It is with much pleasure that Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ would like to invite you to a Diocesan Safeguarding Gathering on

Thursday 24 September 2026

7:00pm

120 Cliftonville Road, Belfast, BT14 6LA

Promoting a culture of safeguarding remains a priority for the Church for this Diocese and every Christian community and parish.

The Diocese of Down and Connor is committed to promoting the welfare and safety of all its children, young people and adults.

This commitment is made real and embodied by numerous parishioners and individuals.

We commend and acknowledge the commitment, dedication and voluntary service of our Safeguarding Committees their leaders and members and priests.

Your ongoing involvement helps to promote an ethos of safeguarding in our Diocese.

We view this gathering as one way of expressing my gratitude to all those across our Diocese who give unstinting service to the life of our Church.

There will be a prayer service/vespers in the Mater Dei Chapel to begin the gathering after which refreshments will be served. The Diocesan Safeguarding Team will give a brief resume of some recent local safeguarding developments and resources.

Please share this invitation with representatives of your Parish Pastoral Councils and other stakeholders within the Parish or Family of Parishes who may have a particular interest in the area of Church safeguarding.

There are limited spaces for this event, so please reserve your place as soon as possible via the booking link below. There will be 2 other events across the Diocese in October 2026. These will take place in Ballymena and Newcastle

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS  EVENT

Reservations for this event will close on Monday 21^st September 2026

If you any queries or questions please contact the Safeguarding office via email office@soddc.org or telephone 028 9049 2798.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS SESSION?

This virtual evening session is those in non-leadership roles and covers the following:

CONTENT

• Legal and policy context of Adult Safeguarding
• What is meant by Adult Safeguarding?
• Diocesan Safeguarding Structures
• Role of the Diocesan Adult Safeguarding Champion
• Awareness of adult abuse issues
• Procedures for reporting concerns
• Code of conduct for staff/volunteers working with adults

COURSE DETAILS

PLATFORM: Zoom

START TIME:  This session will start promptly at 6:30pm (Please note – if you are not in the Zoom Waiting Room for 6:30, you will not be permitted to the training)

DURATION: approx 90 minutes

JOINING INSTRUCTIONS

• Ensure your device has the correct browser or Zoom app installed.
• The sessions will start promptly at 6:30pm Make sure you are in the waiting room at least 5 minutes before the start of the course so you can make sure you are logged on. No one will be admitted to the session after 6:45pm and you will be advised to book on to another session.
• Be aware of your learning environment and anyone else who may be in the room with you e.g. children as the content would not be suitable for them to hear or see. Also, please do not join while driving a vehicle.
• Please ensure that your camera always remains on – as we want to replicate face to face training as much as is possible.

Other things to note:

• If joining with other participants, please have no more than 3 people on one devise and in a separate room from others who may be attending the same training due to acoustic feedback.
• We want to try and ensure our training is accessible to everyone if you have a specific accessibility requirement, please do not hesitate to contact the safeguarding office in advance of the training.
• Session resources will be emailed separately.
• If at any stage during the training the content feels emotionally triggering, you may turn off your camera temporarily.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS SESSION