Thank you for your interest in St. Matthew’s ministries. We are happy to have you become an active volunteer of our faith community! St. Matthew is committed to providing a safe environment for all members of our faith community, especially children and vulnerable adults. In accordance with the Diocese of Charlotte requirements, all parish volunteers must complete several compliance items, detailed below, before participating in parish ministry.
All volunteers must complete a Protecting God’s Children online workshop. This 2½ hour program is intended to educate volunteers to recognize and prevent sexual abuse. You can sign up online at www.virtus.org. After completing the registration for a Virtus account, you will be asked to acknowledge receipt of other required notices and to complete the Protecting God’s Children class. You will then be prompted to enter the necessary information and sign off on a required background release form. After the workshop, you will be asked to keep your training updated through online monthly bulletins. The monthly training requires approximately fifteen (15) minutes. You will be notified by Virtus, via email, of the bulletins. It is important that you select the appropriate diocesan location when you register. Please select Diocese of Charlotte. Once you select our diocese, use the drop down menu to select St. Matthew Catholic Church.
Will you be driving for your ministry? The diocesan Properties and Risk Management Department requires all drivers to complete an Approved Driver Status form and await diocesan approval before driving on behalf of the parish. Please complete the form below and contact Lisa Hornung, the St. Matthew Safe Environment Coordinator, to complete this process.
The preferred method for filling out all required forms is online via the Virtus website, as described above. If you are unable to access the forms via Virtus, they are available for download at the links below. Please note that the Volunteer Profile is a requirement only for the parish and is not shared on Virtus, so you will need to print one, complete it, and send to Lisa Hornung.
- Release and Authorization Form authorizes the parish to request a background check. The form is submitted to the Diocese of Charlotte by the parish for processing.
- Volunteer Profile asks for standard personal information.
- Acknowledgement of Receipt Form which is the last page of the Sexual Misconduct Policy; this should be signed and dated.
- Acknowledgement of Receipt Form, which is the last page of the Code of Ethics Policy of the Diocese of Charlotte; this should be signed and dated.
- Approved Driver Form is now required for any volunteer who drives a personal or parish vehicle on behalf of St. Matthew Catholic Church. Once approved as a driver, additional online training for defensive driving will be required.
As part of our regular practice at St. Matthew, we audit the Safe Environment compliance files regularly. Active volunteers must have background checks renewed every five years, and may be randomly renewed more often. You will be contacted by the parish office if a renewal is required. This is done in compliance with the USCCB’s requirements.
- If you do not have access to the internet, or are unable to work online, please contact Lisa Hornung, Safe Environment Coordinator, at 704-543-7677 x 1016 for assistance.
- Please visit the diocesan website, www.charlottediocese.org, for additional information about the Protecting God’s Children program.
Thank you for helping to ensure that our parish is a safe environment for the children and vulnerable adults of our faith community.