LOVE COMES TO LIFE when we treat each other with courtesy and respect, and when the way we behave towards each other reflects the way God loves us.

Care and love for children this Christmas

This is a busy time of year in many congregations. During Christmas preparations it may be tempting to think that it is too busy to be pulling out the Child Safety Plan and checking to see if anything needs to be worked on in the coming months.

Christmas is traditionally a time when families will attend church. In fact, we often expect more families and new families to attend. Many churches put additional special worship and activities on to help share the news of the birth of Christ especially with and for children and their families – so now is definitely not the time to slow down your efforts at improving your congregation’s safety.

Things it may be useful to consider doing at this time of year:

• Have you shared your child safety progress and new initiatives with the whole congregation?
• Have you recruited and/or appointed a Safe Church Coordinator to fill a vacancy?
• Have new council members for 2024 been made aware that they need to take part in Safe Church Training and apply for working with children type checks?
• Have you done a WHS walk around of your property before your Christmas working bee and considered the safety of children?
• Have you done a risk assessment on your children's nativity play/worship?
• Do you have seasonal helpers at Christmas events – is their Safe Church Training and WWC type check current?
• Are all your child safety posters visible, and in good repair?

These are all ways to improve the safety of children visiting your church and to share the love of Christ this Christmas.

See here for details about the Child Safety Standards for Congregations

Safe Church training – please complete your online sessions!

The Safe Church online training was recently updated, with amended versions of sessions launched on 1 November 2023.

Please note that due to the updates any incomplete sessions, which were commenced before 1 November, will be removed on Monday 18 December and participants will need to register again.

If you have already invested time in an online training session, but have not yet completed the session, please therefore do complete it by 17 December 2023 to avoid your invested time going to waste.
 

At its meeting in November, the General Church Board provisionally approved a trial framework for a new LCANZ disciplinary system and complaints handling process.

The new framework addresses the findings of the Review of the LCANZ’s Ecclesiastical Discipline, Adjudication and Appeals, and Provisions, Policies and Processes. This review was requested by the 2018 General Synod and its findings were received at the in-person sessions of the 2021–23 General Synod held in February 2023.

In the new framework, roles and responsibilities are more clearly separated and defined than in the previous model, with the intention that disciplinary processes are as transparent, effective and fit for church purposes as possible.

See here for more details
 

Happy Christmas from your
Professional Standards team!

Questions|Concerns|Feedback

Your local Professional Standards Officers are here to support you.

PSD webpage shortcuts

• Homepage and PSO contact details    www.lca.org.au/psd
• Training    www.lca.org.au/safechurchtraining
• Frequently Asked Questions    www.lca.org.au/psd-faqs
• Resources, including for Safe Church Coordinators    www.lca.org.au/psd-sp3
• LCA Standards of Ethical Behaviour    www.lca.org.au/seb