Parents' Information
Woodlake United Methodist Church is a Safe Sanctuary church. That means we have adopted a policy which calls us to the safest practices involving the supervision of children and youth. Below you will find several documents which fully explain our policies. Thank you for caring about our children and respecting this important way that we show God's love to them. If you have questions about these policies, please contact Beth Christian, Director of Children's Ministries, 804-739-4535, ext. 28.
Woodlake United Methodist Church
Child and Youth Building Safety Policy (effective 01/21/10)
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." – Matthew 19:14
Purpose: We are blessed at Woodlake United Methodist Church with many children and youth. We love the excitement and energy they bring to our church. However recently, we have had unsupervised children and youth in the building who have acted in ways that put themselves and others at risk. At WUMC, we want to provide a safe place for growing our children and youth into disciples of Christ. We have developed the following policy to ensure the safety of children and youth. In order to effectively implement this policy, we ask that all parents partner with us in our ministries with children and youth.
1) During weekly programming and special events, we uphold the Safe Sanctuary Policy. During non-programming hours, staffing is not provided therefore children under the age of 18 must be with an approved adult in order to remain in the building.
2) Youth (6th -12th graders) may be in the youth room during non-programming hours only when an approved adult supervisor is present.
3) For programming, fifth graders and under must be signed in by a responsible person 16 years or older.
4) During hours when the nursery is not staffed, preschool-aged children and younger may only be in the nursery with a designated adult. Workers will not report to work until 15 minutes prior to the scheduled program. No school-age children (K-12) will be allowed in the nurseries unless they are 16 or older and serving as a nursery worker.