Who we are
Safe Ministry Training is run by the Professional Standards Unit of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney (PSU).
The PSU is charged with developing and facilitating training in Safe Ministry practice and policy for all paid pastoral staff and volunteers working with children and other vulnerable people in our churches and affiliated ministries.
It is our goal to develop a deep culture of safe ministry in our churches and ministries, and effective training in the principles of safe ministry is a key part of that.
For more information about members of the PSU team, see our safe ministry website.
If you have any questions or concerns about Safe Ministry Training, please get in touch with us via the Contact page
Who we serve
The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is the largest – in terms of population – Anglican Diocese in Australia.
We work with more than 270 parishes, a number of other congregation styles, and have strong links with other Anglican diocese’ and numerous independent evangelical churches.
We have many people working tirelessly in their churches in children’s and youth ministries, and in ministries to vulnerable adults.
280+
Number of Anglican Churches in Sydney diocese
~18,000
Number of members of Sydney Anglican churches with a WWCC
7,000+
People doing Essentials, Refresher or Junior Leaders Course each year.
7,000+
Children reached each week in/by Sydney churches
1
Safe Ministry Training website for all training info.
It is a privilege to serve Christ in ministry among children and youth, and other vulnerable people. We treasure the opportunity to help others become disciples of Christ or mature as disciples of Christ in the context of our churches, schools or camps. Thank you for your commitment to this ministry.
All children who come into contact with the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Sydney should feel safe and secure in our care. Their parents should also feel confident knowing that we will diligently care for their children and protect them from harm’s way, while sharing the love of Christ in word and deed through our ministry.
The protection of the vulnerable, especially children, is a consistent theme in Scripture and one which we in the Diocese of Sydney take very seriously. Widows, orphans and ‘strangers’ (or migrants) comprise a familiar triad of responsibility for Ancient Israel, and the New Testament reinforces this responsibility for Christian care to those who might otherwise be marginalised.
I acknowledge that there have been incidences of poor supervision, as well as criminal behaviour and sexual misconduct with children within the life of the Diocese of Sydney. A formal apology to victims and survivors can be viewed here. Such behaviour is abhorrent in God’s sight, as it is in ours. The Diocese of Sydney is committed to a culture of care and has adopted rigorous processes of Safe Ministry training for all volunteers, as well as careful screening and selection of all clergy and church workers.
It is my prayer that your involvement in this course on Safe Ministry will not only raise your consciousness of the importance of protecting children and other vulnerable persons, but also provide you with practical advice so that both our policy and our behaviour might be ‘best practice’. It is the Lord Jesus Christ whom we serve and our desire is to honour him in every community, but especially in our churches and organisations, that they might be places of safety and security in which all people, particularly children, youth and the vulnerable might hear the good news of Christ and be built up in their faith.
In Christ
Kanishka Raffel – Archbishop of Sydney
