Group Offers Training to Help Clergy Spot Abuse

By Danae King
Columbus Dispatch
January 13, 2017

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2017/01/13/group-offers-training-to-help-clergy-spot-abuse.html

Carol Igo was concerned about the prevalence of violence against children and wondered how her church could help, but she didn’t know where to start.

That’s when she heard of the Center for Family Safety and Healing, a Columbus organization focused on addressing family violence. She found out that the church she attends, Maple Grove United Methodist Church, could donate to the center and take advantage of its training program to educate church members.

“It’s a very loving church, an outreach church, a community-oriented church,” Igo said. “This was kind of a natural step for them.”

The Clintonville church formed a committee to gather books and toys that the center then gives to children who have been abused. It also hosted center staff members for training on family violence to educate the congregation on the issue. The center has completed 34 training sessions for faith organizations since 2014, said Sheryl Clinger, director of advocacy, policy and community engagement.

It’s important to train church members and leaders because a religious organization can be a central part of ensuring victims’ safety, as victims of family violence sometimes report abusive situations to trusted faith leaders, said Caitlin Tully, training supervisor at the center.

The goal of the training is to help leaders recognize signs of abuse and be able to respond appropriately, as well as to refer the person to the correct services.

The Catholic Diocese of Columbus worked with the organization years ago to develop its own response to family violence. It started in 1999 when then-Bishop James Anthony Griffin established a commission to consider how Catholics in the diocese’s 23 counties could help prevent family violence, said Erin Cordle, associate director in the diocese office of social concerns.

It established a training program and a reference guide that’s given to every parish, bishop and deacon and educated more than 3,500 people in just a few years, she said. The programs continue, with many parishes addressing family violence in sermons, with resource cards in bathrooms and with programs to help victims find housing and support.

“The movement is still very much alive,” Cordle said. “Violence is never acceptable in a family."

“One thing the church always focuses on is the importance of family,” Cordle said. “The first opportunity for education comes from the family. The home church is where people are formed first and if that’s broken, we very much end up with broken people.”

Rabbi Howard Apothaker, senior rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in New Albany, has spent his 36 years as a rabbi honing the ability to spot trouble in his congregation, and help stop it.

He works mostly behind the scenes, though victims have reported directly to him. When he spots signs of violence, he will investigate a little himself and then might work through a potential victim’s friend to refer someone for help.

“I think you create a network of trust, trusting conversations with people,” Apothaker said. “ You can’t swoop in and solve somebody’s problems.”

As for addressing the entire congregation, Apothaker said there is a principle in Jewish life called Shalom bayit, which means domestic tranquility. It asks Jews to do whatever it takes to maintain peace in the home.

One thing religious leaders can do is to try to connect Scripture to what’s going on in the victim’s life.

“I’ve not found any place in the Bible or a religious component that says abuse is acceptable,” Clinger said.

Though, “it’s less of what the Scripture actually says and more of what cultural beliefs bring to passages,” Tully said.

Religious leaders can clarify that violence in the home is not approved in the Bible, she said.

“Family violence sometimes happens, but it is not the end of the world, there’s help,” Cordle said. “It’s an important issue because it becomes generational and we need to stop the cycle of the violence.”

Contact: dking@dispatch.com