Why the Need for Guidelines?

These guidelines are not meant to prescribe an action for every situation; many of these things should be common sense to us. And perhaps we are clear on our own motives for serving, and our consciences are clear, but these guidelines are to protect volunteers from being put into compromising situations. At the heart of these guidelines is to ‘do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God’.

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Motivations

• Must not abuse the privileges and standing associated with their official role in church for self-gain or sexual intimacy; 

• Must not foster dependency or subservience on themselves, instead they should encourage collaboration and be accountable to others for their actions and whereabouts;

• Be objective and fair in dealing with each person, refraining from taking sides or practising favoritism;

• Disclose whenever a potential conflict of interest arises, and take the appropriate actions to eliminate the conflict

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Boundaries

• Treat everyone with respect, loyalty, patience, integrity, courtesy, dignity, and consideration 

• Dress, act and speak sensitively; 

• Must not engage in physical, psychological, written, or verbal harassment, including but not  limited to: racist and sexist remarks, sexual comments or advances, display of offensive materials 

• Exercising sensitivity and caution with regard to the physical and emotional space others  require in pastoral encounters, especially if it can cause confusion about the nature of the relationship between giver and receiver; 

• Avoid any form of over-familiarity or inappropriate language; be mindful of conversations via apps that hide or do not store interactions, such as Snapchat, live streaming and Telegram secret chats; 

• Respect and maintain the confidentiality and dignity of each person, especially in sharing content on social media

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On Behalf of Others

• Report (to the church first, then to the civil authorities if the need arises) if anyone reveals information that is a threat to themselves or to others; 

• Report inappropriate behavior of the persons or of other volunteers 

  • In line with the theological values of truth and charity, persons who make such 
    reports should be protected from reprisals or victimization for reporting 

  • This is not to create an environment of suspicion, but to prevent abuse 

• Undergoing training to increase personal and group skills, awareness, and to promote good 
  methods

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Conduct with Young Persons and Mentally Handicapped Persons

• Use a team approach when handling youth activities or pastoral care to protect all persons from the appearance of impropriety and from all risk of harm

• Refuse and refrain from giving special treatment to anyone, including but not limited to expensive gifts and other special favours 

• Must not humiliate, ridicule, threaten, use profanity, or be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while serving