulnerable people.
But deep down, you knew that safeguarding was important – of Biblical proportions, you could say, and you’d be right. Proverbs 31:8, anyone? How about Psalm 121, where the Hebrew word describing God as the keeper of Israel can be translated as safeguard? Even just the broad metanarrative sweep of the entire Bible, which calls us to look out for the marginalised, oppressed and vulnerable among us in loving gratitude of a God who embodied just that in the person of Jesus?
