Feedback and Complaints

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and at the end you will be counted among the wise”

Proverbs 19:20

Feedback

At Christ Church Fulwood, we hope to be a Church that listens to and responds well to feedback. It can be really encouraging and uplifting for a member of staff, where something has gone well, to receive a word of thanks or acknowledgment.

Equally, where something isn’t quite right, it is just as important for the Church leadership to receive helpful and constructive criticism. We would love to be a church where informal concerns can be raised honestly and compassionately with any staff member and for that to be received with grace. We are also encouraging this within the staff team and lay leadership as well.

However, we realise that in a large church family, with a large staff team and large PCC it can be difficult to know how to feedback and who to feedback to.

Here then are some suggestions for how you might go about giving feedback at Christ Church Fulwood:
  1. If you would like to offer some general feedback, or you are not sure who to contact, you can use the form here and select “General Enquiry/Feedback” in the first box. Messages sent here are read by the Church Office team who can then pass the message on to the person best placed to consider it.
  2. If you want to offer feedback about a specific area of church life, you could speak to the staff member responsible for that area in-person, or use the form here and select their name from the first box to send them a message directly. If you are not sure who is the right person, you can check the webpage here for a list of all the staff along with their pictures and areas of responsibility.
  3. If your feedback or concern is about an issue which affects the church more widely, you can contact the Churchwardens, or contact the PCC.

Complaints

The Bible is clear in its teaching that we are imperfect, and it is realistic to expect that disputes and disagreements will occur. It is also clear on the value of all human life and our equal status before God (Titus 2:11-14), and that it is important that when someone sins, that the individual should be given the opportunity to acknowledge this, but if this does not occur then the church should recognise this and take appropriate action (Matthew 18:15-17). Therefore, as a Church, we are clear that when something goes wrong, it’s important that we acknowledge that concern and provide a full and proper response. No-one is without their blind spots and sometimes we fall into sin. Where that happens, then in the first instance, it is usually best to speak to the person concerned directly, to see if the complaint can be resolved informally that way, or to speak to their line manager or team leader.

In the case of staff members at Fulwood, you can do that by speaking to them in-person, or by sending them a message and asking to meet through the form here, selecting their name from the first drop-down box.

In the case of a volunteer, you may wish to speak to the person responsible for that particular team – if you are not able to contact them directly, they can also be messaged through the form here, selecting the relevant team from “Other Ministry Contacts” at the bottom of the list.

However, where raising the issue informally doesn’t feel appropriate, or has not resolved your concern, you can make a formal written complaint. For instructions on how to do that, please access our Complaints Policy here or contact the Church Office for further help.

Complaints Policy

PDF

Safeguarding

If the complaint involves a Safeguarding concern, please speak to our Parish Safeguarding Officers instead – details of how to contact them can be found here.