Care Covenant Policies & Procedures
In our commitment to care for all of God’s creation, we make this covenant to our children, families, and community in the spirit of hope. The council chair will include this document in annual congregational meeting materials and highlight policies pertinent to individuals in specific roles. Our Care Covenant is a living document that is reviewed annually.
The following is an excerpt of the CCMC Care Covenant. A link to the entire document is available at the bottom of this page.
1. Core Values
Chicago Community Mennonite Church (CCMC) is a compassionate and caring community, walking with Christ toward peace and wholeness. These values of compassion, care, peace, and wholeness commit us to ensuring that all of our programming and activities, youth and adult alike, are conducted in a welcoming manner, inclusive of all people of any race, color, national origin, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion or other protected classes. Such inclusion, in turn, requires the proper use of power—organic and relational, as well as structural and institutional—to cultivate an environment of transparency, generosity, and accountability, in which congregants can explore their faith and values, learn about the worth and dignity of all people, and be shaped by the requirements of a just and equitable world.
2. Acknowledged Facts
Alongside these values, we acknowledge the sad reality that Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse1 happen in our world, including churches.
3. Central Purpose
In light of these facts, and given our values, CCMC covenants to be a “community of care” that practices healthy relationships and boundaries, protects against violations of those boundaries, and proactively engages such violations (including Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse) whenever possible. The purpose of this covenant, then, is to provide concrete ways for our values to be manifest in our congregational life, including procedures for addressing violations of these values, when they occur.
Affirmed March 2023
This document outlines our commitments; Click below to read the full document
The following is an excerpt of the CCMC Care Covenant. A link to the entire document is available at the bottom of this page.
1. Core Values
Chicago Community Mennonite Church (CCMC) is a compassionate and caring community, walking with Christ toward peace and wholeness. These values of compassion, care, peace, and wholeness commit us to ensuring that all of our programming and activities, youth and adult alike, are conducted in a welcoming manner, inclusive of all people of any race, color, national origin, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion or other protected classes. Such inclusion, in turn, requires the proper use of power—organic and relational, as well as structural and institutional—to cultivate an environment of transparency, generosity, and accountability, in which congregants can explore their faith and values, learn about the worth and dignity of all people, and be shaped by the requirements of a just and equitable world.
2. Acknowledged Facts
Alongside these values, we acknowledge the sad reality that Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse1 happen in our world, including churches.
- With regard to Bullying, 20% of students ages 12-18 (and similar numbers of adults) report experiencing Bullying2.
- With regard to Harassment, a Google search reveals various statistics.3
- With regard to Abuse, in 2021 an estimated 1 in 7 young people experienced some form
of abuse.4 Rates are similar for adults.5
For each of these--Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse—many cases go unreported. However, when reported, perhaps due to the need to overcome fear of further harm, most reports are sincere and truthful: research on reports of abuse estimate only 2-10% have been shown to be false (percentages would be higher and more complicated for Bullying and Harassment)6.
And unfortunately, within faith communities, good intentions have not been enough to prevent such harm and injury to children and adults, as persons with more power have used that power to hide their wrongdoing.
3. Central Purpose
In light of these facts, and given our values, CCMC covenants to be a “community of care” that practices healthy relationships and boundaries, protects against violations of those boundaries, and proactively engages such violations (including Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse) whenever possible. The purpose of this covenant, then, is to provide concrete ways for our values to be manifest in our congregational life, including procedures for addressing violations of these values, when they occur.
- Words capitalized and italicized within sentences are defined in “13. Key Terms.”
- https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying & https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/bullyingresearch/fastfact.html.
- For one example on workplace harassment, from 2021, see https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS. 4 https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html.
- https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS.
- See, e.g., https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/Publications_NSVRC_Overview_False-Reporting.pdf, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/lasr.12060, and cf. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/health/sexual-assault-false-reports.
Affirmed March 2023
This document outlines our commitments; Click below to read the full document
| ccmc_-_care_covenant.docx.pdf |
