Dear RUMC Family and Friends,
Rockford United Methodist Church is currently using Safe Gatherings for abuse training and background checks. Thank you to everyone who has already completed the process.
While not mandatory, we’re asking the whole congregation to participate so we can offer a safe and knowledgeable space for all of God’s children. We think this will create a safer, more informed congregation. For this reason, there is no direct cost to you!
The company we are using, Safe Gatherings, is the one approved by the Michigan United Methodist Conference for all local churches. In fact, the conference requires it for those working with children and vulnerable adults. They update their materials constantly and do a series of background checks including county, state, and national. Here is the link: https://rockfordumc.org/safe-gatherings-background-check/
Each volunteer will need to complete their own application by choosing the “Get Started” icon on www.safegatherings.com. This training can be done at any time, at your home or during office hours here at the church, and the program remembers where you stopped for easy restarts. Please note, you will be filling in personal information, including previous work involving children, youth, or vulnerable adults. Also, you will be submitting two references (supervisor, clergy, professional) who are not related to you. Safe Gatherings will need contact information for these references (email and phone number). To speed up the process, please have this information ready before you begin.
All in all, in this way, we will be able to have a common knowledge around abuse prevention, see quickly who has had training and when, as well as complete all the necessary background checks.
If you have any questions, please contact the church office.