Anglican Diocese of Ontario

LEADERSHIP DAYS

Gather…Nurture…Equip…Send

Screening In Faith Protocol

Overview Workshop

Prayer

• God of abundance and God of life , infuse in your children with courage and love , that we may build communities of hope , which are healthy, thriving, and safe. Help us to be responsible with our ministry so that both the weak and the strong find their home in our churches, through the profound love of our Lord and Saviour , Jesus Christ. Amen.

Theological Foundation

• Parishes are to be :

• Holy Places

• Loving Places, where the love of Christ is shared and modeled

• Ministry is a Privilege , that is worked out between individual and parish community

Rationale for the Policy

• Means by which the Diocese of Ontario offers our best to those we serve

• Enables the people we place in positions of power to be

• Properly selected

• Trained

• Supported

• Meet the legal concept of duty of care

Getting Started

• 1. Decide who will be Parish Screening Volunteer

• 2.Appoint and Recognize Screening Volunteer

• 3.Train Screening Volunteer

• 4.Create Screening Team

• 5.Inform Parish of the Program

• 6.Set Up Filing System and Conduct Record Keeping

Screening Steps

• 1. List all the ministry activities and positions

• 2.List duties and responsibilities for each ministry

• 3. Assess Risk; Low Risk, Medium Risk, High Risk

• 4.Reduce the Risk

• 5.Assign Screening Standards ( what is required for each ministry , example a medium risk ministry requires S.M. A. T.)

• 6Finalize ministry descriptions

Screening Steps Continued

• 7.Establish Training and Supervision

• 8. Apply Screening Standards

• 9.Make a Selection

• 10. Evaluate and Enforce Screening Standards

Helpful Forms Continued

• Appendix G : Screening in Faith Interview Questions

• Appendix H: Sexual Misconduct Training Attendance Form

• Appendix J : Reference Interview Quest Form

• Appendix K : One on One Record Form

• Appendix L :Parent Consent form

Very Important

• It is not the person but the position.

• Screening in Faith is love in action

• Screening in Faith will help parishes raise up and support volunteers for ministry positions

Thank You Very Much

• The diocese of Ontario is very grateful to you for helping to make our parishes safe , joyful and loving communities!

Safeguarding God’s Children

For Ministries and Ministry Professionals

What are the steps we must take to keep ministries safe?

• Screening

• Interacting

• Monitoring

• Training

• Responding

Screening is your first opportunity to prevent.

Why is screening an essential element in keeping children safe?

• It is an opportunity to prevent a molester from ever having contact with the children in the program.

Interacting should be guided by clear standards known to everyone.

Why are guidelines for interacting essential for keeping children safe?

• Guidelines for interacting help children and adults feel safe when expressing affection in ministry and increase the likelihood that someone who does not have good intentions with children will be detected.

Monitoring is absolutely essential for safe ministries.

Why is monitoring essential for keeping children safe?

• Monitoring allows us to detect problems before they turn into an incident of abuse.

What steps are involved in monitoring?

• All programs involve more than one adult.

• Have a written supervisory plan.

• Encourage parents to visit.

• Review new programs carefully.

• Keeping doors and windows open.

• Keeping unused rooms locked.

Why is training essential for keeping children safe?

• Training puts the power to protect in everyone’s hands.

Responding quickly gives you the power to protect children.

What can be done to respond?

• Talk to the person involved

• Report to the police

• Report to protective services

• Report anonymously

• Talk to the person’s supervisor

• Talk to the director of the program

Congregational Leadership

The Local Church Leadership

• Each parish is a member of the wider Anglican church and is part of the overarching mission of the Church

• Leaders do not come to the Church as blank slates;

• They have a broad range of knowledge, skills and experience;

• It is essential that a church utilize these resources to carry out the necessary corporate functions – managing money, caring for facilities, etc.

The Local Church Parish Council

• Purpose – canonically, the Parish Council is an advisory group to give assistance to the Churchwardens in the discharge of their duties.

• If, however, the congregation is to progress toward its mission objectives it may also perform the following functions:– Help discern the vision toward which God is drawing the Church;

– Articulate and communicate the vision;

– Hold the faith community accountable for the realization of that vision;

– Keep the mission of the congregation clearly before the parish community.

The Office of Churchwarden

The Office of Churchwarden Appointed & Elected

• While the Churchwardens come to office in two different ways, they are equal in status and function;– Occupy jointly an office which must not be exercised

alone;

– “People’s Warden”, “Rector’s Warden” are not mentioned in the Canons;

– The division of labour is defined by parish traditions and, more appropriately, the talents of the individuals.

The Office of Churchwarden Legal Status

• The Churchwardens are a legal entity, “The Churchwardens of the Church of…”

• The parish or the congregation is not itself incorporated and the Incumbent is not a member of the corporation;

• There must be two Churchwardens in accordance with the Canons to bring the corporation of Churchwardens into existence;

• When they act within their scope of authority they incur corporate obligations on behalf of the congregation and bind its property;

• Acting outside of their authority, they do not bind congregational property.

