Loving God,

we pray that this church may be a place of welcome,

security and compassion.

Keep us watchful yet caring,

trusting yet ready to question,

that all who worship here may do so

in safety and in the knowledge of your love;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

May the doors of this church be wide enough

to receive all who come seeking God and fellowship.

May the doors of this church be narrow enough

to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.

May the threshold of this church be no stumbling block to young or frail feet.

May the threshold of this church be too high

to admit complacency and self-seeking.

May this church be, for all who enter,

a safe place and the doorway to a richer life in Christ.

In speaking out, we acknowledge that we ourselves are as limited and as erring as anyone else. When put to the test, we each may fall short.

We do not have a blueprint for peace that spells out every stepping stone towards the goal that we share. In any particular situation, a variety of personal decisions could be made with integrity.

We may disagree with the views and actions of the politician or the soldier who opts for a military solution, but we still respect and cherish the person.

We know that, as in all communities, Quaker women are  abused by their husbands/partners.  A  minority of women who told someone in their Meeting of the abuse found the response was hopeless and made her experience of abuse worse but most women, as in all contexts,  did not tell their Meeting of the domestic abuse because they didn’t believe they would get a supportive response which sought to prioritise their safety...  The depth of denial by Quakers of abuse within Quaker families is far too high and safeguarding fails totally to mention this.  See Bringing the Invisible into the Light :  Some Quaker feminists speak of their experience The Swarthmore Lecture 1986.  Sadly not much improvement.

...Quakers seem to think that safeguarding is a recent requirement by the secular world.  We have always safeguarded because we seek to obey the two commandments to love God and to love your neighbour."

18:  How can we make the meeting a community in which each person is accepted and nurtured, and strangers are welcome?... 

19:  Rejoice in the presence of children and young people in your meeting and recognise the gifts they bring... 

22.  Respect the wide diversity among us in our lives and relationships….. Remember that each one of us unique, precious, a child of God. 

29 … Although old age may bring increasing disability and loneliness, it can also bring serenity, detachment and wisdom. 

But Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven". 

As part of the covenant, the Lord commanded the Israelites in no uncertain terms to care for the helpless and vulnerable among them when he declared: “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child."

Micah 6:8 

“…what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Ephesians 4:15 
"but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ"

Leviticus 19:32

“You shall stand up before the grey head and honour the face of an old person, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord."

Joel 2:28 

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions."

Matthew 4:24

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them."

Hebrews 13.2 

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

General Meeting for Scotland and South East Scotland Area Meeting Safeguarding Friends, and all who were part of the initial conversation that also inspired this work.

Central Edinburgh Local Meeting for being the "guinea pigs" for our prototype workshop.

Suggestions for the quotes, blogs, prayers and other thinking came from:

Kate Arnot, Caroline Beatty, Sue Nicholls, Rosamond Robertson, Karen Wade Wilson, Ruth Fillery-Travers and Laura Steven.

Further thanks for your advice and support to Caroline Proctor, Pip Walker, Monica Gwizdala, Jenny Lewis, Kerrie-Louise Green, Mish Liddle, Elspeth Fuller, Tilly McLeod, Janice Bennett, Matt Stockton, Victoria Conway, Eleanor Loughton, James Riley, Amy Hardy, Lisa Maher.

As always, we received advice, help and support from staff across Quakers in Britain. We send our thanks to every one of our colleagues - we could not have done this without you.