House of Worship Safety

@Dawn

The silver lining… My grandfather on my fathers side passed a couple month later of a broken heart, my grandmother on my mothers side, and 3 good friends as well in 2016.

The lining, every weekend, my father, grandfather, and a brilliant speaker Ray Yungen (you can find him on google) would all go out for their Pizza, Pops, and Prayer. All 3 passed in 2016, id like to think they are all back together again.

My Grandfather introduced myself and youngest brother to guns, my weak hand carry if my grandfather former carry for his concealed carry I inherited.

My father a very practical man.

The only store I purchase my guns from is the only store my grandfather went too. Many i inherited gsme from the same shop over the years.

I carry for protection as the practical thing to do and I make at least 1 purchase a year to be something my grandfather would likely to hsve purchased.

2 Likes

My church used to have signs prohibiting carrying. But recently a consultant advised our diocese to take those signs down because it’s an invitation for a bad person with evil intentions. Interestingly, the signs were only on the front door which is seldom entered. We have multiple side doors that most people enter but never had any NO GUNS signs. That opened the door for people to CCW as long as they didn’t tell anyone. The diocese still maintains they don’t want any guns at all. But they followed the advise of the consultant.

Further, a new security team is in the process of starting. But no one is allowed to carry. Think about that a while. With all of the media coverage on priest sex abuse you’d think they’d at least hire police or train security details. But as usual the hierarchy doesn’t have wives or children of their own to protect so they throw the laity under the bus … or should I say throw us into the line of fire. Many of us men are opposed to the bishop’s decision. Some carry anyway. Even a deacon likes to know when some of the LTC’s ccw. Pray for us. We’re under fire with lots of unwise leaders.

2 Likes

@KillJoy, I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic grade school. However, when I found out that priest abused my classmates (after having been accused at another parish and moved to ours to cover it up), I realized that I could no longer attend Catholic churches. Our children need to be protected.

Religion is a very personal thing and I’m always happy to hear that people are active in their faith. I’ve since switched to a non-denominational church that is very accepting of people who are there to help protect those who cannot (including adults who do not know how to defend themselves).

I hope your church and diocese realize how important it is to defend the innocent from evil and change their views. Stay safe out there, Mark!

1 Like

I’m a priest abuse survivor. I left for 18 years but came back in 2006/7. Long story. Diocese have training now for the laity. But the clergy are still playing their games. Long story short I actively address the ongoing issues. I believe in the official teachings of the ancient church, not the modern specialized clerical hypocrites. We are a growing population standing up for justice. Offenders need to go to prison and stripped of their clerical status. My wife was abused by a man in her non-Catholic church. We both are vigilant about any abuse, including bullying.

3 Likes

Thank you for sharing your experience, @KillJoy. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through. But things don’t change unless people stand up. I applaud your courage and strength!

I completely agree with you that offenders need to be stripped of their status and go to prison. We need to protect our children.

It’s also great to see that you have a faith bigger than the organization. My prayers are with you and your wife!

2 Likes

This isn’t something we want to consider walking into our house of worship on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning - or whenever you attend. @KevinM addresses how to survive a church shooting in this Into the Fray:

Hopefully it provides some good food for thought before your worship time this weekend.

2 Likes

I have carried for many years, but lately started taking it very seriously. I’ve attended several classes for mindset, training, and fighting. My church is just now at a stage that they recognize the need for a safety team and I’m heading this up. My goal is to stay ministry minded, but be prepared for anything. Luckily, the church is ok with ccw for members and doesn’t have a problem with having an armed congregation. In fact they are quite open…we are having a knife defense class held at the church. I’ll be attending this and medical classes soon. My belief is that everyone should be ready, including the church, and has a responsibility to take care of themselves and others. “Could You Survive A Church Shooting” was a really good eye-opener for me and my church. But again, my goal is safety and ministry…I want to help people no matter what the need. Guns are just a tool, along with many others, we have to consider depending on the need. I hope the USCCA will do more on this subject. I need it!

3 Likes

Update: this Tuesday I found out it’s now okay to ccw at my parish. The deacon talked about it during our KofC Meeting. I found out he got licensed just last year too. Lots of jokes about the pastor/priest telling him he’d hide behind the deacon since he volunteered. What a relief. With all the clergy abuse scandals I’ve been waiting for one of the victims to go ballistic on a parish.

2 Likes

That is a very legitimate concern, @KillJoy.

It’s depressing how many victims there are :cry:

1 Like

I spoke with our elder board and they have agreed not only to have a security team, but also to have a group of people trained in first aide and CPR.

3 Likes

That makes total sense, @Robbie13! There are so many not-mass shooter medical incidents that having first aid people is a great idea.

2 Likes

Our church just started a Safety & Security Team in the past year. They’re doing a great job and are working on obtaining training in various areas for the people on the team. Some, but not all, have their Concealed Carry License and do carry in church. I think situational training would be a great thing for any security team to consistently do, especially to prevent causing more casualties by not being in position to shoot safely.

2 Likes

That’s awesome, @Trmptr64! Let me know if you need any information for your church’s security team. We have some training videos and even a group rate if they’re interested in legal protection as well. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Our church formed a safety and security committee two years ago and they have done an intensive study of our church in relation to safety and security issues and came up with a Preparedness Plan. Part of that plan is forming a safety team that operates on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately at this point, our team cannot carry concealed while operating as a safety team. We are all getting CPR/First Aid/AED certified. Some of us have gone through the Red Cross Bleeding Control trauma class. People on the team who have their CCW and are not working that Sunday are allowed to carry concealed and the congregants who are not on the team who have their CCW per Colorado law are allowed to carry in the church.

We are working to get approval for team members to carry concealed and start training as a unit but that may be a year down the road. Our area has a Safety in Faith network that puts out alerts when other houses of worship have any issues and the local sheriff started a Safety in Faith coalition a few years ago that has quarterly training and an annual workshop. @Dawn, I’d love to get information on the group rate as well as access to the training videos that you mentioned. Two of us already have USCCA insurance.

3 Likes

My church encourages cc, pastor is very 2A, although I have spike with him about training a security team he does not think that is needed. Kinda scary. Most are elderly few younger no idea about what everyone should do or where to go if time allowed it. All doors unlocked no security. I wish pastors would get it we need security instead of being sittn ducks.

1 Like

I would love to see the training videos

For the house of worship trainings, check out your dashboard under Education & Training / Guides & Videos / Videos - then check out the November 2018 Proving Ground.

And there is a great document here: https://cdn.assets.usconcealedcarry.com/pdf/guides/USCCA_ProtectingHousesOfWorship.pdf

3 Likes

There are several house of worships that I know which has safety teams in place. Everybody in each one knows their role as a member of the team. They all take turns rotating so it’s not the same person everytime.

Do your houses of worship let the congregation know that there is a safety team? Is the congregation encouraged to carry - and if so, how does the safety team know who’s a good guy vs a bad guy when the poop hits the fan?

Yes, they do let them know there is safety team in place. They are encouraged but only if they feel comfortable in doing so. Usually the safety teams sits throughout the congregation while maintaining visual on the doors.

1 Like