22 Jun 2023
St Albans church leaders have refused to be drawn into a row over the safeguarding of local youngsters.
The controversy follows the investigation into Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor Watford over allegations made about his past conduct towards young people.
He was suspended on May 20, six weeks into the launch of a Church of England investigation into safeguarding concerns relating to his actions.
Last week two serving members of staff at Soul Survivor Watford were also suspended under HR processes following information submitted to the investigation, which is being run jointly by the Diocese of St Albans and the National Safeguarding Team.
This information relates to the handling of allegations and concerns raised in the Mike Pilavachi case. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, has requested that the senior pastor voluntarily withdraw from any ministry until the investigation is concluded.
Support is being offered to all those involved in the ongoing case.
A Diocese spokesperson said: “If you would like to speak to anyone connected to this investigation or have been affected please be assured that any concerns raised will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and support/access to counselling is available.”
With summer a traditional time for Christian festivals welcoming hundreds of young people to campsites in the county, the St Albans Times contacted a mixed selection of local church leaders to ask what safeguarding measures they had in place, and whether these had changed in the wake of the Mike Pilavachi investigation.
Although a few were happy to signpost their existing measures to ensure the safety of young people, the majority did not offer any comment on the ongoing case.
Gil Yon, business and operations manager at The Vineyard Church St Albans, was the only person to respond in any length.
“Our safeguarding details are available on our website and I can confirm that our decision makers in this area seek direction from the NSPCC and Thirtyone:Eight [an independent Christian charity providing professional advice, training, support and resources in all areas of safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm] We also execute a 360 degree accountability in safeguarding procedures.”
Their safeguarding policy includes ensuring all staff who have direct contact with children and young people have gone through the necessary DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) checks, and understand how to respond to any disclosure or allegation of abuse by anyone engaging in activities as part the church.
We also contacted Herts police to determine whether any arrests had made regarding the ongoing investigation into Mike Pilavachi.
A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We are aware of the national church safeguarding investigation and monitoring the situation.
“Should anyone make a criminal allegation this would be investigated accordingly.”
It seems too harsh to refer to the famous quote ‘all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing’. However, it is slightly disappointing to see the lack of gusto which has been put into the responses from the churches we contacted.
It’s worth noting that NO arrests have been made regarding the Soul Survivor allegations. It is entirely possible that all parties are innocent although – at best – the allegations do raise the question as to boundary blurring within that environment.
Young people are vulnerable and impressionable and, like schools, churches have a duty to protect children and promote safeguarding.
With that in mind, it would be great to hear the churches having a much clearer and louder voice on their policies, thoughts, understanding and perhaps even showing some empathy towards victims of abuse, generally.
After all there must be a proportion of church community who have experienced abuses of power from adults in charge of them, a church being a microcosm of society generally.
