With the release of the Makin Report into the brutal actions of John Smythe, this is very much in the news. I want to reassure everyone that the Makin report is not about safeguarding at parish level but about scrutiny of safeguarding at a national level in the Church of England. I also want to underline how conscientious SMR is around safeguarding: safeguarding can be difficult in any church but for us there is an extra edge. We have a lot of children and older people coming to worship, but we also open our doors to anyone and everyone each and every day and we work within our local community to support and assist people who live in this parish. We take safeguarding very seriously and I think it is fair to say we do it very well under the watchful leadership of Esther Keller and members of our staff team.

Nonetheless, the release of the report will have had an impact on many people who have suffered abuse in the past - or who are living with it now. If that is you - and we shouldn't fool ourselves that "It doesn't happen here" - I want you to know that we are ready to listen or, if you would rather not talk with one of us, to find you someone to talk with. Everyone in the leadership at SMR is dedicated to making the church, The Hub, the parish office safe places for victims and survivors of abuse.

Having said that, our plan to hold this Sunday as Safeguarding Sunday will carry on. This is an opportunity for us to think and reflect more on the important topic of Safeguarding in our Church. There won't be any sharing of abuse stories during the service and the content will be appropriate for all ages, however, we would like to give fair warning in case anyone finds this topic triggering in anyway.

There will be an opportunity after communion to remember those who have suffered abuse and a commitment for us a church to continue to strive for good safeguarding.