This week, our Pastoral Note is written by one of our Lay Leaders, Mary Marroquin. We are glad to be able to share her reflections with the community!

What’s cookin’ at Church Council?

Have you ever wondered what your church council is talking about? Prior to participating in these meetings as one of your lay leaders I probably would have given a stale guess about committees and subcommittees and something about finances and now my mind has wandered. No shade on committees. But with some time on this council I have learned that church council is a bit like the secret sauce to the recipe of our church.

I’d say our main ingredients are those big committees like SPRC, Finances, Trustees, and Lay Leadership. However, when the church council gathers we are taking those ingredients from each committee and then looking at the larger picture of where our church is moving. It is a place where big ideas get boiled down to practicalities, mission statements, and future plans keeping Jesus as our guide, dare we say – head chef? And like a good red wine reduction, that’s where the flavor lies.

All cooking references aside, our February church council meeting covered a very important central theme. Westwood UMC is in the process of reviewing its Children/Youth Ministry Policies through a program called Ministry Safe. Ministry Safe is an abuse prevention policy required through our Cal-Pac Conference for the United Methodist Church that includes Sexual Abuse Awareness training, training for screening personnel, safety policies and procedures and criminal background checks for church employees and regular volunteers.

We want our church community to be aware that our leadership and lay persons are taking preventative and proactive steps to protect children and youth. After we make updates to the policy, I know we’ll share more details with the whole community.

As a lay leader I want all people at our church to not only feel but actually be safe. There can be an illusion of safety in churches when it comes to abuse prevention, which is dangerous to both the church and the children it serves. I feel at ease knowing that WUMC is not willing to be pulled into an illusion of safety but is instead taking the necessary measures to prevent abuse firsthand.

See what I mean about that secret sauce?

grace and peace,
Mary Marroquin