Bishop Julie Conalty, the Bishop of Birkenhead and the Deputy Lead for Safeguarding in the Church of England, has contributed a Bible reflection to a safeguarding campaign organised by Christian safeguarding chairty, Thirtyone:eight.
Her reflection is part of a suite of resources including prayers, worship ideas, animations, and liturgy that are freely available to churches to help them mark Safeguarding Sunday on Sunday 20 November. Churches in the Diocese of Chester are encouraged to use the resources.
Safeguarding Sunday is an annual awareness-raising campaign coordinated by the independent Christian safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight. It gives churches an opportunity to show their communities that they take their safeguarding responsibility seriously, to explore together as a church what safer places look like, to think through the theology behind safeguarding and how it fits with God’s heart for justice, and to thank all those working behind the scenes to make our churches safer places. The theme of the campaign this year is: “One Church, One Day, One message: Protecting Vulnerable People. Together.”
A short film, coordinated and funded by Thirtyone:eight, is availabe for churches to access and play on Sunday 20th November when churches come together to mark Safeguarding Sunday and share what they are doing to make their places of worship safer.
Churches can download the video and all the Safeguarding Sunday resources and register to take part for free at thirtyoneeight.org/safeguardingsunday.
Resources include, prayers, worship ideas, animations, liturgy and a 10-minute reflection recorded especially for Safeguarding Sunday 2022 by Bishop Julie. Deputy Lead Bishop for Safeguarding in the Church of England. Bishop Julie has contributed to the campaign alongside several other church leaders including: the Archbishop of Wales Andy John, Bishop Paul Mason, Bishop Vivienne Faull, Paul Harcourt, Stuart Keir, Olivia Amartey, and Mark Landreth Smith.
Justin Humphreys, Joint Chief Executive at Thirtyone:eight, says: “Safeguarding Sunday is a chance to shine a light on what so many churches are doing to make places of worship safer. We mustn’t forget that protecting vulnerable people is at the heart of the Christian message of justice and hope. I want to thank everyone who is doing this vital ongoing work and taking part in this year’s campaign to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding in their church and community. We mustn’t become complacent and as the end of the Safeguarding Sunday Prayer video, says ‘Now we have prayed, may we have the courage to take action.’”
For more information and to register for free church go to thirtyoneeight.org/SafeguardingSunday