Church Sex Crimes: Keeping your children safe

It has been a week of headlines, with two Lowcountry clergy members accused of sexual crimes.

“It’s heartbreaking. I read the paper and watch TV just like everyone else. It’s getting that it’s not surprising,“ Rev. Jim Hunter of Hibben United Methodist Church said.

It’s a sign of the times and just one reason the United Methodist Conference started the Safe Sanctuaries program. Every Methodist church in the Lowcountry must comply.

“Of all the places in the world… children and vulnerable adults will be safe when they come to church,“ Hunter said.

Not only pastors, but every person who has contact with children, must go through strict training and have an extensive background check. No adult is allowed to be alone with children at church functions and a hall monitor patrols during sunday school and group events.

“Our preschool teachers take it a step further. Last year, they all did the Darkness to Light training to not only make sure the kids who come to our preschool are safe when they come here, but to help them look for signs of abuse from other places,“ Hunter said.

The are trying to keep an open line of communication to keep children safe even for those whose background checks come back clean.

“If they were abused as a child… then we ask them to talk to my wife or I about it so that we can gauge if they are going to be able to work with the youth,“ he said.

Former sex offenders are still welcomed into the congregation for forgiveness. They must tell the pastors about their past, cannot work with youth and must constantly remain accountable to church leaders.

“We all look forward to the day when we shed all our burdens, but until then we’ve got to keep people safe,“ Hunter said.