Sermon for Safeguarding Sunday 15 November 2026

1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30

Today is Safeguarding Sunday, which is certainly very topical given that the news headlines have been dominated this week by the shocking revelations of celebrities exploiting vulnerable young women.

Safeguarding is at the heart of the Christian faith which believes each person is made in the image of God but also acknowledges our fallibility and our capacity for destructive behaviour.

Time and time again, scripture points us towards those for whom God has particular concern – the widow, the orphan, the stranger, those who are marginalised and often powerless. Proverbs 31:8 calls us to ‘speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable’. The needs of the vulnerable were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, and they need to be at the heart of ours.

Historically, the Church has all too often failed in this calling, protecting the institution rather than those whom it is called to serve. People have felt exploited where they should have felt protected, ignored when they should have been heard and respected.

Yet, Scripture tells us that safeguarding is not an optional extra. It’s not just a business of filling out the right forms and following correct procedures. It goes to the heart of Jesus’ mission for His church, and to the core of our lives as Christians.

Of our two bible readings this morning, the extract from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth contains perhaps the more obvious link to the theme of safeguarding.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others; it is not self-seeking. …….. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects.

This advice is a useful starting point for developing a good safeguarding culture in our church communities. A reminder that church should be a welcoming and safe space, where people are treated with love and respect and where those in positions of authority do not abuse that power. A place where people feel they can raise concerns and be listened to and taken seriously rather than dismissed.

But what has the Parable of the Talents got to do with safeguarding you might be wondering?

Obviously, the familiar interpretation of this parable is about encouraging people to use their skills and talents for the common good rather than, rather than burying them out of fear of failure. But it is also possible to look at this parable from a different perspective, through the lens of safeguarding. And there are three key ideas we can draw out.

Number 1 – Being proactive

Number 2 - Overcoming fear

Number 3 - Realising people are our most precious treasure.

Firstly, in the Parable the third servant is condemned because he did nothing with the bag of gold he was given. To a first century audience, burying money in the ground was a recognised cautious way of guarding things against theft. But God rejects this passive practice, and we should also reject the doing nothing option when it comes to raising safeguarding issues. True safeguarding is not just about protecting the institution from liability but must follow the lead of the first two servants in the parable and actively protect the vulnerable.

Which leads me onto the second point about why people might do nothing and try to bury the problem. In the parable the third servant says that he hid the gold because he was afraid of the master. Fear is one of the drivers of a poor safeguarding culture. Whistleblowers fear retaliation, volunteers fear getting it wrong and leaders fear reputational damage. However, safeguarding training aims to dismantle this fear and replace it with the confidence to report, support and protect. Did you know that all church volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults are required to undertake basic safeguarding training and undergo a criminal record check?

The final parallel we can draw between the Parable and safeguarding is to consider what the gold given to the servants might symbolise in terms of safeguarding. One bag of gold represented immense wealth – worth about 20 years wages. But in a ministry context, the most valuable resource entrusted to us by God is not the building or the budget but vulnerable human beings. So, we have an important responsibility to protect those people.

What does a good safeguarding culture look like? It’s not a tick box exercise and it’s not just about having the right procedures in place, important though that is. It’s about actively creating a safe space where people feel welcomed and respected.

A place where people are not afraid to raise concerns, a place where those concerns will be taken seriously.

A place where people in positions of authority are not afraid to be held to account. A place where truth comes before preserving reputations.

A place where everyone takes safeguarding seriously.

Archdeacon Ruth puts it like this:

“Jesus’ command to love as he loves is an invitation into relationships of profound mutuality and interdependence. These kinds of relationships contribute to healthy communities, modelled on the example of Christ’s own humility and sacrifice. This is a way of being that says, who I am is caught up in who you are. We are members together of the same body of people. Whatever affects one of us affects all of us. We are all God’s children; Jesus calls us all friends; we are all brothers and sisters. So, if I am your sister, your brother, I have a responsibility for how I behave towards you and that has implications for the choices I make about how I live and love in the world”.