海角大神

The man with a backpack slipped unnoticed into the church auditorium. He carefully chose his moment. The congregation of First United Methodist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, was engrossed in watching a presentation when he interrupted proceedings. Unzipping his backpack, the intruder dressed in camo-fatigues quickly assembled a firearm with practiced precision. People cowered in the pews.

Then it dawned on the congregation that the interloper was a part of the security demonstration they鈥檇 been watching.聽

鈥淧eople complained afterwards,鈥� admits Gary Kirkham, a congregation member who helped create the church鈥檚 safety program by consulting experts and police. 鈥淎 lot of this stuff is just too realistic for some people.鈥�

Their jitters 鈥� as well as the security exercise itself 鈥� are understandable. In 2017, a man from New Braunfels drove to a church in nearby Sutherland Springs and fatally shot 26 people. Headlines about tragedies such as that one 鈥� and a shooting Feb. 28 in a Sacramento, California, church in which five people died 鈥� create a conundrum for churches, mosques, and synagogues reconciling security with spiritual mission.

Fences, cameras, and security guards might help regular worshippers feel secure but risk inhibiting an open-armed welcome to visitors. There鈥檚 intense debate, too, over whether protective measures should include guns inside sacred spaces.

And yet, these contentious dilemmas have spurred fresh thinking. Conscious efforts to engage with the broader community, be security wise, and stay centered on sacred mission, say religious leaders, are the best way to answer the fundamental question at issue: How to allay fear?

鈥淭here鈥檚 an existential threat to Judaism and to religion which is that if people are afraid to come together, then their religion becomes much, much weaker,鈥� observes Jeremy Yamin, who as director of security and operations at the Massachusetts nonprofit Combined Jewish Philanthropies helps Jewish institutions implement security.聽

That dilemma echoes across the U.S., which, since 1980, has experienced 11 mass murders at houses of worship. According to The Violence Project, the number of those attacks (defined by four or more victims) has grown over the past two decades. The three deadliest shootings have taken place since 2015. But, statistically speaking, mass shootings 鈥� distinct from arson or other threats 鈥� at churches are 鈥渞are events in the grand scheme of things,鈥� says James Densley, co-founder of The Violence Project and department chair of the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis.

While headlines about attacks on houses of worship get chilling attention, these sites are actually no more likely to have a shooting than any other location, says Guy Russ, vice president of innovation and data at Church Mutual Insurance, the leading insurer among the nation鈥檚 350,000 religious institutions.* What makes religious institutions vulnerable is that there鈥檚 often less security in place than at schools or government buildings.听听聽

Most shooters, according to an聽FBI study, select targets based on a perceived wrong that happened to them either in that place or by a person that happens to be at that place. Often, the shooters know their victims. In the latest shooting, in Sacramento, the gunman killed his three daughters, one other person, and himself.聽

Security training has saved lives

Houses of worship can be a target of a broad array of racial or religious hate crimes 鈥� Klan-inspired firebombings of Black churches in the 1960s being a historical symbol of that. But, while hate crimes overall increased in 2020, just 3.4% were committed in churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.

Even so, some of the most devastating mass shootings in recent history have been motivated by animus toward religious and racial groups, magnifying public fear of the vulnerability of all churches.聽

In 2019, there were 51 people massacred inside a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, and in 2017 a white nationalist killed six people in a Quebec mosque 鈥� though there have been no mass shootings in a U.S. mosque. Eleven people were fatally shot inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. A shooting by a white supremacist at Mother Emanuel, a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, claimed nine lives in 2015.

Warren Mitchell, head of security for the 4,200-seat Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, recalls the effect that latter massacre had on his fellow, predominantly Black congregants.

鈥淓very congregation around the country, especially African-Americans, were all on edge because a lot of people started asking about security training,鈥� says Mr. Mitchell, who is a Dallas Police Department sergeant. 鈥淭here were some churches, like one directly across the street from us, that we鈥檝e provided some security training for. And it made us brush up even on our security training.鈥�

Many congregations utilize federal and state grants to boost security and implement safety drills. That training has been credited with saving lives.

When Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and members of his congregation were taken hostage inside a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, he recalled training he鈥檇 received from the FBI, the Anti-Defamation League, and Secure Community Network. It helped him calmly manage the 11-hour situation. The captives were eventually able to flee when the rabbi threw a chair at the gunman.聽

Though Mr. Cytron-Walker recently said he wishes that one of his fellow hostages had been carrying a gun, a former member of his synagogue alleged on Facebook that the rabbi 鈥渄idn鈥檛 allow his members to be armed during services.鈥澛�

鈥淚 was praying very hard that everything would be resolved in the best way possible,鈥� says Michael Barclay, rabbi at Temple Ner Simcha in Agoura Hills, California. But he wonders if the incident would have happened at all if there had been security guards like the ones at his synagogue in California.聽

鈥淭here鈥檚 a great statement from Islam 鈥� they say, 鈥楾rust in Allah and tether your camel,鈥欌�� says Rabbi Barclay. 鈥淪o we have faith in God, and we tether our camel by always having people there with firearms. ... You need to create a safe physical space so that you can have a safe spiritual space.鈥澛�

Many synagogues hire armed guards. It鈥檚 expensive, and many small synagogues can only afford to do so on important holidays. Another option for smaller congregations: Authorize lay members to bring concealed-carry firearms where it鈥檚 legal.聽

