Administration Assistant Church Council report
Neil Skilton
13/10/13
Dear Councillors,
My current role is to propose an implementation plan for our Church to adopt the new Safe Church policies that our SYNOD has mandated. I have been privileged in this position, and can’t thank you enough for this opportunity to serve both God and our Church. Before I begin on reporting my work thus far, I would like to briefly recap the movements of our Church that have brought us to where we are today.
The Uniting Church has taken the responsibility of safety and its duty of care seriously and has intentionally developed a number of Safe Church initiatives over the past 20 years. Now in our 37th year, as a Church we are being called to explain the actions of our past, to implement strategies for dealing with the issue of abuse within our community, and to assist in the healing of those people who have been harmed by the Church. Our response can be seen, in part, by our willing participation in the recent Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations, and our ongoing cooperative response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to child Sexual Abuse in Australia. Another of the ways that we are seeking to demonstrate our willingness to address this issue is through embracing and implementing new Safe Church Policies.
In February this year, our Church Council identified the need to work through Safe Church processes. From this our Ministry Team attended a Safe Church Training day run by Josh Woollett, the Safe Church Educator as part of SYNOD’s newly formed Culture of Safety unit. This training highlighted some elements of our Church operation that need clarification, and Church Council reported that they would wait until SYNOD’s report before implementing said policies and procedures.
In a report to the May 2013 SYNOD meeting, the Moderator was presented with documents outlining the use of the Creating a Safe Environment for Children and Vulnerable Adults in Our Church suite of policies for use by all UCA congregations within our SYNOD. These policies were approved by the SYNOD Standing Committee in April 2013.
In June, our Church Council preemptively identified and approved the recommendations that were approved by the SYNOD Standing Committee in April, 2013. We also recommended that a Safe Church team be appointed, and that all leaders of the Church attend a Safe Church Training day. Although the team did not form, we did organise and run a successful Safe Church Training day on August 31!
The need for our Church to implement the approved recommendations was enforced in August, when a letter written by our General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Mark Lawrence was received. Mark strongly encouraged our Church to adopt and implement these policies by the end of 2013.
It just so happens that we have already made incredible steps to make this a reality in our Church Congregation. Our Church Council agreed to hire an Administration Assistant in July 2013, and this decision has put us at the forefront of Safe Church Implementation in the UCA in Vic/Tas. This lucky individual is myself, and I began my role on 7 August (see Appendix 1 for a role description).
From 7 August to now I have been researching the suite of “Safe Church” policies, previous policies such as Safe Place for Children (2013), the Safe Ministry Training Manual (2012 & 2013), staying in touch with Josh Woollett with questions (he has been a great help!), beginning the creation of our own GWUC policy (which I will talk more about below), helping co-ordinate our two Safe Church training days (with the help of Belinda Clear and Alanee Hearnshaw) and beginning the process into 7pm broadcasting (with the help of Aaron Blakemore, Warren Greenwood and Neil Leister).
Specifically, my role is to suggest an implementation plan for our Church, not to implement it myself. I see this role as resourcing our Church with policies and procedures that reflect how we want to pledge a safe place for all, however implementation is ultimately the role of Church Council. Because of this, I would like to request that I have a small item in Church Council meetings until the conclusion of my role, to update you on my work and relevant action items.
After reading of the Safe Church policies in detail, I believe while they are greatly important, they do not cover everything. This is why I am working towards amalgamating current safety information that we have in one easy policy and procedure manual, entitled GWUC’s Serving Safely Policy. This Policy will have details of all safety concerns in our Church, and can serve as a base to improve and tweak until it represents our Church accurately!
GWUC’s Serving Safely Policy will contain, but not be limited to:
- Job Descriptions;
- Relevant, adapted procedures for all possible matters;
Leader-specific information kits entitled Serving Packs, to summarise the new policy into small, key areas including:
- a welcome letter;
- relevant code of conduct;
- step-by-step reporting guide;
- contact details in emergency.
During this creation process, I wish to include the thoughts of our Church members at every possible step. I would greatly appreciate it if Church Council supported me in running a workshop on Sunday afternoon (8 December), for questions and answers in this area, as well as brainstorming how best we as a Church would like to adapt the policies as a community. For example, would we like to have one or two Safe Church Contact Persons, and must every leader undertake an interview (and provide references), even if they are volunteering at one-off events such as Christmas Alight? From this afternoon, an interim Safety Team will be formed to represent a sample of the Church of which further ideas can be articulated. I would then like to receive approval from the Congregation in our first meeting of next year of a finalised document, before recommending it to Church Council for approval.
