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Classes Hold Safe Church Conference

March 11, 2020
Members of WAYVE discussed bullying with Safe Church Conference participants.

Members of WAYVE discussed bullying with Safe Church Conference participants.

Anita Brinkman

About 90 people gathered at Waterloo (Ont.) Christian Reformed Church on Saturday, March 7, for the Annual Inter-Classis Safe Church Conference. The all-day event, hosted each year by Classis Huron, brought together safe church committee members, pastors, council members, and others for training and workshops on topics such as bullying, harassment, abuse, and LGBTQ+ issues.

Attendees came from Classes Huron, Chatham, Niagara, Hamilton, Toronto, Quinte, and Eastern Canada. Participant Rita Reitsma noted, “I’ve come today because I’m new on our Safe Church Committee. I was on years ago, when we did our first policy booklet . . . and I just agreed to be back on. I want to catch up and find out what’s new and maybe how we should update and what we should look at to learn.”

After worship and greetings from event organizers, the day began with an update from the CRC’s Safe Church Ministry director, Bonnie Nicholas, then moved into a presentation from local youth initiative WAYVE (Wellness Acceptance Youth Voices Empowerment), a mental-health awareness and bullying-prevention group organized by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

The five young WAYVE presenters defined bullying, including cyberbullying; told stories from their own experiences of bullying and mental health issues; described the impacts bullying can have on both the bullied and the bullies; and suggested ways to deal with bullying and to build better relationships and positive environments.

WAYVE member Jenna said, “I think our intended impact is to just bring awareness to [the problem of bullying], and bring understanding. Not a lot of teens actually know what’s going on; they might not exactly know what they’re feeling, and they could feel alone, so by doing these [presentations], we can show them that they’re not alone, that other people do understand.”

Fellow WAYVE member Latesha added, “I think that for me, after doing WAYVE, I realize that you still need to treat [mental health struggles] almost like you would a physical injury, so you go to a doctor and get proper treatments. [You also need to] do self care routines, and [continue to] see a doctor if you’re really struggling.”

A workshop led by Woodland Christian High School principal John Van Pelt continued the discussion, reflecting on the WAYVE presentation and how it might apply within a church context.

In another workshop Bonnie Nicholas spoke on walking alongside survivors of abuse, helping participants understand the impact of responses to survivors’ stories of abuse, both negative and positive, and how to create safe spaces to find care and healing, while Carol Penner, a Mennonite minister and professor at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, led workshop participants through an exploration of healing, justice, and forgiveness after abuse.

Other workshops were led by Yvonne Lammers, a manager with CMHA and the chair of the Classis Chatham Safe Church Team,  and Leslie Smith, an employment lawyer, workplace investigator, and author. Lammers addressed possible legal questions in safe church policies, such as how to respond if a volunteer’s police check reveals a criminal history, while Smith spoke about how to prevent and deal with workplace harassment in a church context. Becca Sawyer of Generous Space Ministries suggested practical ways for churches to become safer places for LGBTQ+ members.

Charlene Gray attended the workshop on LGBTQ+ issues and remarked, “That’s a conversation that a lot of churches are having, and an important one to have. [The workshop] kind of gave us parameters of how to have that caring conversation.”

Harrie Talen and his wife formed their vacation around coming to the conference, attending from Charlottetown, PEI. Talen noted that the day was helpful but not easy, as the topics can bring to mind difficult things from the past. He reflected, “You think of the cases that you know yourself personally of, [and] you think, ‘Oh, what can be done about it? You need God’s grace and love.’ And it takes time.” He added that it can be hard to bring the learnings home to a congregation, but he is grateful that some people are always interested to continue learning.

Organizers and presenters were pleased with the event, encouraged by people coming together to support Safe Church, wanting to learn more and make positive changes in their home churches. Wrapping up, Josh Vriesema said, “You come to a place like this out of love for your neighbor and your congregation, and you learn how to create policy in situations to treat everyone well.”