Safe sanctuaries communicate God's love
Communicating God's Love
Let's imagine you are pastor of a church with an average worship attendance of 150.
Most members are senior adults, and there are only three young families. On a typical
Sunday morning, six children -- ranging in age from infancy to five -- are in the
nursery.
Mrs. Dolan, who is seventy, has been the nursery attendant for more than thirty years. Since she has a bad cold this morning, she has asked Angela, a high school junior who sometimes helps her, to fill in.
Instead of the usual six children, eight are in the nursery this morning. Two are children of Suzanne, who recently divorced and has moved from a nearby city to live with her parents, who are leaders in your church. One of her children is four and the other is six months old.
Angela knows she needs help, so she invites her friend, Carol, a sophomore, to assist her.
Everything goes pleasantly for the first few minutes. Suddenly, Suzanne's baby starts crying. Carol gives her a bottle and tries to rock her to sleep.
Ten minutes later, a three-year-old goes to the bathroom down the hall from the nursery and locks the door. When he tries to come out, he can't unlock the door. He screams. Angela runs to the bathroom and tries to open the door. She can't. She rushes to the church office to find a key.
Meanwhile, back in the nursery, a baby is making strange sounds and turning blue. Carol quickly runs to the child and discovers part of a toy is lodged in her mouth. She manages to get it out.
Just then, a man Carol has never seen before comes into the nursery. Suzanne's four-year- old son yells, "Daddy, Daddy," and runs toward him. The man kneels down and hugs him. Then he picks up the baby from the crib. He smiles at Carol, casually explains that they are "leaving a little early," and calmly walks out with the two children.
A few minutes later, Angela returns with the boy she has rescued. Meanwhile, Carol has received a call on her cell phone and is talking with a friend.
The worship service ends. Suzanne comes to the nursery to get her children. She doesn't see them and asks where they are. Carol explains that their dad picked them up.
Suzanne is furious. The day before, she had called Mrs. Dolan and told her that her former husband has been attempting to kidnap the children. Mrs. Dolan promised her she would not let him pick up the children from the nursery, but she forgot to pass the message on to Angela.
Suzanne calls the police and reports the kidnapping.
The assignment editor at the local television station hears on the police scanner that there's been a kidnapping at the church. He immediately dispatches a news crew to cover the breaking story.
When the crew arrives at the church, the first person they interview is Suzanne. Not only does she tell them how the church let her two children be kidnapped, she tells them she has heard that another child in the nursery came close to choking to death on a toy that same morning.
The crew videotaped several safety hazards in the nursery, including a bottle of toxic cleaner in the cabinet under the sink, within reach of the children. They shot footage in the playground outside the nursery, showing equipment with safety violations.
Now, the television news camera is focused on you, the pastor, and the investigative reporter has some questions for you.
His first question: "Do you think your church provides the quality of care children deserve?"
How do you answer?
This scenario is based on a crisis that occurred several years ago when I was director of communications and public relations for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Hopefully, you will never face such a crisis, but you still need to think about whether your church provides the quality of care children deserve, and you need to bring child care issues to the attention of the proper group within your church.
A few decades ago, churches seldom faced lawsuits and media scrutiny. That's not the case any more; churches are held accountable by the courts and by the public.
But fear of lawsuits and public opinion are not the primary reasons why we as church leaders should carefully review all property, programs, and personnel, and fix any problems that endanger people.
An even more important reason: We are morally responsible, as well as legally liable, for hazards on our property and for the negligence of our employees.
Of course, we cannot eliminate all exposures to lawsuits and scandals and still be faithful to our mission. Few ministries are risk-free, but we can do our best to minimize needless risks.
Providing an attractive and safe nursery staffed by capable and caring adults is not only sound business and smart public relations, it is the morally right thing for a church to do.
There are many ways we can communicate God's love. One of the best ways is to make sure our churches are safe sanctuaries for all people -- especially for children and for people with handicapping conditions.
Safe sanctuaries communicate God's love.
