Conference Care Team
Your Church and Issues of Sexual Misconduct
Making your church a safe place for all God's children
Are you a victim of sexual harassment by someone in the church and don't know where to turn for help?
Do you know of an instance of sexual misconduct in the church and wonder what to do about it?
CARE TEAM
of the
Yellowstone Annual Conference
WHAT CAN YOUR CONFERENCE CARE TEAM DO FOR YOU?
Calls to Care Team members
can be for support or for information for congregations or individuals. All calls are treated as confidential,
subject to the applicable state mandatory reporting requirements. Both complainants and persons accused may ask
for Care Team help.
The care team seeks to:
Practice effective listening
Emphasize and facilitate the healing of the victims of sexual misconduct and to work toward reconciliation and
recovery for all persons who were affected by it
Provide trained individuals to support all aggrieved parties
Make information about the Care Team available throughout the Yellowstone Annual Conference
Most importantly of all...WE CARE
Sexual misconduct within the life of the church interferes with its moral mission
Behaviors of sexual misconduct will not be tolerated within any of the ministries of the Yellowstone Annual Conference.
We recognize that while we all are in need of God's redemptive grace
we must remain committed to providing just and merciful responses to instances of sexual misconduct in the church,
whether understood to be exploitation, harassment or abuse.
We acknowledge to ourselves and to God the need for restoration of what is broken and lost when any member of the
body of Christ is sexually violated by another. We recognize our commission as members of Christ's body to be healing
agents of justice for victims of sexual misconduct, as well as for perpetrators, families, congregations and others
affected by such violation.
DEFINITIONS
Sexual Misconduct includes all expressions of sexual and gender harassment, exploitation
and abuse as well as sexual abuse within the relationships of our covenant communities.
Sexual Harassment must be understood as an exploitation of a power relationship rather than as an
exclusively sexual issue.
Gender harassment is behavior that is harassing in nature against a woman because she is a woman,
and against a man because he is a man
Sexual abuse within the ministerial relationship occurs whenever anyone claiming to be a servant
of Jesus Christ attempts to use his/her position of authority or power over another person to engage in sexual
contact or sexualized behavior instead of carrying out God's sacred trust. In as much as United Methodists affirm
that all who are baptized are ministers of Jesus Christ, by "ministerial" we mean all persons who serve within our
congregations. By this definition, therefore, lay and clergy are held equally accountable, whether the parties
involved are pastor and congregant, teacher and student, staff member and co-worker, volunteer and volunteer or
simply congregant and congregant.
If you are finding this information, you may be seeking help with issues of sexual impropriety, either
inside or outside of the church. You may be feeling troubled, worried, confused, angry, hurt and violated by what has happened.
We want to help. We promise to listen and be a safe place for you.
Our main purpose is not to report but to support. However, we can help you with the process of making a complaint
and working through what has happened and options for what happens next. Any of the persons listed below are there for you. If you
do not know any of these names, call one that seems right to you. That person will help as needed, including referring you to
someone with whom you might relate more comfortably. We also are here to answer all the questions we can. If you are in need, we
hope you will make the call. Many things in life become a little better when someone stands beside you.
We want to be that person for you.
Your Care Team members...
LAY WOMEN
Gail Brockbank, Helena MT
Team Co-Leader
Home: (406)442-2388
Mary Ann Hampton, Fort Benton MT
Home: (406)622-3797
Jude Monson, Missoula MT
Home: (406)251-4233
LAY MEN
Cliff Stephens, Paradise MT
Home: (406)826-3119
CLERGY WOMEN
Jan Witman, Billings MT
Home: (406)534-1393
Business: (406)656-0050
CLERGY MEN
Dave Greep, East Helena MT
Team Co-Leader
Home: (406)227-7309
Business: (406)227-5346
Ron Kapalka, Billings MT
Home: (406)245-1897
Dan Krebill, Bozeman MT
Presbyterian Church
Home: (406)586-1183
Business: (406)586-9194
Bob Phelps, Whitefish MT
Home: (406)863-2884
Each Yellowstone Conference Team member pledges to treat your concerns as confidential and to stand with you as you
work them through.
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