Safe Church

A: Anyone who serves in a parish, either volunteer or paid, as well as seminarians, aspirants, and postulants for Holy Orders will need to be trained. Those who serve in Episcopal schools, day camps, and residential camps in the diocese must also be trained.

A: Safeguarding God’s Children training is offered as an initial three-hour training workshop.

A: If you have a key to the building, you will need to take the entire course. If you are clergy, staff, or a volunteer who regularly works with or around children or youth, you will need to take the entire course. If you are a volunteer who does not have a key to the building and you only help with one or two events with children and youth each year, you’ll only need part of the training workshop.

A: The Diocese of East Tennessee adopted the Safeguarding God’s Children curriculum in 2003. Those who attended any prevention of child sexual abuse training prior to that time have not completed the training workshop that is currently required. Further, if it has been more than three years since going through the in-person training, you will need to take the in-person training again.

A: Initially, one must complete the full, in-person training before beginning employment or volunteer work with the parish. After the initial training, one must complete an online renewal course every three years.

A: Online training is available only in these situations:

1. An individual has been hired as parish/camp/school staff, or has signed on as a volunteer, and begins work in a time frame that makes it impossible to get through an in-person training before the start date. That individual may take an online version of the training only as a stopgap, but must still attend the next available in-person training.
2. It has been no more than three years since the last training, and the individual needs to renew training certification.
3. An individual has been through the in-person training but has been asked to take one or more of the ministry-specific online modules pertaining to her/his area of ministry (summer camp, day school, etc.)

A: Please contact Jody Davis at jdavis@dioet.org or 865-966-2110.