As you start the new programattic year, please verify all required volunteers are up-to-date in their Safe Church certification. The diocese is hosting two three-hour training sessions this fall for those needing to be certified. Please click the link below to pre-register. Contact Missioner Cindy Spice at safeguarding@ednin.org with any questions.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkdOCsqTMpEtWPhTl0HsTSMtGCSZE_zxBZ

As you start the new programattic year, please verify all required volunteers are up-to-date in their Safe Church certification. The diocese is hosting two three-hour training sessions this fall for those needing to be certified. Please click the link below to pre-register. Contact Missioner Cindy Spice at safeguarding@ednin.org with any questions.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcOCvrTIjGd3UepSu2HUM9XLu9yCpB1vv

When: Aug 27, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtcO2uqDgqE9b3YqS5oCG4f1Kn-HO8tSQT
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

When: Aug 12, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqf-qppzIvHtA2Hsvat5dhaZVIcW-lHR7b
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Are you newly elected to a vestry? Sign up for one of our two safe church trainings in February. (It is important that you register prior to the training date.) Participation in a training is required for everyone in leadership in each of our faith communities.

About Safe Church: 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 pastoral 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.

Are you newly elected to a vestry? Sign up for one of our two safe church trainings in February. (It is important that you register prior to the day of the training.) Participation in a training is required for everyone in leadership in each of our faith communities.

About Safe Church: 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 pastoral 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.

As you may know, Safeguarding God’s Children Training is a vital aid in the prevention of abuse in children. This training is mandatory for anyone working with children, for all paid staff, and for all vestry members. Sunday school will begin in most of our churches soon, so we want to provide everyone with the opportunity to complete this important training beforehand. Because the training will be offered on three different days, hopefully there will be a time and date that works for you. We will need to limit these trainings to 25 participants in order to make them more manageable. Of course, we also are happy to consult with any clergy in the Diocese who are interested in leading trainings on their own.

Reminder: If you have lay people in your congregations that have taken the in-person training within the last three years, they will only need to complete a refresher course online in order to stay current. The online refresher course is now available on a new website called Praesidium Academy. If you didn't receive an invitation to sign into this new site in mid-July, you will need to contact us for assistance.

The registration links for the different dates are below. Participants must register for these trainings no later than the day before each date. Please send this information on to anyone that may need the training.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email Cindy Spice at safeguarding@ednin.org.

As you may know, Safeguarding God’s Children Training is a vital aid in the prevention of abuse in children. This training is mandatory for anyone working with children, for all paid staff, and for all vestry members. Sunday school will begin in most of our churches soon, so we want to provide everyone with the opportunity to complete this important training beforehand. Because the training will be offered on three different days, hopefully there will be a time and date that works for you. We will need to limit these trainings to 25 participants in order to make them more manageable. Of course, we also are happy to consult with any clergy in the Diocese who are interested in leading trainings on their own.

Reminder: If you have lay people in your congregations that have taken the in-person training within the last three years, they will only need to complete a refresher course online in order to stay current. The online refresher course is now available on a new website called Praesidium Academy. If you didn't receive an invitation to sign into this new site in mid-July, you will need to contact us for assistance.

The registration links for the different dates are below. Participants must register for these trainings no later than the day before each date. Please send this information on to anyone that may need the training.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email Cindy Spice at safeguarding@ednin.org.

As you may know, Safeguarding God’s Children Training is a vital aid in the prevention of abuse in children. This training is mandatory for anyone working with children, for all paid staff, and for all vestry members. Sunday school will begin in most of our churches soon, so we want to provide everyone with the opportunity to complete this important training beforehand. Because the training will be offered on three different days, hopefully there will be a time and date that works for you. We will need to limit these trainings to 25 participants in order to make them more manageable. Of course, we also are happy to consult with any clergy in the Diocese who are interested in leading trainings on their own.

Reminder: If you have lay people in your congregations that have taken the in-person training within the last three years, they will only need to complete a refresher course online in order to stay current. The online refresher course is now available on a new website called Praesidium Academy. If you didn't receive an invitation to sign into this new site in mid-July, you will need to contact us for assistance.

The registration links for the different dates are below. Participants must register for these trainings no later than the day before each date. Please send this information on to anyone that may need the training.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email Cindy Spice at safeguarding@ednin.org.

Don't be Scared—Be Prepared! We are told in II Timothy 1:7 that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline."  In John 14:27 we are encouraged by the words "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." In keeping with these teachings, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Valparaiso would like to offer Parish Safety Training to parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana in the form of regional workshops.  The goal of such instruction is two-fold: 

1. to protect every person who enters any church of the diocese; and

2. to train potential, if not already existing, Parish Safety Teams who will take charge and direct parishioners to safety in the event of an emergency.

This approximately 2-1/2 hour session trains congregants to become better acquainted with their church facilities and to prepare for emergencies both in and outside of the church.  Open to everyone in the faith community, this training includes, but is not limited to, preparation for: natural disasters; verbal, physical, external and internal disturbances; missing children/adults ; and active shooter situations. Participants will learn how to properly interact with local law enforcement and fire personnel.  Each participant will be given an Emergency Action and Recovery Plan which may be used as a template for each individual church to adapt to its own needs.  We want everyone who enters the churches of our diocese to know that we are doing our very best to provide a safe and secure environment in which to worship. 

Please use the linked form to contact Toni Sanchez if you plan to attend so that there may be sufficient handouts.