Greetings Glen Mar,
As I know you are aware, there has been a heightened level of violence directed at churches in the United States over the last few years. Statistics show that violence against faith communities is rising. A recent article in the Baltimore Sun highlighted actions taken by pastors and congregations in Baltimore City to protect their faith communities, and some of you shared those articles and other concerns about Glen Mar’s security with me and other staff members. We hear you. The concern we have as Glen Mar leadership is always how we, as a church, can be inviting and welcoming, and are best able to share the love of Jesus with anyone who walks through our doors or joins us online, while at the same time not exposing ourselves to unnecessary danger.
Considering this reality and this line that we must carefully walk, our Trustees and Leadership Board have decided to implement the following:
- The lower-level exterior doors will now be locked all day Sunday, including during Sunday services. Of course, church staff and others with keycard access can enter through those entrances, but otherwise, they will be locked for the entire day. This is a change.
- The two main-level exterior doors will remain unlocked and be the ports of entry for folks to enter the building.
- Note that ALL exterior entrance/exit doors have push bars, so they can be used to exit at any time by anyone from inside the building, even if they are locked.
- This will go into effect on Sunday, November 2nd.
We all felt that while none of us wanted to have a conversation about security, these were good first steps to take to boost our security at Glen Mar while maintaining the welcoming spirit of Glen Mar. We will continue to monitor the situation and make changes as necessary. Of course, we will communicate these as best we can over time. If you ever have any questions about anything, please let us know.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Chris
