Sunday 17th November 2024

This Sunday, November 17th, is ‘Safeguarding Sunday.’ I am sure the irony of this will not have escaped many of us, given the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation and safeguarding failures exposed by the Makin Report earlier this week. This is a time of reckoning for the Church of England and will require much soul-searching in the weeks and months to come. On Sunday, we will be asking what our role is—as a church and as individuals—in ensuring that all within our community remain safe. Protecting vulnerable people is at the heart of the Christian message, and the theme for this year’s Safeguarding Sunday is—”let’s talk about it.” A part of talking about it is acknowledging where the church, our leaders, and ourselves have fallen short in not loving our neighbours as ourselves and allowing abuse to continue unopposed. During the service, we will be interviewing our new church Safeguarding Officer as well as creating time and space to pray, reflect and lament. May the peace of the Lord be with you this week.

Every blessing, Mark

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