A new resource document, A Listening Service Toolkit, has been developed by a leadership team of the Episcopal Church and focuses on critical topics in the Episcopal Church and our society – sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment.
“A Listening Service Toolkit clearly illustrates the seriousness of these issues and how the Episcopal Church leadership is committed to addressing these issues,” said the Rt. Rev. DeDe Duncan-Probe of the Diocese of Central New York, who chaired the effort.
The 30-page resource document is available on the linked Province II website. There is no fee to download this useful information.
“The Toolkit addresses issues, outlines parameters and provides a liturgy,” said Bishop Duncan-Probe who serves as vice-president of the Province.
A Listening Service Toolkit was born from the listening event at General Convention 2018. The Toolkit will be most useful to diocesan ordained, lay and elected leadership, Bishop Duncan-Probe added.
As noted in the opening letter of the Toolkit:
The purpose of this toolkit is to share lessons learned in the planning and implementation of the 2018 General Convention House of Bishops Listening Liturgy, as a prayerful response to sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment in the Church. It is the hope of the Listening Liturgy Leadership Team (LLLT) that this resource will offer support and empowerment for dioceses who may be considering a liturgical response of their own. First and foremost, a diocese must carefully discern if a Listening Liturgy would be efficacious, as it necessitates tremendous vulnerability and courage for the TruthTellers who courageously share their painful experiences, for the LLLT, for diocesan leadership, and for those who will serve on the Pastoral Care Response Team (PCRT) subsequent to the liturgy. It is important to note that, for the 2018 General Convention (GC79), we determined that a Listening Liturgy would be the most efficacious way for the gathered body to speak, hear, and respond to the abuses that take place in our Church. Liturgy offers a safe, secure “container” in which the truth of the most horrific abuses may be seen, heard, and held before the mercy and healing power of God in our midst.
Bishop Duncan-Probe noted that the Toolkit details “complex issues.” Among the topics included in the toolkit are: Overview of the Process; Building a Pastoral Reading Team to Reply to Letters/Early Work; Selecting Letters to Share and Preparing the Liturgy; Offering the Liturgy and Follow-Up; Pastoral Care Considerations; GC79 Listening Liturgy Text; Pastoral Care of the Victim/Survivors; and a Glossary of Terms.
