Dear Volunteer,
All volunteers must complete the “Creating a Safe Environment” modules. For those who have not been able to complete the online courses, please attend our in-person session on Sunday, January 21 from 1:30 – 3:30pm in our parish hall.
The Diocese of Calgary has a series of guidelines to ensure that the all the members of our
community can participate in parish-related activities in a safe and secure environment.
At St. James Catholic Church we are working to ensure that we continue to provide this environment
to all individuals, with a particular emphasis in ensuring those that are more vulnerable (all
children, and vulnerable adults).
To this end, we have been asked to formalize our screening procedures for all our volunteers.
Our Diocese revised on April 2023 The Volunteer Screening Process. Please see this link for more information.
Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults is designed to assist us to make the Church truly safe for the vulnerable, to break down the mistrust and the anger that afflicts so many of our brothers and sisters. The Diocese of Calgary ensures the protection of minors and vulnerable adults by following the standards in Strengthening Our Parish Communities protocols, including screening, training for abuse prevention and reporting and collaboration with civil authorities.
To create an environment where abuse is unthinkable and everyone is part of a “culture of safety,” we need to educate everyone who has any kind of leadership or who holds a position of responsibility in the parish, including: all clergy, staff, Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council members, everyone who works with or around minors or vulnerable adults, coordinators of all ministries, even if their ministry does not involve minors, and all facility key holders.
For more information, please visit the Diocese of Calgary website.
Thank you very much for your cooperation and happy volunteering to you all!