Forty two years in journalism made me a compulsive note taker.
I take notes when I’m on the phone, sometimes when I’m watching TV and any time I’m at a public meeting.
About the only place I don’t take notes is in church. Pity, too, because I wish I could tell you exactly what Fr. Steve DeLeon told Star of the Sea parishioners in Virginia Beach on the first weekend of December.
During his homily the priest surprised the congregation when he announced that he’d hired a moonlighting police officer to guard the church during services. In fact, the uniformed officer was posted in the lobby at that very moment.
Heads spun around to the back of the church.
I hadn’t noticed the cop when I slunk in, late – as usual – for the 8 a.m. Mass. But on the way out there he was, holding open the door for parishioners who were expressing their gratitude for his presence.
“Thank you for keeping us safe,” I heard one woman say.
Perhaps she, too, had fleetingly wondered what would happen if a deranged person decided it would be fun to gun down worshippers some Sunday morning and picked our church for this murderous act.
But let’s be realistic. It’s unlikely there will ever be a shooting in my place of worship. Or yours. Church shootings are rare. According to a May 2018 article “How Common Are U.S. Church Shootings?” in Facts & Trends, an online Christian research publication, there have been 18 shootings in churches since 1999.
Yet there are roughly 338,000 separate congregations in the country. Do the math. A pew is probably one of America’s safest places.
Still, why not have an armed guard in the lobby? His or her presence would be a deterrent to a shooter or – more likely – a purse snatcher.
Beyond that, this part-time gig gives police officers another way to earn a little extra cash. Lord knows we don’t pay them enough.
Yet in 2015, after the shooting that left nine dead in an African-American church in Charleston, Mark Woods argued in “Christianity Today” that security officers were incompatible with Christian values.
In “Armed Guards at U.S. Churches: Why It’s Tempting and Why It’s Wrong,” Woods asserted that, “Guns don’t solve problems they create problems.”
Oh, please. That’s ridiculous. A firearm in the hands of a trained professional is an insurance policy. Nothing more.
“We are servants of the Prince of Peace,” Woods declared. “We struggle with the idea of violence at all, regarding it as at best a necessary evil. Importing the tools of death into a place where the gospel of abundant life is preached seems profoundly wrong.”
Wrong? How could it be wrong to place a conspicuous guard inside the entrance to a church? How could it be wrong to defend helpless families and children from some homicidal hairball should the need arise?
A better question might be, what’s right about doing nothing?
It’s magical thinking to assume that you’re safe simply because you’re in a house of worship.
(Same goes for protection from germs. Why some churches – like mine – encourage hand-holding and communal cups during flu season defies common sense and makes me crazy.)
My Jewish friends tell me it’s common for local temples to hire security for bar and bat mitzvahs. Given the history of violence against Jews – especially after the ghastly massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life congregation in
October that left 11 congregants dead – can you blame them?
Frankly, the only way to stop an armed gunman is with a gun in the hand of someone trained to use it.
Carl Chinn, described as a church security expert, told Facts & Trends that, “Most churches spend far more time and money training their choir than they do investing in the safety of their staff and guests.”
Sadly, that’s true. They’re playing the odds.
“They are absolutely right,’ Chinn acknowledged. “Odds are their church will never face a serious threat. But if their congregation does face a serious threat, the odds won’t matter much.”
Exactly.
An armed guard at a religious event is a lot like putting on a seat belt to drive to the supermarket. Chances are you won’t need the protection. But if you’re in accident you’ll be damn glad yours was buckled.
Kerry is an award winning columnist who spent 33 years at The Virginian- Pilot and 17 years as a metro columnist
You can reach Kerry at
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www.kerrydougherty.com