Summer child protection: common sense for churches - CFN Newsletter 104

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 104

> David Pearson suggests some churches are losing the plot over child protection
> News:
> Condom culture is not the answer, says charity
> TxtaVerse pushes the right buttons to fight poverty
> Chinese couple's record-breaking marriage
> Sites:
> online guidance for web enthusiasts
> free online training for web evangelists
> free accountability software for men
> free e-book on media strategy for Christians
> Marriage MOT: Every marriage has witnesses
> You've got to laugh:
> Members' Zone latest

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Dear All

Found anything free online you'd like to share with the rest of us? We've got stacks of free stuff listed on our Sites Worth Seeing page this week in the Members' Zone - check it out and tell us what else you've discovered.

The hot summer sun could be said to have gone to some churches' heads, with some of the stories we've been hearing of midsummer silliness in the name of child protection. Check out some timely common sense from David Pearson of the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service.

Well, there's plenty more in this latest update - make the most of it, as CFN takes a short break for the Ed's summer holiday (let's hear it for Cornwall!). The next update will be with you at the end of August.

Remember - don't stint on the suncream!

God bless and take care of you

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

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ADVICE

When child protection gets silly

• There’s a lot of midsummer madness around when it comes to child protection, writes DAVID PEARSON, Executive Director of CCPAS – the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service. A little common sense is desperately needed ...
  

One summer morning last year our postman turned up at the office hopping mad. His nine-year-old daughter had been on an outing organised by a local playscheme and had returned from the trip severely sunburned.

Before she left home that morning, she had been given strict instructions from dad to protect herself from the sun, and if necessary ask the staff to help her apply the sun cream she had with her. Dad was shocked and upset by the severity of the blisters on his daughter's back and wanted to know why she hadn't asked for help. “I did, they wouldn't,” was her reply. “It's child protection!”

Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident of 'summer madness'. Such stories are recounted to us regularly by people justifiably concerned that with the high profile child protection now attracts, good sense is taking a back seat.

A teacher who attended a training seminar recently pointed out that she supervises a class of 36 children, but paradoxically, when it comes to the church Sunday school, she is not permitted to work on her own with a class of four.

Child minders, social workers and foster carers work on their own with children, but because of a fear mentality in some churches, good sense has disappeared out of the window only to be replaced by suspicion and mistrust. We have even been told of churches requiring more than one adult to be present in a children's group, not to have a positive influence, but so that one adult can scrutinise the behaviour of another, purportedly to safeguard the interests of the child.

It is sad but not surprising, therefore, that workers are becoming demoralised by this negative approach to child protection, and children's meetings are closing through lack of volunteers.

For many years, CCPAS has been the forerunner on 'good sense' child protection. Unlike other organisations that provide services to children, churches are, by their very nature unique, because they open their doors to everyone. It is 'good sense', therefore, to adopt safe recruitment procedures for both paid and voluntary workers, provide supervision, support and training, and emphasise accountability to and for other workers.

Adequate ratios of workers to children are needed and workers of each gender should, wherever possible, be involved. All workers should know how to respond where there are concerns or allegations of abuse.

When it comes to working practice, some mistakenly believe that legislation exists prohibiting physical contact with a child. It is important to remember the model Jesus portrayed when he said: “Let the little children come to me”, taking them in his arms and blessing them. Jesus was not abusing children by touching them.

• For the rest of this article, head for our Advice section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> 'Condom culture' is not the answer, says charity

LIFE, the UK’s leading prolife charity, is warning that the sexual behaviour of young people has to change, in the light of a further study highlighting the UK’s growing crisis in sexual health.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

>
TxtaVerse pushes the right buttons to fight poverty

The arrival of a new text messaging service that delivers daily Bible verses and gives all the money to the poor, is being hailed as the most meaningful development yet in a profitable mobile content market dominated by trivia.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> Chinese couple's record-breaking marriage

The female half of the longest marriage in the world died this month. Liu Yang-wan, 103, died at her home in Taoyuan County, China, from natural causes, leaving behind her 104-year-old husband, reports the China News Agency.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

Every marriage has witnesses

Every time a couple marry in this country, there are at least two witnesses to the action. While these may seem to be simply required for legal reasons, they have a much greater significance.

Marriage is something which involves our deepest feelings and beliefs. We are at our most vulnerable when we open ourselves up to another in marriage, and unless we choose to be that vulnerable, our relationship will be confined to a superficial level and we will miss many of the blessings that marriage can bring.

This means that many of us are unwilling to allow that vulnerability to be seen by anyone else. We see our marriage relationship as something distinctly private – no-one’s business but our own. In fact marriage is meant to be much more than a private arrangement. A couple’s privacy is important but their relationship is also part of the society and world that we live in. The presence of witnesses, friends and family at our wedding reminds us that what we do that day affects the communities in which we live. We are in some way accountable to them for how we live and love.

Who are the real witnesses in your marriage? Is their someone who will challenge you about how you are loving and caring for each other? Is there someone who will share your joys and trials and encourage you?
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> YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLDER WHEN ...

... Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.
... The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your glasses.
... You keep repeating yourself.
... You feel like the morning after and you haven't been anywhere.
... Your children begin to look middle-aged.
... You keep repeating yourself.
... You finally reach the top of the ladder and find it leaning against the wrong wall.
... Your mind makes contracts your body can't meet.
... You look forward to a dull evening.
... Your favourite part of the newspaper is "20 Years Ago Today".
... You turn out the lights for economic rather than romantic reasons.
... You sit in a rocking chair and can't get it going.
... Your knees buckle, and your belt won't.
... You're 17 around the neck, 42 around the waist, and 105 around the golf course.
... Your back goes out more than you do.
... You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.
... You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet.

www.MikeysFunnies.com

> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

A woman who was a very keen knitter once went to a Chinese restaurant and was very impressed by the calligraphy of the Chinese lettering on the menu. So she decided to knit a jumper that used some Chinese characters.

Unfortunately she did not check on the meanings beforehand, and was greeted by howls of laughter when she returned wearing the jumper.

It turned out she had chosen characters meaning 'Cheap dish but very tasty.'

--------------

If you would like to be entertained, try entering 'Weapons of mass destruction' in a Google search, click 'I'm feeling lucky' and read carefully what comes up.

(Grove Books newsletter)

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Our new internet savvy column from Eric Spellman continues with the second of a simple two-part guide to HTML and website building
> David Pearson's common sense advice for churches on child protection
> Kate's marriage tips - Every marriage has witnesses

> Resources

> Have you ever wondered why ... (quirky observations on life's idiosyncrasies)
> Daft instructions ... things that you'd never believe they actually said on the label

> Reviews

> Peter Dilley rounds up the latest US and UK Christian music releases

> News

> Condom culture is not the answer, says charity
> TxtaVerse pushes the right buttons to fight poverty
> Chinese couple's record-breaking marriage

> News extra: Relate's challenge to the Church over marriage prepartion and support

> Top sites this week

> resources for keen web users/online evangelists
> help for those who have suffered abuse
> resources for disability ministry
> lots of things you can get for free online!

> Events: More of what's on near you

> Webwatch Index: more than 600 sites at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 1,000-page plus archives

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