Report to Vestry January 2022

 

Safe Church is a vital principle for us

Fr. Dale C. Hathaway

In the Episcopal church a Rector or priest in charge has complete authority over the worship of that Parish. The legal expression of this is found in the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and of the Diocese of North Carolina.

Sec. 3. Unless it conflicts with the law as aforesaid, the Rector, or such other member of the Vestry designated by the Rector, shall preside in all the meetings of the Vestry. (EC)

1. The Rector or Priest-in-Charge shall have full authority and responsibility for the conduct of the worship and the spiritual jurisdiction of the Parish, subject to the Rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer, the Constitution and Canons of this Church, and the pastoral direction of the Bishop. (EC)

2. For the purposes of the office and for the full and free discharge of all functions and duties pertaining thereto, the Rector or Priest-in-Charge shall at all times be entitled to the use and control of the Church and Parish buildings together with all appurtenances and furniture, and to access to all records and registers maintained by or on behalf of the congregation. (EC)

Section 2. Rectors are recognized as having, by virtue of their office, the exclusive regulation, under their canonical superiors, of all the spiritual concerns of the parishes they serve; as being entitled at all times to have access to the church building, and to open the same for the services or instruction of this Church, as they may deem proper; to call meetings of the vestry or congregation; when present, to preside in the same, and, in case of a tie, to cast the deciding vote. (NC)

When I was a supply priest my expectation was that I would follow the policies and traditions of the parish in which I served. Sometimes that was the Rector who had asked me to supply, and sometimes it was the senior warden who was serving as the ecclesiastical authority in the absence of a Rector.

When I became rector of St. Paul’s I had to decide what was “proper” for the worship here. There was no question of local or diocesan control of the worship in this place. The question was how to provide a safe environment for the people of the church together. It was and is not a question of whether or not to gather. That is a given. The question had to do with recognizing that we are the face of Christ to this community. We are a flawed reflection of Christ to be sure, but our responsibility as Christians is to be as faithful as possible.

It was the late 80’s and early 90’s that I first recognized the central priority of providing a safe space for the church. The Episcopal Church was coming to terms with the fact that for many the church had been experienced as a place of exploitation and abuse. So Central was the principle of providing a safe space that it is now a required training for all clergy and staff and is recommended for leaders and ministers of all kinds within the local church. In the parishes I have served as rector, the level 1 training has been required of all staff and vestry.

Safe Church (link) | Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

Safe Church training is designed to increase awareness regarding sexual misconduct and abuse of power, to outline steps toward preventing abuse, to offer ways to intervene when misconduct occurs and to equip anyone in a position of parish leadership with ways of healing and rebuilding the body of Christ.

The training is required of all clergy and diocesan employees. It is also intended for wardens, vestry members, lay Eucharistic visitors, pastoral visitors, youth leaders, confirmation sponsors, acolyte leaders, choir directors, church school teachers, volunteers working in the parish on a regular basis and all employees of congregations. ...

It is often not easy to apply the principle. In my ministry in Honolulu I was particularly involved with the homeless population that lived right outside our doors. One person was of particular interest to me. She was nonverbal and lived in a tent on the street outside our church building. Another homeless person watched out for her and in effect was her guardian. One of the things I observed was that her usual agitation completely disappeared when she was involved with the worship in our sanctuary. It seemed to me that could only be a good thing. I was wrong.

One Sunday she got angry and pushed to the ground a gentle Japanese octogenarian standing near her. St. Mary’s was suddenly not a safe place for that Japanese parishioner. I made the decision that we had to bar the homeless person from attending our worship, because her presence made it unsafe for others.

Obviously trying to sort through these issues with regard to Covid is a new experience for all of us. There are no rules being dictated from on high.

I encourage all leaders in the church to view the presentation on the guidelines of the diocese related to the omicron variant of Covid. Presentation (link).

The duly elected leaders of the church have a particular responsibility to provide a safe place for the gathering and worship of the church (the people). The canons put it this way:

In the absence of the rector, the wardens shall preside in all meetings of the vestry or congregation, in order of their official seniority. As representatives of the vestry, they shall (subject to the vestry’s directions and consistent with the rights of the rector) have charge of the church building and they shall see that it is kept from all uses inconsistent with the doctrine or discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church and, so far as possible, in good repair, as becomes the house of God. The wardens shall see that the church is prepared for public worship and that order is preserved during that worship; that suitable books are provided for the services, vestments for the clergy, and, when necessary, the elements for the Holy Communion.

Churches have a particular responsibility to try to minimize the danger of being in church.

Early in the pandemic, it was recognized that churches were places that at times were conducive to spreading the covid virus:

• Choirs by definition were people who projected the vapor in their breath,
• people sit close together in the congregation,
• people hug and touch one another in gestures of Christian love,
• Churches are places where people tend to be accepting and understanding (except when they are places where people are angry and judgmental)
• and so on.

Factors that need to be considered in creating a safe place for worship:

• Although the “positivity” rate is clearly not as reliable a figure as was previously believed, the rate in Union County is over 30% and still increasing, even as it is beginning to decline in other parts of the country.
• What are the hospitalization rates in Union County? How many people have had to forgo treatment of one kind or another because of the excess beds being used for Covid patients?
• How stressed are the health care workers in Union County?
• How should we factor that the average age of our congregation is fairly high?
• Although we seem to have had a high percentage of vaccinated parishioners, vaccinations and boosters tend to be less effective against omicron. How should we consider that?