Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN

A new child protection program from the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s risk management organization is galvanizing the church’s ongoing efforts to shield minors from abuse and misconduct.

Through training for adults and children, as well as background screening for employees and volunteers who work closely with minors, Adventist Risk Management’s Child Protection Plan equips local leaders to make the church a safe place, says ARM Vice President and Chief Risk Management Officer Arthur Blinci.

Adventist Risk Management’s new child protection program backs up church guidelines on child abuse with practical methods of training and screening employees and volunteers who work closely with minors. [photo: iStockphoto]

“It’s part of our mission to help protect the ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” says Blinci, citing Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministries, Pathfinders and Adventurers as a “core component” of that mission. “Faith-based communities have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to protect children from harm when they’re in our care,” he says.

The church has made significant strides toward achieving that goal. In North America, many church employees and volunteers are mandated reporters, Blinci says. This means they have a legal obligation to report abuse or allegations of abuse that occur within the church setting. By 2003, the church’s North American Division had drafted protocol for dealing with sexual misconduct and child abuse. Late last year, the division voted a new child protection policy mandating that every level of church administration implement a training and screening program for volunteers.

The Adventist world church has also been proactive about writing guidelines and voting policies to protect minors. Indeed, at the church’s General Conference Session in 2010, delegates voted to add to the Church Manual specific language guiding the appointment of church employees and volunteers who work closely with minors. They agreed that adults leading out in Pathfinders, Vacation Bible School, Children’s Ministries and Sabbath School programs “must meet church and legal standards and requirements, such as background checks or certification.”

Still, Blinci says that policies, guidelines and good intentions only go so far. Adventist Risk Management routinely handles a couple dozen cases of child abuse every year and has spent some $30 million on indemnity cases over the past two decades. Many U.S. states have open statutes of limitations, allowing older claims of abuse to be raised and litigated.

What the church needs are tools and resources to put in the hands of local church administrators and leaders, he says.

“We’ve heard for so many years from church members, ‘How do we do it?” Blinci says.

Now Adventist Risk Management is providing an answer. Through a partnership with Shield The Vulnerable, the organization’s new Child Protection Plan offers online training for adults on addressing abuse, neglect, predators, bullying, boundaries and respect. It also provides age-appropriate information for children on recognizing and reporting abuse.

Shield The Vulnerable — a California-based service provider that frequently works with faith-based, non-profit organizations — also offers background screening for employees and volunteers as a “critical” line of defense, Blinci says.

“So often, especially on the volunteer side, there’s typically no screening. You want to volunteer for Children’s Ministries? Great, come on, we can use you,” he says. “Now, when potential volunteers know before they even apply that you’re going to run a criminal background check, if they have a propensity, they’re not even going to volunteer.”

While creating the Child Protection Plan, ARM discovered that the church’s Lake Union Conference had already partnered with Shield The Vulnerable and piloted its training and screening programs in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and a portion of Minnesota.

Blinci expects all 59 of the North American Division’s conferences will follow suit in the coming months. Through Shield The Vulnerable, a conference or other administrative unit creates an account that tracks progress as they train volunteers and perform background screenings. “It goes all the way down to the local church and school level,” he says.

ARM resource kits for local churches include PowerPoint presentations, a video clip, a sample child protection policy and reference information.

While North American Division policy doesn’t mandate the use of Shield The Vulnerable, it does require some type of training and screening. “There are other ways a conference may choose to do their own training and orientation, but they have to do something,” Blinci says.

“Abuse of children is not only prevalent in society, but is also occurring within our churches,” says Phyllis Washington, Children’s Ministries director for the North American Division. “By recognizing that the problem exists in our congregations, we are taking a crucial step toward providing a safe environment, restoring trust, promoting healing and ultimately preventing child abuse.”

While the Shield The Vulnerable program may not fully apply to the world church due to differences in reporting laws, some of its elements are universally relevant and can be tailored to fit local needs, Blinci says.

“The goal is to protect our kids, which are the greatest resources we have. Hopefully now there are no excuses.”

Ellen White said, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The
Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them,
ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’” (MH
143)

Jesus gave Himself away to the poor, the sick, the unclean, the disadvantaged and
disenfranchised people. The Kingdom of God was expanding to places, people, and cultures that
the Pharisees had never considered.

Service is not optional in Christianity. We were created and saved to serve, called and
commended to serve God and His children. Do you find yourself helping people? Turning lives
around? Making positive changes in the community? Or do we spend most of our time
maximizing our pleasure and minimizing our pain? “God does both the making and saving. He
creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten
ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” (Eph. 2:10, MSG).

We must create a mission-oriented culture in all of our churches, schools and hospitals. As
change makers and Christians, we need to create venues where people can practice being
missionaries in everyday life.

Anyone with interests in community outreach can visit http://www.communityservices.org
to learn of ways to help the community.

by Sung Kwon, National Executive Director, Adventist Community Services

Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty proponents are monitoring a proposal from a European Parliament member who wants businesses in Europe to close their doors on Sundays.

Parliament member Martin Kastler of Germany is urging for the passage of continent-wide laws similar to those of his home country, which encourage employees to take a day off work to be with their families, the New York Times reported.

Though parliamentary rules bar most members, including Kastler, from introducing legislation, a recently enacted citizens petition function would require the 736-member body to draw up such legislation if supporters raise 1 million signatures from across member countries, the Times reported.

While many Adventists in Europe now live and worship in countries with similar laws, the church has traditionally opposed such laws, citing possible religious discrimination.

“We agree that people need a day of rest, but we want to be sure those who don’t have Sunday as a designated religious day of rest will be respected and accommodated,” said John Graz, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) director for the Adventist world church and secretary-general of the International Religious Liberty Association.

“We hope that those behind the proposal will understand the pluralistic dimensions of European society today and the importance of respecting different religious beliefs,” he said.

Church officials in the denomination’s Switzerland-based Euro-Africa Division said they are monitoring the situation. This autumn they plan to hold consultations with local leadership regarding a possible response to any progress on Kastler’s initiative.

“If [it] was just this question of shops opening on Sunday, our members would not see it as a problem,” said Karel Nowak, PARL director for the church in Euro-Africa. “This is [already] the current situation in many West- and Central-European countries.”

Nowak’s key concern is the possible arguments supporting the initiative. He said some people want to “strengthen ‘traditional European values,’ meaning ‘traditional Christian’ values and lifestyle.”

“In my opinion this development is concerning and could lead to escalation of tension among different groups,” Nowak said.

http://news.adventist.org/2010/07/adventists-monitorin.html