Overview
In 1996 and again in 2004, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted resolutions aimed at reducing the risk of child sexual abuse in the church. As a result, each local church is required to develop its own Safe Sanctuary Policy following the General Conference’s recommendations.
Thus, in covenant with all United Methodist congregations, we the Damascus United Methodist Church, adopt this policy regarding safety of children and youth in our church.
We pledge to conduct our ministries in ways that assure the safety and spiritual growth of all children, youth, and adults participating in church-sponsored activities.
The DUMC Safe Sanctuary Policy includes:
- The screening of all persons who work with children or youth
- Maintaining appropriate liability insurance for the church
- Evaluating and maintaining our physical facilities to keep them as safe as possible
- Instructing all persons who work with children or youth, parents, and our congregation on our policy and procedures
In addition, the DUMC Safe Sanctuary Policy requires:
- All church groups that sponsor activities for children or youth to follow the DUMC Safe Sanctuary procedures;
- All outside groups that use our church on an on-going basis to follow our procedures or provide equivalent procedures that they follow; and
- For both paid staff and volunteers, adults working with children or youth, each year, must:
- Sign a Covenant Statement agreeing to follow the DUMC Safe Sanctuary policy and procedures, and
- Sign an annual Questionnaire form and provide references.
Safe Sanctuary Policy and Procedures
The Damascus United Methodist Church Safe Sanctuary Policy and Procedures were approved and put in place as of April 23, 2009. The complete document may be found here.
Safe Sanctuary Forms
- The Safe Sanctuary Covenant Statement may be found here.
- The Questionnaire may be found here.
Trained Staff and Volunteers
The current list of staff and volunteers who have completed Safe Sanctuary training may be found here.
