Pastor Jim Clarke Pastor Paula McCutcheon

Safe Church Policy

Pastor Jim Clarke

I am proud of what our Annual Conference has been doing in response to the exposure of clergy sexual misconduct – both within our Annual Conference, regrettably, and in the news in general.  Every church in our Annual Conference is required to have what is called a Safe Church Policy.  If anyone would like to read ours, check with Gayle Meyers who is our Safe Church Policy Officer.  Every quadrennium clergy are required to attend a workshop on issues related to clergy sexual misconduct – we attended an all day workshop in Federal Way this past October featuring Rev. Marie Fortune of the Center for Domestic Violence here in Seattle.  In the Safe Church Policy, and in the workshop one of the issues that carry a good deal of the conversation is “boundaries”.  For clergy that means anything from, when is it appropriate to be with a parishioner and when is it not?  To, what kind of relationships can we have with people in the church?  But the issue isn’t just about clergy; it has to do with all of us.  Many clergy have trouble setting boundaries regarding their time; they have difficulty setting a boundary, and saying ‘no’, I cannot do that.  Aren’t clergy supposed to be available all the time?  But, I hear lay people saying they have the same problem too.   

       I would say that compared to at least one other culture I am familiar with, we Americans have problems with boundaries.  I was always proud of calling my professors by their first names, but that tended to dim the boundary that should exist between a professor who is 57 and a student who is 19.  There is a power differential involved in that relationship.  In our zeal for freedom, we Americans are notorious for diffusing boundaries, which we associate with limitations.  But should we all be friends?  No matter what our age, gender or vulnerabilities?  We need a lesson in seeing that rather than simply limiting our freedom, boundaries can define frameworks, which allow us to actually be freer to love each other.  More than that, they keep us safe and well, in mind, body and spirit.

       Why am I telling you all this?  Because the Adult Council is sponsoring a great opportunity for us to explore how understanding the role of boundaries in our lives can be another means of grace.  That is, a class led by Heather Cleary on Monday evenings beginning January 8^th.  (See article in this Epistle for more information.)  The issues that will be discussed will have to do with all relationships in our lives, and I believe it would be a healing experience for anyone who attends.  I encourage all to do so.  

       Pastor Jim