HOUSTON CHURCHES HIRE GUARDS www.privateofficer.com
On any Sunday morning, sanctuary doors of churches that line Main Street and nearby thoroughfares swing open to welcome thousands of faithful who come to worship in some of the city’s oldest, most prominent religious institutions. But at other times in the week, doors may be locked tight, windows latched and grounds and hallways patrolled by burly uniformed guards.
Faced with thievery and violence, churches increasingly have adopted security measures that, in some cases, are so stringent that the Messiah might face obstacles gaining entry.
Last week, thieves stole gold and marble candlesticks valued at $5,000 from the Catholic Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, 1111 Pierce, one of two major downtown churches whose sanctuaries are open on weekdays. It was the latest in a series of crimes and threatening encounters that dates to at least 1986 when the Rev. Eric Anderson was fatally shot by a church member inside First United Methodist Church, 1320 Main.
And though the security problems may be most pronounced at the city’s downtown-area churches, their suburban counterparts often implement equally stringent safety measures to protect their property and congregants.
At Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, pastoral associate Yvonne Gill said the church employs private guards to watch over Sunday services. At worst, she said, congregants sometimes are accosted by panhandlers. “We ask them to leave,” she said of those who create a disturbance. “Next, we call the police.”
On weekdays, though, security in the sanctuary is reliant on those who use it.
Among those who come to pray is Janie Casteneda, who’s been a member of the church 50 of her 57 years.
“I love this place,” she said. “I come here three times a week. You know, when I’m here alone and somebody comes in, I have a quick feeling of fear. But I say a quick prayer, and that casts the fear aside. God’s alive and the angels are alive and that gives me strength.”
Gill this week vowed that the cathedral doors will remain unlocked despite the theft.
“This is a place of refuge,” she said. “It’s sad that this happened, but the thief may have been very desperate. We will not do anything differently. We can’t operate in fear.”
No arrests have been made in the theft, said Houston police spokesman Victor Senties.
Susan Converse, parish administrator for Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas, said no crimes have been reported at the Episcopal church’s sanctuary, which is open weekdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors, however, have attempted to steal crosses and other religious artifacts from the church’s nearby chapel, she said.
At other religious institutions, front doors that are wide open on holy days are securely locked.
The main doors at Annunciation Catholic Church, Islamic Da’wah Center, South Main Street Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Palmer Episcopal Church and Congregation Emanu El all are closed. Those wishing to gain entry to pray, however, generally can do so by checking in with staff or guards.
It’s not only the downtown houses of worship that have tightened security.
First Baptist Church, 7401 Katy Freeway, closed its sanctuary doors after burglars hit the church two times in early 2006. Now, weekday worshippers usually are directed to a prayer room or small chapel. Lakewood Church in Greenway Plaza, also hit by burglars, locked its main church doors and posted guards. First United Methodist’s Westchase campus, 10570 Westpark, locked its sanctuary and hired a guard.
Not all the places of worship experienced dramatic episodes of crime — Congregation Emanu El twice was targeted by firebombers in 1994 — but all experienced feelings of vulnerability.
“We feed 300-plus homeless people every day,” said Palmer Episcopal’s Lisa Seltzer. “We have one of the best-known programs in the country … so we’re always concerned — more about our people and children than we are for property. You can always replace things.”
Palmer and other churches hired guards, sometimes armed, and outfitted their buildings with electronic security systems. “We’ve got uniformed security guards. We’ve got plainclothes guards,” said Bill Pugh, facilities manager at South Main Baptist Church. Then he cut himself short. “We’re not going to give out how we operate to anybody,” he said.
When informed that a visitor had wandered the seemingly empty halls of the church’s welcome center and sanctuary without encountering a guard, he responded, “There was one in your area the whole time.”
Ashort distance away in the Museum District, a sleeping homeless man curled in a rear door to the St. Matthew Lutheran Church’s sanctuary.
Business Manager Sarah Fisher said the church long has been troubled by crime. In the 1990s, burglars on four or five occasions used a rope attached to a pickup to force open church doors. Later they scaled an awning to gain entry through an unmonitored second-floor window. More recently burglars drove through the parking lot breaking into cars. To control the problem, the church locked one of two gates, closing the lot to through traffic.
Once, a homeless man slipped into the church with a wedding party and later was found making long distance phone calls on the office phone.
Now, visitors gain entrance only when buzzed into the building, and only church members or members of associated missions may use the sanctuary.
Fisher said the most frightening incident occurred about 18 months ago when a pregnant employee unthinkingly buzzed in a stranger. The man immediately began ranting, demanding to see the minister and threatening to kill anyone who interfered. The intruder was wrestled out of the building by a custodian.
Such near-misses with violence haunt many church officials, who recall the May 1986 murder of the Rev. Eric T. Anderson, associate pastor at First United Methodist. Anderson was fatally shot in the church after he was confronted by a disturbed church member, Neal Wayne Higginbotham.
Since then, spokesman Allen Houk said, the church has installed an electronic alarm system.
“The tradition in the past had been to keep the doors wide open,” Houk said. “That’s one of the mainstays of American Christianity … We’re as open as is reasonable.”
Given tight security at the churches, a question arises: Could Christ gain entry, especially if he sported the long hair and beard with which he’s often depicted?
“You know,” said St. Matthew Lutheran’s Fisher, “I would pray that something would give me the sign to let that man in.”
