Look out! It's DUE DILLIGENCE!!

Okay, I hate that freakin buzzword. I understand the legal principal, that everyone in an organization, right up to the top guy, has a personal responsibility to safety. I understand it means we need to do everything in a youth ministry context to protect our youth from harm, and not put them in unneccesary risk. I get that. It makes sense. I'm glad our diocese is proactive towards it.

I hate the fear though. If you start imagining all the legal possibilities, it gets nuts. How nuts you ask? Nuts enough that I need written permission from the Office of the Bishop to do anything that involves taking youth outside our diocese. Crappy stuff. Nuts enough that anything to do with water sports is off limits. Sorry kids, no more west ed trips. Never gonna get to do my White Water Retreat. Can't go sailing, or canoeing, or enter the Calgary River Raft Race, or go to a wave pool.

I understand legality better than a lot of people because of all the eithics training they give engineers and all the liability training I got through Rescue 3 International. I've dealt with it on rafting trips as a trip leader. I understand that I have to be all the more creative in the interest of SAFE fun. But this is going overboard. I'm gonna sit on my hands for a while till the official written policy comes out, and after that it might just be time to start making more noise, and I'm gonna need some backup!