Safe Church

Safe Church

The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan is committed to safeguard all of God’s children. This Policy intends to demonstrate that commitment to creating safe environments, especially for children, youth, and vulnerable adults, from sexual, physical and/or personal abuse or exploitation.

The Church is called to embody and advance God’s mission. Ministry is the vocation of the whole community: laypersons, deacons, priests, and bishops who together represent Christ and the Church in the world.

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 — are entrusted, creates an inherent power imbalance in the pastoral 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.

In response to the Safe Church Model Policies that were adopted in 2017, The Task Force to Develop Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies & Safe Church Training has been working hard to create new trainings to accompany the model policies. All of these trainings are being designed as online courses that can be taken at any time.

Have you completed safe church as a congregational group?

Click here to fill out the congregational group completion form.

Safe Church, Safe Communities Training Information

Please note: The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan are in the process of updating our training for congregations, clergy, and diocesan leadership to prevent sexual misconduct.

Safe Church Training Details:
Who does this training?
-All clergy- those ordained or in the ordination process
-All employees
-All volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults
-Agencies of the Diocese
-Maintenance and clerical employees

How often do we do have to renew our training?
Safe Church training is required to be completed every 3 years in the Episcopal Church.

How do we keep track of the training modules we have completed?
There is a learner dashboard on your Praesidium Academy account that will help show you which courses you completed! Please print to keep on file at your church. Your congregation will also have 1 or more administrators with access to transcripts.

Click Here to Enroll for Safe Church Training

Thank you for beginning your Safe Church, Safe Communities training. Please follow these steps to begin your training.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Praesidium Academy Support Team at support@praesidiuminc.com or Carmen Piggins at cpiggins@edomi.org.

To Enroll:

Go to https://www.praesidiumacademy.com/redeem, or click the red button above.
Fill in your contact information including First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and desired Password.
Enter the appropriate registration code for your organization.
(Download the spreadsheet to find your congregation’s registration code.)
Click Validate to confirm registration code.
Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms & Conditions.
Click Redeem.
Write down your user login and password for future reference.
Answer the Registration Questions about your status and role within the organization.
(View the required courses by position/role.)
Click Save & Continue.
To begin taking training immediately, scroll down and click a course to start the content.

Please find recommended courses in list form here.

Please find recommended courses in chart form here.

Other Helpful Links:
-Quick start guide

-Parish Registration Codes
-Required courses by position/role (list form)
-Required courses by position/role (chart form)

-Safe Church, Safe Communities Congregation Contact Information

Responding to Concerns

Information on responding to concerns within your ministry context may be found in the Policy for Creating a Healthy Environment for Children, Youth, and Vulnerable Adults.

If you are ever in doubt about who to contact please reach out to the Safe Church Coordinator, Carmen Piggins, in the Diocesan Offices.

We investigate any charges against a member of the clergy upon receiving that charge.

Safe Church Digital Policies:

Please see EDOMI Social Media Policy to guide our communities regarding Social Media use.
Check out this recent Being Mindful in a Digital World page for leaders of Children and Youth.
This Best Practices document outlines safe approaches for online worship and fellowship gatherings.
This 4-minute video from Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary outlines Safe Church and Online Practices (March, 2020) regarding Zoom online use.

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