Blog post first published by Melodie Bissell, Plan to Protect in the February 2021 newsletter.
Best practices are ideal for the simple design of a program or an event. We are all aware though that when caring for the vulnerable, a program is seldom simple, rather, as we learn in the Cynefin Framework, we often find ourselves in complicated or complex situations where best practices do not fit the scenario.
We join you in celebrating a new year—2021! Many of us have yet to know how our personal, work, and church lives will unfold in the coming months. Still, we are hopeful for some kind of normalcy. In that spirit, we offer this challenge to you and your faith community: commit to at least one of these important child protection goals this year.
This new training video is available to you and the adult volunteers at your church for a one-time fee of $75.
Shared with permission from Pastor Dan Schrock, with adaptions by Anna Groff
To ensure that your online Sunday school classes and other activities using Zoom go as smoothly as possible, try to follow these guidelines.
1. Type of equipment:
We are so encouraged by the churches that are making plans for virtual Sunday school and other gatherings for kids through Zoom or other platforms. We know it can overwhelm teachers and coordinators, but we’re here to help!
It was the twelfth week of Zoom worship services at First Mennonite Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. The pandemic had put a stop to all in-person church activities, and the congregation was getting restless. Zoom had its many benefits: We could safely “see” each other and share in real time. We could sing (while muted) with the musicians, make announcements, and listen to the sermon. We also introduced a new element of the service called “spotlighting.” As one of our musicians played, each participant’s screen would be showcased for a few seconds. The spotlighted people would wave and smile, and we would all enjoy seeing everyone in the congregation, however briefly.
Gracious God, we petition you from a world in dire need of your grace and peace.
Our children need our continuing protection amidst the death-dealing conditions of a coronavirus pandemic and racial discrimination.
We cry out in lament for the impacts of this uncertain time on our children—rhythms of school and play are disrupted; customs and rituals are curtailed and circumscribed; familiar routines have dropped into uncertainty.
So that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 3:10
Prior to the racial justice uprising this summer, a group at my church read Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey. I am learning that, by default, many of us who are white are raised to be colorblind. We are told to not notice differences. “Oh, we’re all the same on the inside,” white children hear from adults, in books, and in movies. This attitude is not compassionate. Racism thrives when white people do not address it in their families and communities.
In March, as houses of worship were responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, my congregation scrambled to discover ways to worship without gathering in person. We hoped that the entire worshipping community would experience a smooth transition from worship in the sanctuary to worship at home. For adults, we trust that worship will feel right through the familiar weave of music, prayer, scripture, and sermon. But for children?