Vol. IX Issue 2 April 2006 In this issue: LEADERSHIP In Times of Trouble, Call Conflict Resolution Team MONEY To Build or Not to Build; Alternatives to an Edifice TOOLBOX Congregational Handbook a Good First Place to Turn MEMBERSHIP Set Safety Policies Now, Before You Need Them NOURISHING THE SPIRIT UU Trauma Ministry Team Responds in Times of Crisis QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Minimum contributions, getting new members UU World, and explaining our political activism BRIEFLY NOTED Congregational Life Articles at UUA.org; Telltale Signs That Conflict Exists; Resources for Creating Safe Congregations; and more! EMAIL LIST Find out when the new InterConnections is online InterConnections Archives

Set Safety Policies Now, Before You Need Them

Three years ago the religious education committee at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Rock Tavern, N.Y. (58 members), developed a safety policy to guide staff and members in the daily life of the congregation and ensure protection in case of any untoward incident.

At first, the Rev. James Bridges thought the 18-page policy might be overly complex for such a small congregation. But he changed his mind after talking with an experienced director of religious education in another congregation, who assured him that when it comes to safety in this day and age "complex is good."

And then a year or so after the policy was adopted a former member of the congregation, a confessed child molester, returned. "His presence made me immediately consult the safety plan and call a meeting of the response team," Bridges says. In a series of meetings an attempt was made to create a fair, limited access agreement with the man. When that failed, he was banned from the congregation.

"I discovered that having the safety policy in place helped immensely when an issue arose," Bridges says. "Had the policy not existed, I believe the results would have been murkier, the underlying issues less clearly seen and discussed, and the tendency to liberally give in more pronounced."

The Rev. Frederic Muir, minister at the UU Church of Annapolis, Md. (560), says, "If a congregation has a covenant of right relations—an understanding of how members and friends will be in relationship to each other—a safety policy acts as the 'teeth' of the covenant. If the covenant is broken, the policy describes the process one follows to make things right."

Muir, coauthor of The Safe Congregation Handbook in 2005 (available through the UUA Bookstore) with the Rev. Pat Hoertdoerfer, offers these other points:

• It's much harder to create a safety policy when the congregation is in a crisis.
• A policy creates clarity in a time of confusion.
• A policy signals to members, friends and newcomers that behavior is important and that the congregation is a place of safety.
• If you're sued, having a policy can be a "good faith" indication to a court.

The UU Church of Peoria, Ill. (270), developed a safety policy a few years ago when a situation arose that made members uncomfortable. "The situation gave us a heads up that if something serious happened we needed to be able to respond to it," says Director of Religious Education Amy Popp. "Now, if someone comes along who makes us uncomfortable we have a functioning policy in place."

Members of BuxMont UU Fellowship in Warrington, Penn. (203), got a scare when they learned on the news that a member had been arrested and accused of having sexual relations with a minor (not part of the congregation). He and his wife were RE teachers at the time. Later, fellowship leaders were told that he'd had inappropriate email communication with two teens in the congregation. The congregation didn't have a safe congregation policy at the time, but it does now.

DRE Robin Pugh describes the situation: "It was awful to research and decide on policy in the middle of a crisis, especially since the man was denying the charges and we were trying to keep him from having any contact with children. In retrospect, I think we did two things that minimized the damage a safe congregation problem can cause a church. We sought help immediately from district and UUA staff, and we called every person who had children in RE and personally told them about the arrest."

RESOURCES

The UUA website has a comprehensive list of Safe Congregation resources
at www.uua.org/cde/education/safecong.html.