Safeguarding Sunday
Rev Beth Yeandle
16 November 2025
Acts 3:1-10
I am an associate vicar in a parish called Crofton which is down on the coast between Portsmouth and Southampton just south of Fareham. And I am very grateful and hugely privileged to have been invited here to speak to you this morning on this very special day in the church calendar. I have been to this beautiful cathedral a small number of times over the years, but the last time that I was here wearing any sort of robes was as a teenager when I did live in the diocese and was a member of a church choir. We came to Salisbury to take part in a choir festival. The place was full of beautiful music – I remember being particularly struck by the way that the sound just filled such a huge building. But it was a dark time of my life – a time when I was very vulnerable – and became one of the many victims of abuse perpetrated by office holders of the church of England.
That passage that we had read from Acts – it may Seem an odd passage to pick for safeguarding Sunday – but when I came back to this story recently, I found myself seeing it differently — through the eyes of someone who has known both vulnerability and healing.
It’s a great story.
It is the very earliest days of the church – right at the start of acts – Pentecost has happened – the crowds that had gathered – and become Christians in their thousands – had gone home and the church in Jerusalem was being established.
We hear before this about amazing things happening since Pentecost – but this is the first time that we get details of an actual healing miracle after Jesus returned to his Father in heaven– performed by his disciples – so this is a really pivotal moment – and it is one that was a very real turning point because it brought the disciples to the attention of the religious authorities – this incident – got them into trouble – but in doing so – started to spread the gospel message out.
And the focus of this story – the person who is healed – he is a very vulnerable man – right on the edge of his society. he has been lame from birth. And that was a massive, massive issue in a society where there were no social services – no safety net of any sort. This man would have spent his whole life completely dependent on other people to help him. He would have been unable to get a job – make a living – someone was kind enough to carry him – every day – to a place where there would be lots of people passing by – so that he could beg – in the hopes of getting enough money by the time he was collected again at the end of the day –to buy himself something to eat. Every day – that was it – the same thing – over and over – there he was, right outside the temple– the very heart of religious life – a constant and visible reminder of the injustices in their society.
Of course – most people would have just walked on by – too busy – too concerned with other things – to stop and help.
There is so much that we could say about this story – But I really only want to make two points– two things for us to take away this morning.
The first thing is this – When this man has been healed – as he walks and jumps about the place- because he can! – he praises God. The way that Peter and John have dealt with him –they have been very clear that this is not about them – but it is about the Lord – he is in no doubt at all who to thank -who it is who deserves the praise. We don’t hear him say thank you to Peter – or john – and they do not seem to want or expect him to.
And that is my point – there is such a big lesson for us all there – as individuals – and as a church – because it is never – ever – about us. And I cannot help but think – as I have spent time looking back over so many problems – so many scandals – in the church over the years – that trouble so often begins when the focus starts being on a person. When so and so gets a name for being a great public speaker – a great teacher – a great charismatic personality – a great church leader – and other folk start to talk about them – go to hear them speak – follow them. A wise man once told me – On the stage of every life- there is a spotlight – just one – and it must shine on Jesus – because the minute it moves – even a tiny bit – it will illuminate something else – or someone else – and that isn’t good – things will start to go wrong. And that has happened so often – and things have gone wrong – so badly. And what the church in this land needs – all it needs – is to focus – wholly and entirely on Jesus Christ – it doesn’t matter who the archbishop of canterbury is – it only matters that Jesus is at the head of his church. It doesn’t matter who the leaders of our churches or the keynote speakers at Christian festivals are – it doesn’t matter who our worship leaders are – it only matters that we put Jesus Christ at the centre of everything we do – that we always give the thanks and the praise to him – and only to him – and that we teach our children to do the same. That’s it – it is so simple! And yet – I guess because we are all human – it just seems to be so hard to do!
And the second thing that I want to say – what occurred to me as I was thinking about this story was the contrast between how Peter and John dealt with this man and how the Church over more recent times has sometimes dealt with vulnerable people. Safeguarding, at its heart, is not a bureaucratic task — it’s about seeing people as Jesus saw them: with dignity, compassion, and truth. That’s what Peter and John do here — they see this man, they stop, they listen. How often have we failed to do that – chosen not to see what was going on right under our noses – chosen not to listen to vulnerable people telling their stories – even when we knew that they were right. And more than that – you know – in his society – this poor lame man – would have believed – because he had been taught to believe – that his disability, his vulnerability – was his own fault – and we have done that too – to vulnerable – abused people. It’s so simple – Peter and John dignified that man – they didn’t sweep him under the carpet and pretend he didn’t exist when he called out – asked them for help. And of course, the reason that they treated him that way was quite simply because they had spent three years with Jesus – they had learned from him – and that is how he treated people –how he treated everybody – but particularly those who were weak or vulnerable.
Maybe you are here this morning – feeling like that lame man – I’m sure that the temple gate was called beautiful for good reason – and we are certainly in a beautiful place right now. But maybe you are vulnerable – maybe you have not felt seen – or heard – well the Lord sees you and he cares. And we want to see you and to hear you too. Back when I was a choir girl all those years ago I never could possibly have imagined myself standing here on a Sunday morning – on a Sunday specifically dedicated to putting safeguarding matters front and central – repeated every year. But the church is changing – and the very fact that someone like me is here is testament to that – and so – if you have a story that you need to tell this morning – well we see you – and we care and we want to hear you – so If you need someone to listen today, please do come and speak to one of the safeguarding team after the service. You do not have to carry that burden alone.