Safe Church Training

As Christians, we live in a covenant relationship with God and with one another. Through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, we enter into a sacred covenant in which we pledge to live lives that “seek and serve Christ in all persons,” and to “respect the dignity of every human being.” Because incidents of violence, hatred, and sexual misconduct occur in our world, the Church must maintain ethical and moral standards that clearly communicate what is, and what is not, acceptable behavior on the part of those called to Church leadership. Pastoral leadership in the Christian Church is a calling that demands the highest standards of moral integrity and personal responsibility. Leadership is a gift of the Spirit that can be effectively exercised only in an environment of trust. Where there is no trust, there can be no community. Since trust is so fundamental to the well-being of the Christian community, Christian people have the right to expect that their leaders, both lay and ordained, understand and are committed to standards of behavior that are trustworthy.

Safe Church, Safe Communities training, which replaced the Safeguarding program, will help you to develop appropriate teaching, caring and mentoring relationships which are based in trust and the promises that we make in the Baptismal Covenant so that you can create relationships and environments where you can Make, Equip, and Send Mature Disciples.

Online Training

The online training platform known as Armatus Learn-to Protect relaunched as Praesidium Academy on July 14, 2021. All Armatus users active since 2017 should have received an invitation to complete their profile in the new platform. We will continue to use the online training system for primary training purposes. Once your account has been created, you will receive an email from Praesidium Academy with the training portal link and training instructions (this email sometimes gets filtered into 'Spam' or 'Junk' folders). As of September 10, 2022, Safe Church certification is current for 3 years. Once you complete your training, you must send your record keeper a copy of your transcript; the diocesan Safe Church administrator can verify training and generate diocesan certificates on a case-by-case basis. For more information on Praesidium Academy, visit here.

If you have additional questions, contact Katelyn Kenney.

How to Access Training

Good – use the form below to submit an account request form

Better – notify the administrator at your parish or institution that oversees training records so they can collect the names and emails of individuals who need training and send them to the diocesan Safe Church administrator in a spreadsheet

Best – appoint an in-house Safe Church manager at your parish or school to add and track learners more readily; contact Katelyn Kenney for more information

For Trainers

A "Train the Trainers" workbook corresponding with the Safe Church, Safe Communities program is forthcoming. Because Praesidium Academy is now the primary source for training, the role of trainers is shifting to local contextualization of the content with a group that has already taken the online training. The workbook will provide guidance on how that looks in an instructor-led setting. If you are currently designated as a diocesan Safe Church trainer or are interested in becoming one, please contact Katelyn Kenney indicating your intention to serve in this role.

For Parish Administrators

We ask for your patience as we work to process all incoming lay licensure applications. If you have an urgent circumstance, please contact Katelyn Kenney. For further updates on Safe Church developments from The Episcopal Church, visit their website.

If you would like to be designated as a 'Manager' in Praesidium Academy in order to add and track learners in your parish/institution, contact Katelyn Kenney.