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 humans—are entrusted creates an inherent power imbalance in the 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. 

The Episcopal Church updated the Model Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth and added a Model Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults in 2017. A General Convention task force was empowered to create updated training materials to help us live up to and live into our responsibilities to foster appropriate relationships, and to know how to recognize and respond to power imbalances. Safe Church, Safe Communities courses were launched in 2021 on the Praesidium Academy online learning platform. Currently there are eight courses, in English and Spanish, comprising the Safe Church, Safe Communities series that can be accessed by learners through your local parish or diocesan learning portal.

Please check with your diocese or organization to discover how they have adopted and adapted the new model policies and to learn your local protocols for training, responding, and reporting.