The Office of Churchwarden Duties & Responsibilities

• Public Relations & Leadership

• Financial Responsibilities

• Staffing

• Gifts

• Corporate Property

The Office of Churchwarden Public Relations & Leadership

• Maintain & develop their own spiritual life and live out their Baptismal covenant fully;

• Be supportive of the life of the church by attending congregational events whenever possible;

• Be supportive of all church groups – Church School, ACW, Altar Guild, Outreach, Bible Study, etc.

• Be knowledgeable about activities and let leaders know that the Churchwardens are interested in how things are going;

• Be supportive of the Incumbent and all other staff. Make sure staff take appropriate time off and keep healthy.

The Office of Churchwarden Financial Responsibilities

• Responsible for the care and accounting of all money given to the congregation;

• The Parish/Congregational Budget;

• The Parish Accounts;

• Parish Records & Papers

NOTE: Typically Churchwardens delegate many of these tasks to Treasurers/Envelope Secretaries or others but are legally responsible for how these tasks are carried out and they should be familiar with and provide adequate supervision for processes.

The Office of Churchwarden Staffing

• Appoint the Treasurer/Envelope Secretary

• Appoint the Organist after agreement with the Incumbent;

• Appoint the Vestry clerk

• Appoint and evaluate any other staff person; Secretary, Custodian, etc.;

• Are responsible for payment of clergy stipend, salaried staff, and staff or clergy replacements.

The Office of Churchwarden Gifts to Parishes/Congregations

• Churchwardens are not obliged to accept gifts;• Gifts of furniture, paintings, libraries, land may

result in long-term expense;• Before acceptance of any gift, the

Churchwardens should seek approval of the Rector, Incumbent and the Parish Council;

• All restrictions attached to gifts must be carefully examined.

• Consider Adopting Gift Acceptance Policy

The Office of Churchwarden Corporate Property

• All issues relating to property are addressed in The Diocesan Canons;

• Church buildings, once consecrated, cannot be mortgaged.

Effective Finances

John Secker

Diocesan Financial Officer

Effective Finances Financial Responsibilities - Overview

• Financial Year

• Financial Report

• Audit Report

• Budget

• Handling Money

• Loans to Churches

• Care of Church Assets

• Incumbent’s Stipend

• Common Ministry and Mission/Assessable Income

Effective FinancesAccounting & Reporting System

• ‘System’• Historical Data – recordkeeping

• Financial Presentations

• Controls – Donor Confidence

• Recordkeeping, Data Retrieval, and Reporting• Manual vs Automated

• Fund Accounting• Special Purpose Funds

Effective FinancesAccounting & Reporting System

• ‘Accounting for Contributions• Restricted Contributions

• Endowment Contributions

• Unrestricted Contributions

• Internal Controls• Division of Duties

Effective FinancesFinancial Statements

• Statement of Financial Position• Statement of Operations and Changes in Fund Balance• Statement of Cash Flows• Supplementary Schedules Reporting the Activities of Restricted

Funds• Do we really need all this formality?

• What really needs to be reported?• Continuity from year to year

• Cash Accounting vs Accrual Accounting• Annual Financial Returns to Synod and the Federal Government.

• Green Sheets• T3010

Effective FinancesCash Management Practices

• Handling Cash

• Disbursing Church Funds

• Fraud?

• Position of Suspicion

Effective FinancesBudgeting

• ‘Planning’

• Operating Budget • Programming (current year)

• Capital Budget • Longer term capital needs

Effective FinancesCharitable Status

• 80% Rule – repealed – now based on percentage (3.5%) of assets not used in charitable activities

• Gifts by Charities to Others• Individuals

• Other Organizations

• Other Charities (Qualified Donees)

Effective FinancesCharitable Status & Charitable Receipting

• Charity’s Annual Information Return –Form T3010

– Step-by-step Guide

• Take The Easy Road

• All Financial Information

• All Groups Within Charity

Effective FinancesCharitable Receipting

• “A voluntary transfer of property for no consideration”

• Receipt Format• Name of Charity same as on T3010

• Show CRA Web Address

• Control

• Replacement Procedure

• Cutoff

Effective FinancesInvestment

• Assessment of Risk

Effective FinancesSales Tax Issues

• HST - 50% Rebate on Federal Portion

- 82% Rebate on Provincial Portion

• PST - Exemptions/Refunds

• Consultants

Effective FinancesInsurance

• AON Reed Stenhouse

• Deductible - $500 self insured from $2,500

• Replacement Cost

• Claims Procedures

Effective FinancesAudit

• Definition

• Independent

• Procedures

Effective FinancesSample Financial Statements

Effective FinancesInternal Control Questionnaire

Effective FinancesCommon Ministry & Mission

• Partnership

• Assessable Income

Effective FinancesGreen Sheet Workbook