I belong to a downtown church in a prominent location. Anyone at all can and does walk in on Sunday morning: we have street people every week. Earlier this year a man stripped down to his underwear and painted some kind of a screed all over our broad granite entrance steps during a memorial service. In red paint. A few years ago, a guy pulled up to the back in a car with several guns in his car planning to shoot up an AA meeting, and by sheer luck was seen loading a rifle by the resource officer at the HS behind us, who immediately came out and subdued him.
Recently, our minister told me that churches and synagogues–and probably mosques, I don’t know–are increasingly hiring a security guard during services.
I am wondering if your church does so, and whether that person is armed. (I’m not talking about ushers, unless your head usher is armed!) If you do have an armed security guard, is that person a volunteer or paid?
Some idea of your location would help, too.
I really just want some information here, so please don’t launch into anything that will get the thread shut down, okay?
Our congregation has a police presence (nice blonde haired gentleman who we all know by his first name). Not sure when he is/is not there, but on the holidays he and another officer direct traffic and there are at least 2 armed officers at the door.
The synagogue where my daughter went to preschool had a security guard. So does the synagogue around the corner from me. My church does not have one and I’ve never been to a church that has, but I’m sure there are some out there.
Our suburban Catholic church, no, but the local mosque, yes. They have been vandalized twice so far this year. I don’t expect either to change. Even here in the diversity-rich Seattle suburbs we have problems.
I do not attend church, but I know that some churches in my community are considering hiring security guards. My sister works at a public library in a large city, and I know that she feels vulnerable to people coming into the building and doing bad things.
Yes, my church has multiple people as security guards. About 3 years ago, a local church had an issue and our church felt it was better to be prepared. You would not know they are there and armed except we got a member email stating the training they were given and such. All done with the local police department.
I serve two small inner city churches. Someone had a purse stolen before the service at one of them two weeks ago. The other serves the community by allowing the cops to use one of our rooms to conduct a three week stakeout of the drug house across the street.
We don’t have a security guard and never would but I do know that I have members of each church that are most likely armed. I know for a fact that one woman carries a weapon whenever she’s at the church after dark.
A uniformed security officer would be the first target of anyone choosing to attack a church.
UU church in Ann Arbor. I’ve never seen one. I’m pretty new to this church so there may be an unmarked one that I just haven’t become aware of yet.
The only place of worship I’ve ever been in with a guard was a mosque I went to in high school. They had been the target of multiple hate crimes so they finally hired security officers and one is stationed there 24 hours a day.
Yes supposedly we have one who is armed and in plain clothes at every service. But not armed with an assault rifle. Not sure how effective s/he would be up against someone with an AR.
I’m pretty sure all the Temples were I am have security; as does the JCC which had bomb treats after the election last year. Security is also even more ramped up on the High Holidays.
I live in a concealed-carry state. For internal political reasons, the entity where I work decided to not bar concealed carry on the premises. We do have security guidelines and had mandatory active-shooter training last year. The guidelines are somewhat reassuring; the training, not so much. The trainer said that if there is a shooter, and we can’t get out of the building, we should go to rooms that don’t have interior windows and the doors of which can be locked. Almost none of the rooms in the building fit those criteria.
The big church I used to go to has police to direct traffic and parking (hired county off duty) who are armed. Most of the mega churches do for the parking too. There is a row of churches on the road by my house and the cops run the traffic on Sunday mornings and for the big funerals because only they can run the traffic signals as it is an intersection of two state highways (the kind with 2-3 lanes in each direction). I’m sure the churches split the cost on Sundays as there are at least 4 major big churches and then some smaller ones within the 1/2 mile stretch. These are the biggest churches in the city so the big funerals (for cops and firemen, public officials) are always held at them.
The churches downtown have security 24/7. They don’t want to lock the churches but recognize the need to keep them from becoming campgrounds for street people and others. The church has a soup kitchen and sponsors a shelter, so those needing shelter are directed to other warm places to rest or get warm.
My mother is from a family of cops and firemen. They were always at the church when I was growing up, serving as ushers, directing traffic. In NYC, Boston, Baltimore, there was always a cop in church but he might not have been on duty, just there.
No guards. Not a single incident at any of the churches here. Conservative/libertarian, small southwest town, lots of gun owners.
There’s really no political activism here, which is why I think it’s so stable and safe. Nobody ever locks their cars or homes… nobody obsesses over the latest political fads/trends. People just go to work, sleep, have fun on the weekends, and repeat. It’s boring, but safe… B-)
Somehow I think that just about every one of the 600 residents of Sutherland Springs would have said the exact same thing about their community and their church a week ago.
Yes our synagogue has security guard with extra protection on the holidays. They are in plainclothes but I am sure thet they are either off-duty or retired police. When I’ve been in Israel at my niece’s synagogue, members of the congregation rotate carrying weapons as everyone in Israel for the most part serves in the military and is in the reserves with annual rotation until age 40 or more.
I belong to a religious organization made up of mostly atheists - which I suppose could be a target - but we have nothing. The local synagogues always have extra crossing guards for the High Holy Days, they are usually off duty policmen, so I expect they could act as protection if needed.
No. But I’ve given some thought to how I might exit if necessary. There are some beautiful stained glass casement windows I could get out through if I’m not paralyzed with fear.
Actually, my guess is that the best thing you can do in a shooting situation is duck and cover. So in a church, hit the ground and do your best to roll under the bench seat, to the extent possible.
If you want to be heroic, grab a kid and shove the child under the bench ahead of you, then wrap your body around the kid
Plus keep quiet and play dead, so as not to attract the attention of the shooter.
Unfortunately, I think you’d just make yourself an easy target if you were on your feet with your back to the shooter while you were trying to mess with the window.
The official tips are run, hide, and fight, in that order. Some experts disagree, and suggest that fighting, or at least a willingness to fight, be prioritized.