The work of two safeguarding officers at the Cathedral parish has transformed safeguarding culture despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic. St Mary’s Cathedral Parish Sale covers five churches. These are at Briagolong, Loch Sport, Rosedale, Stratford and Sale. The Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs) based at St Mary’s Cathedral are Lorel Donnelly and Bill Smolenaars. Bill joined Lorel in 2019 when John Clancy, the PSO was unable to continue the role due to personal reasons.
Bill was a novice to Parish Safeguarding, but he asked many relevant questions regarding the responsibilities of the role of PSO, and the many government laws, rules and regulations.
Transforming culture requires a multi-faceted approach which includes personal conversations with each and every person until a critical tipping point is reached when the group collectively has a different perception. It is always an ongoing journey.
Prior to the pandemic, face to face safeguarding training workshops were the mechanism to at least raise awareness of safeguarding.
However, although these were scheduled, they were subsequently cancelled due to the onset of COVID. Despite this, training took a new direction, going online with the adoption of the Diocese of Sale’s Safeguarding Children module. This presented new challenges for parishioners who were older and less conversant with computers.
Bill and Lorel encountered a range of different responses when they approached volunteers: some opted not to continue in their current ministry whilst others were responsive and open to the training, despite having minimal digital skills.
Picture: Lorel Donnelly and Bill Smolenaars, Sale Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs)
With patience displayed by the PSOs, working with each and every hesitant volunteer, the result was that they all had a better appreciation and understanding of what was required of them and the importance of safeguarding which Bill and Lorel were trying to inculcate across the five churches.
Almost 110 volunteers completed the online module over the pandemic. With the then Parish Priest, Fr Peter Bickley actively supporting the PSOs, the result has been a culture that has visibly shifted. Volunteers now appreciate and acknowledge that if they want to be an active member of their Parish then they need to collectively take safeguarding seriously.
What began with mixture of resentment, confusion, and fear has slowly but surely changed to a shift to having ‘a third eye’ where everyone feels safer. Now, parishioners want to be part of ‘parish safety’ and accept collectively as a Parish, they can make it a Safe, Secure and Nurturing place for all.
