Thirtyone:eight, the UK's leading independent Christian safeguarding charity, has launched its annual safeguarding awareness campaign for churches – Safeguarding Sunday – with a call for churches to set aside one Sunday in November to make a 'Big deal' about safeguarding.
The campaign, now in its fifth year, is held to coincide with Safeguarding Adults Week and Wales National Safeguarding Week, and sees thousands of churches from diverse backgrounds and traditions across the UK coming together to consider their own safeguarding journey.
Safeguarding Sunday will be observed this year on 19 November 2023 when churches will reflect on where they may have got things wrong in the past, think about how they are supporting those who have been hurt or harmed, and highlight and celebrate all the good work that is being done behind the scenes to protect vulnerable people and create safer cultures and communities for all both now and in the future.
Churches that took part last year reported:
- Greater positive awareness and understanding of safeguarding among church members.
- An increase in the number of people feeling able to talk about their abuse for the first time.
- More volunteers coming forward for safeguarding roles and to help with children’s and youth work.
- An increased number of people completing safeguarding training and criminal record checks.
- Bigger numbers of Safeguarding Leads feeling supported in their role by their church.
One participating church said, 'It makes safeguarding sound everyday and accessible for people in the church, not a big scary or threatening thing, just a normal part of what we do, which is exactly how it should be.'
Another said, 'It was a powerful service, and many people took part. It contributed and reinforced to the culture we want to create! We can’t thank you enough. So powerful!'
Peter Wright, Thirtyone:eight's Head of Communications and lead for the campaign said, 'Every Church is unique and should be a place where anyone can come and feel welcomed, loved, and part of a community. But with that openness comes responsibility, especially towards safeguarding vulnerable people.
Taking just one Sunday a year to consider and reflect on what your church is doing to make it a safer place, can have a huge impact, helping to make much needed progress on safeguarding. Whatever the tradition or style of your church, if you have just a few minutes or can dedicate a whole service it all counts, and will help to raise awareness and keep even more people safe.'
Churches registering to take part, get access to a digital resource pack made available to churches at no cost by the charity. New resources this year include a group discussion guide which has been created to help people think about safeguarding, the impact it has, and the role we each have in creating safer places for all, and the launch of a new song for children – Raise your Roar – featuring the character Roarry the Lion, helping children learn that they are valued and loved by God, and can use their voice, their 'Roar', to speak up for themselves and others.
Peter says, 'Last year over 3,000 churches united and took part. Together we can build on that success and make this year our biggest yet. So, we're asking, if your church isn't taking part why not?'
For more information about the campaign and to register go to: thirtyoneeight.org/SafeguardingSunday