Bonnie Nicholas

First I am so sorry to hear about your abuse at a residential school. No one should ever have to experience that, especially a young child. Again, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you.

It's not true that we only want encouraging comments in this space. We do want them to be respectful for sure, yet there is also much to be learned from honest interaction and from constructive critique. I'm curious about what regulations you believe are going too far, and which procedure was so encroaching that people stopped volunteering for the nursery. If you'd like to discuss this further in a less public format, please feel free to email or contact me directly.   ([email protected])

That's a very good question. I have no formal legal training and would recommend that you consult with a legal professional to find out the possible implications of live streaming a church service. Then you can make a decision based on better input than I am able to give here. Generally speaking, it's my understanding that a church service is considered a public event, open and free to the public; and as such it possesses some legal freedom in terms of sharing images from the event. One question to ask is whether the live streaming needs to include children, and for that matter other members of the church. If the purpose of the live stream is to hear the message, and/or the music, it seems that could be done without any images of children or others who happen to be in attendance.  Are people generally aware that the service is live streamed and/or have they given written permission for their images to be used? Whether legally required or not, that could be seen as a courtesy to the congregation. In addition, children are especially vulnerable and it is our responsibility to provide them safety and protection. There may be situations that would make live streaming children (and any other attendee for that matter) unwise, even if it is not a legal liability. It's a good question, and offers much food for thought.

I agree that embracing what's positive and justice-building is a good place to be. Linda Crockett, a person I admire a lot, who is working to build a movement to end child sexual abuse, talks about different streams joining to form a movement. One of the streams is the faith community - with different tributaries, like Christianity, and even smaller tributaries like the CRC. When this justice stream joins other streams, all moving toward a better humanity - in this instance moving to end violence against women - that's a good thing.

Thank you for your thoughtful clarification; yes, I agree that true mercy must also include justice and that we owe it to both the one who has been harmed as well as to the one who has offended. Thanks again.

Thanks so much for sharing your letter to the editor in this space. Men have a tendency to listen to other men, therefore we need male allies who will speak up against a culture that finds it easy to devalue women in so many ways, both subtle and not-so subtle. This perception of women as "less than" provides an underlying context for all kinds of abuse. Our silence can speak volumes, so thanks again for speaking up! 

Thanks Jane for your sensitivity here to those who have experienced abuse. And even though this is an aside, you are absolutely right that the trauma of abuse often has long-lasting effects, and the road to healing may be long and winding. Sometimes spiritual platitudes, however true they might be, simply are not able to be heard by someone who is still in the midst of the struggle about how a loving, all-powerful God could sit back and watch his beloved child be abused. It's indeed a struggle, and that struggle is part of the healing journey. There are no short cuts or easy fixes. Listening, listening and listening some more, and a silent ministry of being present can be so extremely valuable to someone who has suffered abuse. Safe Church is so thankful for the many people who have been willing to enter the difficult places and walk alongside over time. This is something we are unable to do from our office here in Grand Rapids and so depend on you and your ministry. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!