In conclusion, I am a scribe for the will of our Church ☺ I am here to organise and develop accurate documentation for the implementation of the Safe Church policies, and welcome any and all feedback and ideas that you may have in this area!
For a quick update on 7pm Broadcasting, Aaron Blakemore and I have met with Warren Greenwood and Neil Leister to establish training in the use of the current broadcasting equipment. Warren and Neil have been more than supportive and amazing to us, and have kindly agreed to accompany us for two test recordings of the 7pm service, on 24 November and 1 December. We are forming a 7pm Media Team to make this happen and the current members are Aaron Blakemore, Chris Jenkinson and Callum Stringer.
Yours in faith,
Neil Skilton,
GWUC Administrative Assistant
(Safe Church Implementation, 7pm Broadcasting)
Proposals:
- Proposal 1: to add Safe Church Policy Implementation as a regular Church Council Item
- Proposal 2: to make Safe Church Policies available through a display (Neil to contact property team) with general information and take-away pamphlets for each policy. Neil Skilton (NS) to Action
- Proposal 3: to confirm that the GWUC Serving Safely Policy is the wish of the Church Council, and that my time is well spent creating it.
- Proposal 4: to inform all GWUC leaders of our decision to adopt the suite of policies, and intention to combine them into a church-wide policy document with their input. NS to Action
- Proposal 5: to run a workshop on Sunday 8th December from 1-4pm in Room 1, brainstorming ideas with all members of the Church who would like to attend. A representative of the Church Council and Ministry Team would also be present for this. NS to Action
- Proposal 6: For Church Council to thank Gavin Blakemore and Alanee Hearnshaw for agreeing to be my supervisor and Ministry Team contact respectively. They have both been amazingly supportive thus far, and I look forward to working more with them and others!
- Proposal 7: To report at our next Congregational Meeting in the Church Council reports section. NS to Action
Appendix 1:
Title: Administrative Assistant Employed by: Church Council Day to Day direction provided by: Ministry Team Mentor/Advisor: Gavin Blakemore Based at: Glen Waverley Uniting Church (GWUC), cnr Bogong Ave & Kingsway. Job purpose: To provide office services by implementing administrative policies, procedures and systems and performing administrative activities. Key responsibilities and accountabilities: 1. Support the implementation of the Safe Church Policies that were approved by Synod in April 2013 by: a) Developing familiarity with policies, guidelines and training materials b) Assisting in the preparation of an implementation plan for GWUC c) Prepare volunteer job descriptions as required by the policy and documentation of Safe Church procedures specific to GWUC. d) Develop frameworks to keep Safe Church policies and procedures in place and up-to-date for the future. 2. Identify, collect and organise information to support inductions of new ministerial positions, paid staff and volunteers at GWUC. 3. Support the implementation of new structures, policies and procedures as directed by the Church Council and Ministry Team. 4. Investigate feasibility of broadcasting 7pm Youth services and project planning. 5. Perform and research forms of Social Media engagement within church community, time permitting. 6. Liaise and attend meetings with other church committees or members necessary to perform duties and aid organisational development. 7. Attend Safe Church training and any other safe training sessions to develop relevant knowledge and skills in the area of Safe Church. Skills/Qualifications: Reporting Skills, Administrative Writing Skills, Microsoft Office Skills, Managing Processes, Analyzing Information , Problem Solving, Verbal Communication Employment Conditions: 1. Six month employment agreement, starting 7 August 2013 and ending 7 February 2014. 2. Two days consisting of 15.2 hours per week - Wednesday and Friday 3. Paid as Level 2 of the Clerks Private sector award year 1 - $19.32 per hour 4. Annual leave applicable, 2 weeks in the six months, to be taken within the six months. 5. Employer superannuation contribution to be paid as per the attached form 6. Timesheet to be completed and made available to Mentor and Church Council Secretary at all times. 7. Reviews to take place at four weeks and twelve weeks, with a hand over & report to take place in the final week of employment. August 2013