Dr. Boyce A. Bowdon, a United Methodist minister and writer, is author of several books, including "A Child Friendly Church."
Mrs. Dolan, who is seventy, has been the nursery attendant for more than thirty years. Since she has a bad cold this morning, she has asked Angela, a high school junior who sometimes helps her, to fill in.
Instead of the usual six children, eight are in the nursery this morning. Two are children of Suzanne, who recently divorced and has moved from a nearby city to live with her parents, who are leaders in your church. One of her children is four and the other is six months old.
Angela knows she needs help, so she invites her friend, Carol, a sophomore, to assist her.
Everything goes pleasantly for the first few minutes. Suddenly, Suzanne's baby starts crying. Carol gives her a bottle and tries to rock her to sleep.
Ten minutes later, a three-year-old goes to the bathroom down the hall from the nursery and locks the door. When he tries to come out, he can't unlock the door. He screams. Angela runs to the bathroom and tries to open the door. She can't. She rushes to the church office to find a key.
Meanwhile, back in the nursery, a baby is making strange sounds and turning blue. Carol quickly runs to the child and discovers part of a toy is lodged in her mouth. She manages to get it out.
Just then, a man Carol has never seen before comes into the nursery. Suzanne's four-year- old son yells, "Daddy, Daddy," and runs toward him. The man kneels down and hugs him. Then he picks up the baby from the crib. He smiles at Carol, casually explains that they are "leaving a little early," and calmly walks out with the two children.
A few minutes later, Angela returns with the boy she has rescued. Meanwhile, Carol has received a call on her cell phone and is talking with a friend.
The worship service ends. Suzanne comes to the nursery to get her children. She doesn't see them and asks where they are. Carol explains that their dad picked them up.
Suzanne is furious. The day before, she had called Mrs. Dolan and told her that her former husband has been attempting to kidnap the children. Mrs. Dolan promised her she would not let him pick up the children from the nursery, but she forgot to pass the message on to Angela.
Suzanne calls the police and reports the kidnapping.
The assignment editor at the local television station hears on the police scanner that there's been a kidnapping at the church. He immediately dispatches a news crew to cover the breaking story.
When the crew arrives at the church, the first person they interview is Suzanne. Not only does she tell them how the church let her two children be kidnapped, she tells them she has heard that another child in the nursery came close to choking to death on a toy that same morning.
The crew videotaped several safety hazards in the nursery, including a bottle of toxic cleaner in the cabinet under the sink, within reach of the children. They shot footage in the playground outside the nursery, showing equipment with safety violations.
Now, the television news camera is focused on you, the pastor, and the investigative reporter has some questions for you.
His first question: "Do you think your church provides the quality of care children deserve?"
How do you answer?
This scenario is based on a crisis that occurred several years ago when I was director of communications and public relations for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Hopefully, you will never face such a crisis, but you still need to think about whether your church provides the quality of care children deserve, and you need to bring child care issues to the attention of the proper group within your church.
A few decades ago, churches seldom faced lawsuits and media scrutiny. That's not the case any more; churches are held accountable by the courts and by the public.
But fear of lawsuits and public opinion are not the primary reasons why we as church leaders should carefully review all property, programs, and personnel, and fix any problems that endanger people.
An even more important reason: We are morally responsible, as well as legally liable, for hazards on our property and for the negligence of our employees.
Of course, we cannot eliminate all exposures to lawsuits and scandals and still be faithful to our mission. Few ministries are risk-free, but we can do our best to minimize needless risks.
Providing an attractive and safe nursery staffed by capable and caring adults is not only sound business and smart public relations, it is the morally right thing for a church to do.
There are many ways we can communicate God's love. One of the best ways is to make sure our churches are safe sanctuaries for all people -- especially for children and for people with handicapping conditions.
Safe sanctuaries communicate God's love.
Dr. Boyce A. Bowdon, a United Methodist minister and writer, is author of several books, including "A Child Friendly Church."
