A Place of Safety, Truth and Healing
This coming Sunday, as part of the National Child Protection Week (8–13 September), we will join with other CRCA churches across Australia to observe ‘Abuse Awareness Sunday’. This is a dedicated opportunity for us to stand with survivors, raise awareness, and equip our church to be a place of safety, truth and healing. Abuse is a painful and difficult topic, but as God’s people we want to speak into it with love, truth, and sensitivity.
As followers of Christ, we are called to be a light in the darkness and a refuge for the vulnerable. Psalm 34:18 says, ‘The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in sprit.’ God cares deeply for those who are mistreated, and as His church we are called reflect His heart of compassion.
This is why, as a church, we take the protection of vulnerable people very seriously. Our ChildSafe policies and practices are one expression of this commitment. But more than policies, it’s about cultivating a culture of safety, love, and care where everyone is valued as a person made in God’s image.
In his article about domestic abuse, Ben Lattimore writes: ‘If you’re a Christian then you know first-hand that God is compassionate. It’s his compassion that led the Son to take on flesh and suffer so that we could be saved. Yes, it’s complicated; yes, it’s messy; yes, it’s costly. But Christ entered into complicated and messy for our salvation. To secure hope and restoration for our weary souls. He is present with his people and he gives comfort, wisdom, strength and hope. He sees the wrongdoing of abusers and will deal with them in his time and his way. But he invites us to draw near to the mistreated and broken-hearted, to enter their world, for his glory, just as he entered ours.’
This Sunday is an opportunity for us to reflect, pray and commit ourselves to being a community where the vulnerable are protected and survivors are supported. Together, we listen, we learn, we love.
If you need help or someone to talk to, please don’t remain silent. Reach out to a trusted friend, contact one of the professional support organisations listed below, or speak to a pastor or church leader. You are not alone; we walk with one another in the compassion and hope that Christ offers.
Micah 6:8 ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’
In Grace,
Emma
Links to Professional Support & Organisations available from the Church Office or Pastoral Team
24 Hour Domestic Violence Helpline Domestic and family violence help in Queensland
Centre Against Domestic Abuse (Moreton Bay Region) Home – CADA
1800RESPECT Sexual Assault, family and domestic Voilence 1800respect.org.au
Blue Knot Helpline for adults who have experienced childhood trauma blueknot.org.au
