‘Being a light in the darkness’

For Liz Ewers, the LCANZ’s Safe Church Support Partner, working with children has been more than a career – it’s been her lifelong calling. ‘I can’t remember a time when they weren’t part of my life,’ she says.

Growing up in the Adelaide Hills and in the church, Liz was drawn to children, even as a young teenager. ‘At the end of the service, I would go and look for all the kids, and I would just play with them. It gave the mums a chance to talk and have a cup of tea. I just knew I always wanted to be with children.’

That natural connection grew into a lifelong vocation. Liz has spent more than 30 years in early childhood education and care, working across centres in Adelaide, Melbourne and New Zealand. ‘I’ve pretty much done everything there is to do in childcare,’ she says. About 10 years ago, she became a childcare trainer, hoping to encourage others to be the very best educators they could be.

When the Safe Church Support Partner role was advertised earlier this year, Liz initially scrolled past it. ‘I actually saw the job and dismissed it for about two weeks,’ she laughs. ‘Then my husband saw it and yelled from the study, “Have you seen that job? You’d be really good at that!”’

‘I prayed about it and talked to my husband. When I went back and reread the advertisement, I thought, “Wow, there’s actually a lot here that plays to my strengths.” I feel like God’s hand was all over it.’

Now, as Safe Church Support Partner, Liz coordinates the LCANZ’s live online Safe Church training webinars. ‘I’m responsible for registering members, facilitating the webinars with an incredible team of casual trainers and providing ongoing support through our Safe Church Service Desk,’ she explains. ‘I also ensure members are up to date with their training and working-with-children-type checks.’

The Safe Church Service Desk is a key part of that support. It provides a central point for anyone in a congregation or ministry area to ask questions about safe church processes, reporting or compliance. ‘It’s there for anyone who has questions about the day-to-day operations of church life,’ Liz says. ‘Sometimes people just need clarification – that’s exactly what we’re here for.’

Liz works closely with a small but dedicated team: Tim (Professional Standards Manager), Nicole (Child Safety Standards Implementation Support Officer), Kathy (Administration), Tania (Professional Standards Community Officer), and casual trainers Narelle and Brenton. ‘Even though we’re a new team, we’re quite established in our roles,’ Liz says. ‘We actually play well to each other’s skills and expertise, which strengthens us as a team.’

Since April, more than 700 people have attended the online training. ‘It’s definitely not because of me,’ Liz insists. ‘It’s a team effort. We’ve received wonderful feedback from groups who’ve even created their own small communities around the webinars.’

She understands that for some, the Safe Church training can initially feel like an obligation. ‘Sometimes, people are hesitant or question why they need to do it,’ Liz says. ‘But once they’ve been through even one module, they’re quite pleasantly surprised. Often, they’ll say, “I didn’t realise that” or “That’s a really great answer.” I always encourage them to go and tell their friends.’

For Liz, the message is simple: Safe Church training is not excessive; it’s essential. ‘It’s about awareness and intentionality. It helps close the back door on complacency. It reminds us to be intentional in providing safe, secure and supportive environments for our most vulnerable,’ she says.

‘One of the key reasons the church needs the training is that we are still continuing to appropriately respond to all of the findings from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. More recently, New Zealand has also had a royal commission on abuse in care,’ she explains.

‘We know abuse does occur in churches, but we have an opportunity to actually change the narrative,’ Liz says. ‘That’s hopefully what we’re trying to get across in our webinars – that the training is actually a good thing. We have amazing support, systems and resources available to the congregations. We are here to support them. My role is a support partner – that’s been intentional in the naming of our roles so that people see us as a go-to for support.’

Faith is central to Liz’s work. ‘This is a really dark subject,’ she reflects. ‘It’s horrendous that it’s in our spaces. But God is all about children and the vulnerable, and so am I. I find that my faith has given me the words to be able to say, “This is not just a me thing; this is a God thing.” He stops for the one. He has compassion for the vulnerable, those who can’t speak for themselves. Just being the light in the darkness.’

Liz hopes to help the LCANZ build ‘a place where we all get involved, where we’re intentional and take responsibility for the spaces we’ve been given’.

Her favourite Bible verse, Luke 18:16, has guided her since her teens: ‘Let the children come to me.’ ‘That verse has always stayed with me,’ she says. ‘It’s that picture of Jesus stopping the disciples and saying, “Hang on a minute. I actually care for these a lot more than you think.”’