Starting in 2024, Abuse Awareness Sunday has been moved to the second week of April. We invite every congregation to plan their worship service, litany, and sermon/message around the theme of abuse awareness. Feel free to also observe Abuse Awareness Sunday on a day that works best for your congregation’s liturgical calendar. You can view more information about special Sundays at crcna.org/ChurchYear.
The abuse awareness topic for 2024 is Safe People, Safe Congregations.
Safe congregations are places where people can worship God and grow in faith freely without the fear of being hurt, harassed, or harmed. All of us want to be part of a safe congregation. So what can we do to make our congregation safer? We each can help by choosing to be a safe person. What does that look like? Here are some qualities that can be seen in a safe person:
• Treats each person with dignity and respect
• Actively listens with compassion and empathy to others
• Acts with honesty and integrity
• Respects others boundaries
• Admits and apologizes after wronging someone
• Advocates for the marginalized and the vulnerable.
Many of the words in this list are tied directly to the fruit of the Spirit. A safe person is one who displays these fruit in their lives.
If your Christian Reformed congregation would like to order the 2024 Abuse Awareness Sunday Flyer/ Bulletin Insert for free, you may do so at the link below
For worship resources on this year's theme, including a sermon starter and song suggestions, check out this Network article: Worship Resources for Abuse Awareness Sunday 2024
Every other month we send out Safe Church Community News—it's one way we share about the many movements of Safe Church. Hopefully it will inspire you to live out this ministry in your local context. View the most recent issues and subscribe.
