And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:13-14)
When the angels brought news of Jesus’ arrival to the shepherds that first Christmas night, they worshiped God and announced ‘peace on earth’ among men. This strikes me especially strongly this year as scenes of war
-torn lands flood from our 24/7 media outlets. We see the destruction levied from the air upon buildings. We observe medical personnel loading the injured into ambulances. And we see displaced people traveling on
foot carrying their possession on their backs. Truly, we live as broken people in a broken world greatly in need of the lasting ‘peace’ of the Prince of Peace – Jesus. We long for the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ
Who will reign in peace and ‘make all things new’.
In the meantime, you and I represent Him and His coming kingdom in our broken world. As you well know, one area of tragic brokenness in our world is the matter of sexual abuse. Like never before our church must be alert, pro-active, and on guard in order to protect our children, our students, and those who graciously volunteer to serve them. Our Alabama Baptist State Convention has urged all Alabama Baptist churches like ours to ‘raise the bar’ of protection in the area of sexual abuse. In addition, our liability insurance carrier now requires that our church demonstrate upgraded standards and training for sexual abuse protection within our children’s and student ministries.
Therefore, our Safety and Security Committee with the support of our Deacon Council is bringing forth a new policy to the church for approval. It is “The Children’s and Student Ministries’ Worker Policy. Copies of this policy are available to all church members on the church website, in the church office, and in the worship center foyer. We plan to present, discuss and vote on this policy at a Special Business Meeting – Wednesday, December 13th at 6:00 PM in the Adult One meeting area. Please secure your copy of the policy and read it well in preparation for the meeting.
Thank you, church family,
Cecil Sanders