Local churches talk congregation safety
[gtxvideo vid=”VrGPX8wy” playlist=”” pid=”OTSe9U1y” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/VrGPX8wy.jpg” vtitle=”Church Safety Protocol PKG”]
JACKSON, Tenn. — Local church pastors said the shooting that happened in Charleston, S.C., could happen anywhere, even here at home. Zion Baptist Church Pastor Shamond Scales said churches should be a sanctuary of peace. “The safe havens of our community now seem to be jeopardized,” Scales said. “When you think of church, you think of a safe place.” Scales said the South Carolina church shooting stood out to him because of one word — church. “We have to come together not just as one church but as a church, as the kingdom of God,” Scales said. A clergyman for a Christian Methodist Episcopalian Church, the Rev. Allen Mitchell said this mass shooting breaks his heart. “It’s supposed to be a place of tranquility, worship and a place of peace where you allow anyone and everyone to come in,” Mitchell said. Many churches have some form of security for their congregations. Zion Church has members keep an eye on things when the congregation meets. “I even have certain police officers that go to my church,” Scales said. Scales said even though you have security, church should not be a place you feel unsafe. “I don’t want to walk into a sanctuary with metal detectors and different things like that,” he said. Mitchell and Scales believe this is a time for the church to rise up. “I do see this as a time for the church to look at the good and the bad, the good things we have done and the bad things that our history shows,” Mitchell said. “I’m compelling every pastor, every church — let’s come together, because if we all say that we serve one God, then we should all be on the same page as far as making our communities safe and making our churches safe and really making a difference,” Scales said.