鈥淭he concept of having some of your own congregants who are trained, skilled, maintain their skills and practice, and are known to the community and known to the congregation, I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a bad idea at all,鈥� says Fred Kogen, president of a mostly Jewish but secular social gun club in Southern California called Bullets & Bagels. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think self-defense of a church or synagogue should be the sole purview of the so-called experts.鈥澛�

鈥淲e鈥檙e not here as bouncers鈥�

Other denominations struggle, too, over whether guns belong inside a sanctuary. When Bethany Benz-Whittington was a pastor at a Presbyterian church in Jacksonville, Florida, the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando prompted her congregation to consider allowing firearms inside the building.聽

鈥淚 have said, 鈥業f you decide to become an open-carry congregation, and if you say guns are welcome in this space, then I will no longer be your pastor,鈥欌�� says Ms. Benz-Whittington. 鈥淎nd so then, instead of engaging the issue, everyone has said, 鈥榃ell, then we just won鈥檛 ask.鈥欌��

Where some churches opt for a 鈥渄on鈥檛 ask, don鈥檛 tell鈥� stance, others are less equivocal. At the Rev. Hansen Wendlandt鈥檚 Presbyterian church in Sandy City, Utah, a posted sign reads 鈥淏lessed are the peacemakers. Please leave your guns elsewhere.鈥�

Despite his fervent anti-gun outlook, Mr. Wendlandt believes it鈥檚 prudent for churches to implement security measures. At his previous post in Nederland, Colorado, says Mr. Wendlandt, an individual sent a threat to disrupt a church service. So the pastor asked two of the largest men to sit near the door, but the threat didn鈥檛 materialize.

Even so, there were other challenges. Houses of worship are, after all, havens for those in need who can bring their problems along with them.聽

鈥淲e had a ton of homeless ministry at that church in Nederland,鈥� he says, noting that some congregation members were frightened by their presence. Nonetheless, he adds, safety isn鈥檛 the highest value of a denomination and it should never trump spiritual mission. His church congregation displayed patience and forgiveness toward those who were working toward healing.

鈥淭he Old Testament is rife with overprotecting,鈥� he says, noting that the Sodom and Gomorrah story is really about welcome. 鈥淎nd in that case, there is this fear of the 鈥榦ther.鈥� I think that the wider scope of Scripture draws us to appreciate hospitality, and it鈥檚 incumbent on us to figure out where those boundaries are.鈥�

That sort of openness isn鈥檛 without risk. At Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, hospitality is foundational. It feeds 400-plus families every week and offers rental assistance. Last year, a man there threatened congregants with a knife, then verbally accosted the center鈥檚 social services director, who isn鈥檛 a Muslim.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楬ey, you鈥檙e white. What are you doing here with these people?鈥欌�� recounts Saif Rahman, director of government and public affairs at the center. 鈥淵ou try to balance between how you respond to this, and how do you maintain your values in making sure that this is a house of God that鈥檚 open to all.鈥�

In New Braunfels, the First United Methodist church occasionally attracts unhoused people. Yet Mr. Kirkham says the ushers abide by 海角大神 principles: 鈥淲hat would Jesus do in a case like this? You know he鈥檇 be welcoming, right?鈥�

Even so, the security team is vigilant. Following the church massacre in Sutherland Springs, the New Braunfels church created a command center with 16 security cameras, installed a button that can instantly lock the doors, and trained an in-house team in everything from usher protocols to emergency medical care. That detailed security is low-key to the point of being almost invisible to visitors, says Mr. Kirkham.

At Friendship-West church in Dallas, Mr. Mitchell shares a similar philosophy: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not here as bouncers at a nightclub. Our main thing is not to look like we are a fortress, a church that鈥檚 being guarded by police officers or security officers. We wear suits on Sunday.鈥澛�

Radical hospitality

Proactive engagement is an increasingly popular strategy. Borrowing a common security practice at banks and businesses, denominations train ushers to greet every newcomer at the door. Security experts cite studies showing that approach often deters people with bad intentions from going through with their plans.

鈥淭his idea of upping the greeting game has two parts to it,鈥� says security consultant Jeanie Garrett, author of 鈥淥pen Arms, Safe Communities: The Theology of Church Security.鈥�

鈥淵ou鈥檙e making sure that they have a reason to be there. You鈥檙e asking, 鈥楧o you need anything? Do you know where the sanctuary is? Are there prayer requests that you have? And can I get your name and email, and we鈥檒l follow up with you?鈥� On the other hand, it鈥檚 also a radical form of hospitality.鈥澛�

Ultimately, the key to keeping houses of worship relatively accessible to newcomers may lie in dispelling a bunker mentality within the denomination.

鈥淭he best security is engagement with the larger community,鈥� says Mr. Rahman, at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. 鈥淭he more we鈥檙e able to essentially fight ignorance with information and bring light to understanding, the less likely someone will decide to take it upon themselves to attack a religious center.鈥澨�听听听

Another way to counter anxiety, suggest some, is to share a comforting theological outlook with worshippers.聽

鈥淭he opposite of fear is faith. The two cannot exist in the same place at the same time,鈥� counsels Rabbi Barclay.

Similarly, Joseph Moore, a pastor who works for the Presbyterian Foundation, says there鈥檚 a reason that the most common command in the Bible is 鈥淒o not fear.鈥�

鈥満＝谴笊� worship points us beyond ourselves,鈥� says Mr. Moore. 鈥淚t points us to the God of the universe. And it reminds us that we are not centered, but that something else is centered and that there鈥檚 something freeing and unifying about that.鈥�

* This story has been changed to correct the name of the company Church Mutual Insurance, and to clarify its share of the business of insuring houses of worship.听听聽 聽