Congregations look to new security measures

Christian Century, Oct 24, 2001

Across the United States, thousands of houses of worship have beefed up or requested information about security after the possibility of more terrorist attacks--a matter made more urgent after the U.S. began airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan. In particular, some cathedrals and highly visible megachurches as well as large mosques and synagogues have taken extra precautions.

Washington's National Cathedral has been on high alert since September 11. Captain Vince Scola, who commands the cathedral's police force, has increased the staff. His 17 officers now conduct more physical checks of the building and random checks of backpacks and packages. At special events, they use hand-held metal detectors purchased as a direct result of the assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"I hate to admit it, but we can be a potential target just because of what we represent," Scola said. "The National Cathedral is a church for all people. It's a national treasure. We must maintain that thought and be constantly on alert because the best defense is to be on alert." The cathedral averages between 600 and 800 attendees for weekend services but reaches its 3,200-person capacity during special worship days such as Christmas Eve, Easter and the National Day of Prayer service September 14.

Congregations of all sizes have wanted to learn more. "We've seen an increase in requests," said Jeff Hanna, executive director for the Guide One Center for Risk Management in Des Moines, Iowa, which represents 48,000 houses of worship. "We've sent out our agents and most have reported that their policyholders want to know how to better protect themselves."

Since U.S. and British airstrikes began on October 7 and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said days later that general, but credible, domestic threats have been received by federal authorities, officials of the nondenominational Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, said they would continue to reevaluate security. "The main threat now is retaliation on the U.S., whether it be a physical or a biological act," said Ron Aguiar, director of safety and security for the church, which draws an estimated 15,000 churchgoers to its 100-acre campus each weekend.

"If this becomes more and more of a threat, if the FBI raises the bar, then we will do what everybody else does," he said. "We will limit accessibility and add even more security." Sunday night's service, Bible studies and meetings were being conducted as scheduled. Aguiar's staff patrols the grounds 24 hours a day. In addition, 30 volunteer officers who attend the church assist regularly.

For Muslims, the concern is about hate-crime reactions. At the Islamic Center of Orange County in California, Imam Mostafa Qazwii spent some $3,000 on new surveillance cameras and a security system in the week following the terrorist attacks. The center received numerous threatening phone calls from anti-Islamic protesters. Children attending the adjacent City of Knowledge Islamic school have been threatened. "I never thought twice about it, but now I have to force myself to recognize possible threats at the mosque. I'm a target right away," said Fatma Saleh, one of 500 to 1,000 who pray weekly at the Islamic Center and whose three children attend City of Knowledge.

In Washington, the Catholic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the largest church in the Western Hemisphere and eighth-largest in the world. It averages 3,500 parishioners every weekend and over 750,000 visitors annually. Walter Rossi, a priest who is the shrine's associate director, said, "Our guards were told to be more alert and attentive and look for anything suspicious."

In midtown Manhattan, Central Synagogue, with 4,000 members, is one of the largest temples in the nation. It finished a three-year $40 million renovation two days before the terrorist attacks. "We have significantly increased our in-house security since September 11 and reviewed it again yesterday in light of the events," Livia Thompson, the synagogue's executive director, said recently. "We have had a 24-hour security presence since the 11th and the number of security guards has doubled, sometimes tripled, depending on if we have a major event."

The 8,000 members of the nondenominational Central Christian Church in Henderson, Nevada, outside Las Vegas, are accustomed to being watched by law enforcement officials, especially in casinos and hotels. "We live in a town where security is a way of life," said Mike Bodine, Central Christian's executive director. Uniformed and nonuniformed security forces patrol church grounds and stand guard by the altar during worship services. "If we saw a threatening situation, we would take action and possibly make arrests," he said.