St. Pauls United Church of Christ Safe Sanctuary Program
Section I - Safe Sanctuary Policy

Purpose________________________________________________________
St. Pauls United Church of Christ is to be a holy place of sanctuary where all can gather for worship, study and service with the assurance that they are safe and secure in our community of faith. We covenant with one another to provide a safe and secure environment for all children, youth and volunteers who participate in ministries and activities sponsored by this congregation. To help reach these goals, we have adopted the following policies, procedures and educational programs to reduce the possibility of child abuse, or any type of sexual misconduct or harassment from occurring in our congregation. All members of the congregation are held responsible for knowing and upholding these guidelines even if not working directly with children or youth.
Recruiting Congregational Workers__________________________________
Our congregation welcomes volunteers who have been part of our membership for at least six months before being involved in work with children and youth. New employees, having satisfied the screening process, employed to work with children and youth, may assume their position immediately.
Screening Procedure_____________________________________________
All persons working directly with children or youth must undergo the screening process by reading this program and completing the attached Disclosure Form. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

A criminal record background check is completed on any person requesting to take a position that has contact with children and youth.