“With our security,” responded First United Methodist’s Houk, “they would call for one of the pastors or directors. … There would be a pause, but it would only be momentary. This is very difficult to answer. What makes you think he wouldn’t be wearing a business suit.
Faced with thievery and violence, churches increasingly have adopted security measures that, in some cases, are so stringent that the Messiah might face obstacles gaining entry.
Last week, thieves stole gold and marble candlesticks valued at $5,000 from the Catholic Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, 1111 Pierce, one of two major downtown churches whose sanctuaries are open on weekdays. It was the latest in a series of crimes and threatening encounters that dates to at least 1986 when the Rev. Eric Anderson was fatally shot by a church member inside First United Methodist Church, 1320 Main.
And though the security problems may be most pronounced at the city’s downtown-area churches, their suburban counterparts often implement equally stringent safety measures to protect their property and congregants.
At Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, pastoral associate Yvonne Gill said the church employs private guards to watch over Sunday services. At worst, she said, congregants sometimes are accosted by panhandlers. “We ask them to leave,” she said of those who create a disturbance. “Next, we call the police.”
On weekdays, though, security in the sanctuary is reliant on those who use it.
Among those who come to pray is Janie Casteneda, who’s been a member of the church 50 of her 57 years.
“I love this place,” she said. “I come here three times a week. You know, when I’m here alone and somebody comes in, I have a quick feeling of fear. But I say a quick prayer, and that casts the fear aside. God’s alive and the angels are alive and that gives me strength.”
Gill this week vowed that the cathedral doors will remain unlocked despite the theft.
“This is a place of refuge,” she said. “It’s sad that this happened, but the thief may have been very desperate. We will not do anything differently. We can’t operate in fear.”
No arrests have been made in the theft, said Houston police spokesman Victor Senties.
Susan Converse, parish administrator for Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas, said no crimes have been reported at the Episcopal church’s sanctuary, which is open weekdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors, however, have attempted to steal crosses and other religious artifacts from the church’s nearby chapel, she said.
At other religious institutions, front doors that are wide open on holy days are securely locked.
The main doors at Annunciation Catholic Church, Islamic Da’wah Center, South Main Street Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Palmer Episcopal Church and Congregation Emanu El all are closed. Those wishing to gain entry to pray, however, generally can do so by checking in with staff or guards.
It’s not only the downtown houses of worship that have tightened security.
First Baptist Church, 7401 Katy Freeway, closed its sanctuary doors after burglars hit the church two times in early 2006. Now, weekday worshippers usually are directed to a prayer room or small chapel. Lakewood Church in Greenway Plaza, also hit by burglars, locked its main church doors and posted guards. First United Methodist’s Westchase campus, 10570 Westpark, locked its sanctuary and hired a guard.
Not all the places of worship experienced dramatic episodes of crime — Congregation Emanu El twice was targeted by firebombers in 1994 — but all experienced feelings of vulnerability.
“We feed 300-plus homeless people every day,” said Palmer Episcopal’s Lisa Seltzer. “We have one of the best-known programs in the country … so we’re always concerned — more about our people and children than we are for property. You can always replace things.”
Palmer and other churches hired guards, sometimes armed, and outfitted their buildings with electronic security systems. “We’ve got uniformed security guards. We’ve got plainclothes guards,” said Bill Pugh, facilities manager at South Main Baptist Church. Then he cut himself short. “We’re not going to give out how we operate to anybody,” he said.
When informed that a visitor had wandered the seemingly empty halls of the church’s welcome center and sanctuary without encountering a guard, he responded, “There was one in your area the whole time.”
Ashort distance away in the Museum District, a sleeping homeless man curled in a rear door to the St. Matthew Lutheran Church’s sanctuary.
Business Manager Sarah Fisher said the church long has been troubled by crime. In the 1990s, burglars on four or five occasions used a rope attached to a pickup to force open church doors. Later they scaled an awning to gain entry through an unmonitored second-floor window. More recently burglars drove through the parking lot breaking into cars. To control the problem, the church locked one of two gates, closing the lot to through traffic.
Once, a homeless man slipped into the church with a wedding party and later was found making long distance phone calls on the office phone.
Now, visitors gain entrance only when buzzed into the building, and only church members or members of associated missions may use the sanctuary.
Fisher said the most frightening incident occurred about 18 months ago when a pregnant employee unthinkingly buzzed in a stranger. The man immediately began ranting, demanding to see the minister and threatening to kill anyone who interfered. The intruder was wrestled out of the building by a custodian.
Such near-misses with violence haunt many church officials, who recall the May 1986 murder of the Rev. Eric T. Anderson, associate pastor at First United Methodist. Anderson was fatally shot in the church after he was confronted by a disturbed church member, Neal Wayne Higginbotham.
Since then, spokesman Allen Houk said, the church has installed an electronic alarm system.
“The tradition in the past had been to keep the doors wide open,” Houk said. “That’s one of the mainstays of American Christianity … We’re as open as is reasonable.”
Given tight security at the churches, a question arises: Could Christ gain entry, especially if he sported the long hair and beard with which he’s often depicted?
“You know,” said St. Matthew Lutheran’s Fisher, “I would pray that something would give me the sign to let that man in.”
“With our security,” responded First United Methodist’s Houk, “they would call for one of the pastors or directors. … There would be a pause, but it would only be momentary. This is very difficult to answer. What makes you think he wouldn’t be wearing a business suit.
0 Response to "HOUSTON CHURCHES HIRE GUARDS www.privateofficer.com"
Post a Comment