Each quadrennium the North Carolina Conference requires that every clergy (licensed, provisional, ordained, retired, interim supply) serving a church or under episcopal appointment (extension ministry) must complete ethics training. During the month of February we will utilize the resources of Safe Gatherings by using their online Clergy Ethics Course. This is also an inaugural quadrennium in which anti-racism training becomes required for clergy.
Details of this additional training are forthcoming. Implementation of the anti-racism component is planned for the second half of 2022 & 2023. The annual conference will cover the cost of all the courses as a gift to you and your ministry setting.
Clergy members make decisions at a level that can be far-reaching – more so than people in other professions. Ethical clergy can propel a congregation forward to do its best work, providing a safe place for all people to explore the Christian faith. Unethical behavior, on the other hand, can have a ripple effect. Boundary breaking causes harm, seriously erodes the fabric of an entire congregation while also compromising the church’s witness for Christ in the world.
The Safe Gatherings course will take users through the issues challenging today’s clergy and church leadership. Some of these issues include technology, sexualized behavior and misconduct, addiction, behavior with children and youth, narcissism, plagiarism, and more.
Every person under episcopal appointment or assignment in the North Carolina Conference will be required to take this course online beginning Feb. 1 and should complete the course by Feb. 28, 2022. To get started, click here.
In regards to both the sexual ethics and anti-racism courses, those who do not complete the requirement can expect the Bishop and Cabinet to review their present appointment and any conference committee assignments.