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General Convention Task Force seeks participants representing the diversity of the church for Safe Church Listening Groups

September 30, 2020
Office of Public Affairs

Responses requested by: October 18, 2020

The Task Force to Develop Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies & Safe Church Training is looking for Episcopalians interested in participating in Listening Groups related to the development of new and updated Safe Church (formerly called Safeguarding) training materials and approaches.

Resolution 2018-A048, Establish Task Force to Oversee Creation of Training Materials, mandates:

That such safe church training materials for the prevention of sexual misconduct include written and web-based training materials that include responsive and multilingual online web-based resources, a modern content management system and a curated resource list, such training to provide Universal Training accessible to all congregants and ministry participants that fosters a culture of safety and inclusion for all people and Specialized Training consisting of discrete modules on topics directly related to ministry roles and functions

The purpose of the listening sessions is to ensure the diversity of voices within our church is represented in the topics, training methods, and personal stories in each training area. To achieve this diversity of voices, the Task Force invites those interested in participating to complete a demographic survey. The data provided will be used to set up listening groups with the goal of reflecting a true representation of The Episcopal Church.

The typical listening session will be 45-60 minutes in length, conducted via the online Zoom platform, and include 15-20 people.

The survey is available in English here, in Spanish here, and in French here.

Survey responses are due by October 18, 2020.

Find information on model policies for protecting children, youth, and vulnerable adults here. Information on preventing misconduct is available here.

For questions or additional information, please contact SafeChurchTaskforce2020@gmail.com or Eric Travis, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, 313-833-4418.

Task Force members include:

Ms. Judith Andrews, Chair, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
The Rt. Rev. Laura Ahrens, Vice-Chair, Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
Ms. Kemah Camara, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Ms. Cookie Cantwell, Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina
Dr. L. Zoe Cole, Episcopal Diocese of Colorado
The Rt. Rev. Mark Cowell, Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas
The Rev. Gwen Fry, Episcopal Diocese of Maine
La Revda. Ivette Linares, Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico
The Rt. Rev. Kimberly Lucas, Episcopal Diocese of Colorado
Ms. Caren Miles, Episcopal Diocese of California
The Rev. Beth Scriven, Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
The Rev. Dcn. Tim Spannaus, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan
Mr. Eric Travis, Episcopal Diocese of Michigan
The Rev. Charlotte Wilson, Episcopal Diocese of California
The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president, The Episcopal Church House of Deputies, ex officio
The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop, The Episcopal Church, ex officio
Ms. Kathy Floyd, Liaison with Church Pension Group