The Trustees of Saraland United Methodist Church, in covenant with all United Methodist congregations, have adopted a Safe Sanctuary Policy to demonstrate our absolute and unwavering commitment to the physical safety and spiritual growth of all our children, youth, senior citizens, and at-risk adults. The policy meets or exceeds the minimum requirements of the Alabama-West Florida Conference Safe Sanctuary Policy adopted in June 2007. The Safe Sanctuary Policy was approved by our Board of Trustees on Saturday, January 12, 2008. The policy reads in part:

No congregation or annual conference can afford, either financially, ethically, or morally to fail to implement strategies for the reduction and prevention of any and every kind of abuse. Therefore, it shall be the policy and covenant of Saraland United Methodist Church to do everything in our power to prevent physical, emotional or sexual abuse against children, youth, and adults with developmental disabilities involved in any ministry sponsored by the church or in any of our local congregations.

Further, we are called to minister to those persons who are experiencing abuse and to those who have been victims of abuse in the past. To that end we covenant to be aware of our legal responsibilities and to comply with those responsibilities and go beyond those responsibilities when necessary to act justly in the best interest of those who have been abused or those who are most vulnerable to abuse.

Careful screening is the only way to prevent the abuse of children, youth and vulnerable adults. It can be time consuming and expensive, but well worth the effort and peace of mind that comes with having the most reliable, committed and experienced staff and volunteers in place for every program that involves children, youth and vulnerable adults.

Although it is our fervent hope and prayer that child sexual abuse does not occur in our programs, we must put into place sufficient mechanisms to reduce the risk of abuse of children, youth, and those who work with them.

The Safe Sanctuary Policy includes guidelines for leader and assistant age limits, leader and assistant training, adult/child ratios, overnight trips, event transportation and the reporting of abuse. The policy also states that all persons working with children, youth and/or at-risk adults will be asked to consent to a multi-state criminal and sexual offender background check and those providing transportation will be asked to consent to a motor vehicle records check. Safe Sanctuary training will be provided at least once each year for all persons working with children and youth.