news article
Team at the ready to respond to congregational crisis
February 11, 2015 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
When Upper New York Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb arrived in the Conference in 2012, he brought with him experience of responding to the care of a congregation dealing with betrayal, anger and grief.
Knowing that even with the most stringent safeguards in place, sexual and financial misconduct can happen, Bishop Webb wanted to have a response team in place, ready to deploy to a congregation in crisis. He also wanted to make sure that victims of misconduct, as well as the accused, would have a system of support and care that would lead on a pathway of healing.
“Historically, churches across the denomination have not dealt well when there’s been some kind of betrayal by a pastor or a leader,” said the Rev. Dr. Cathy Hall Stengel, pastor at the Rush United Methodist Church. “A pastor or lay leader may be removed, but there wasn’t necessarily anything in place to help the congregation address the issues, deal with the grief, anger and loss and move forward.”
That was about to change.
In the spring 2013, Bishop Webb invited Sharon Spencer and Tom Salsgiver from the Susquehanna Conference to meet with Upper New York’s Cabinet to begin creating a Crisis Response Team, Rev. Stengel said.
“Even before (the bishop) faced an event, he wanted this team in place to help the Cabinet and Upper New York congregations get through any potential crisis, (and to feel) supported and heard by the Conference leadership,” she said.
“The creation of a Crisis Response Team is a demonstration of the power of the connection we share as United Methodists,” said Bishop Webb. “When congregations and leaders face difficult moments in their life, it is important that others are willing to share their journey.
“This team will give us the ability to deal with very difficult and sensitive concerns in a spirit of love and healing,” he said. “I’m grateful for those willing to serve in this way and know they will be a gift to our Conference.”
In September 2013, after district superintendents had identified potential team members and invitations were extended, the team from the Susquehanna Conference returned to lead an intensive weekend of training.
Rev. Stengel was serving as a district superintendent appointed to the Mountain View District at the time of the initial training, but when the team was ready to come together in mid-2014, she was preparing to leave the Cabinet to serve in a local church. Bishop Webb invited her to become the team’s facilitator, in part, because she had attended the initial training and because she had experience dealing with similar crises.
The Crisis Response Team was formed, and now the nearly 20-member team came back together for orientation and a review of previous training in preparation for whatever the coming months would bring.
“The establishment of the Crisis Response Team says we take seriously what has happened,” Rev. Stengel said. “We come to listen, support and encourage those who are in crisis and guide the congregation in clarity, honesty, grief and healing. Our team members make themselves available as advocates to walk beside those who might be victims or alleged perpetrators, as well as their families throughout the crisis.”
The team, she said, is comprised of an “incredibly gifted group of people who are passionate about the health and wholeness of a congregation and about transparency.”
Like a disaster response team, the team will be called on to respond to a congregation dealing with serious events, such as sexual misconduct, abuse or financial misappropriation. Usually, Rev. Stengel said, the congregation would contact its district superintendent, who, in turn, would bring attention of the crisis to the bishop. At the bishop’s discretion, the team would then be sent to help the congregation. The team also provides support in the form of an advocate for any victim or alleged perpetrator of misconduct.