National Safe Church Unit reports
General Secretary (Interim) Rev Lindsay Cullen shares on the important work to ensure the Uniting Church is a safe place for all people
July 15, 2024
General Secretary (Interim) Rev Lindsay Cullen provided a report from the National Safe Church Unit (NSCU) to the 17th Assembly. The Unit was established in April 2019 in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The report describes the unit, “as an expression of the whole of Church commitment to ensuring that all parts of the UCA are places where all people are safe and supported.” Further, to ensure it is “a place of reconciliation and healing for those who may have experienced harm within our walls or in their broader life.”
The report notes the history of social justice advocacy within the Uniting Church and its close association with caring for vulnerable people. This commitment undergirds the NSCU’s work in ensuring the Church can do this in an effective, safe and sustainable way.
Lindsay shared that the NSCU was in a time of transition with recent staff changes.
“I just want to be transparent that we are in a difficult period with the National Safe Church Unit. The Assembly is certainly aware of that, the Synods are aware of that.”
Lindsay reinforced the important work being conducted by the Synods to ensure child safety across the church.
During the triennium, the Unit has developed the National Child Safe Policy Framework and the Principles of a Child Safe Uniting Church in Australia. This work continues to be guided by the theological foundations which underpin the Uniting Church’s commitment to child safety and being a safe church.
Rev Cullen reported that he will be meeting with the General Secretaries of the Synod in August to continue to discuss the ongoing, significant work of child safety in the church.
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