Putting Children First Spokane Ministers, Lay Leaders Organize Program To Understand Child Abuse
The Rev. Pat Mecham submerged himself in the world of child abuse and neglect Tuesday morning.
The children’s minister at Opportunity Presbyterian Church in the Spokane Valley spent half a day learning about the horrors suffered by a growing number of children in the region.
“I think it’s important we understand our role in recognizing kids who are at risk,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to heal a child than to heal an adult.”
Along with a handful of other pastors and church leaders, Mecham spent Tuesday morning learning about the dark side of childhood.
They began by looking at horrific pictures of children who have been abused in Spokane County. They talked to a doctor who examines and treats children who have been sexually abused, and the social workers who supervise the recovery of abused children.
They also toured the only nursery available to parents who fear they are going to abuse their children. And they finished off their morning listening to the story of an adult survivor of child abuse.
The program was organized by the Spokane Council for Ecumenical Ministries. The pastors and lay leaders were selected because their congregations were deemed most likely to get involved, said the Rev. John Olson, council director.
“Churches need to be involved in society’s problems,” he said. “Christ said the way we treat the least of our brothers and sisters is the way we treat Him.”
Olson hopes churches will find ways to form partnerships with the agencies working to prevent child abuse in Spokane.
Gary Cooper, pastoral assistant at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, said he is constantly looking for ways to get his South Hill congregation involved in social issues.
“I want them to get down there to rock those babies, play with those kids,” he said of the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.
The most important thing pastors can do is recognize that abuse can happen to any child, not just those living in poverty, said Mary Ann Murphy, manager of the Deaconess Regional Center for Child Abuse.
The church leaders learned how to volunteer, where to send money and what legislators to contact about the issue. They were told that when it comes to government cutbacks, children’s programs are the first to suffer.
“For those who care about the health of our children, silence is a sin,” Murphy said. “Even potholes get more attention than kids. It drives me crazy.”
They also learned that the number of abused children is growing, and the victims are getting younger.
“We try to send a child home to a better atmosphere than what they left,” said Sue Manfred, director of the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. “That’s getting harder and harder to do.”
Many churches struggle to stay on top of the complex difficulties their members face.
“We see our mandate not to be a social service agency, but to care about people,” Mecham said.
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