A lot of big churches have Security officers . . a couple I attended in Columbia, SC, had armed and uniformed security officers (the church was half Black/half White, which is also true for the city of Columbia itself. Also, my friend’s hubby is a retired State Trooper in Illinois who is now Security Officer at their big church right outside St. Louis. But if you hadn’t noticed these uniformed guards before today . . the church might have received some veiled threats of some sort.
I didn’t know of any armed security officers in churches here in Cola. I guess I don’t keep up. Mine doesn’t and can’t see it happening.
That’s what I was thinking .. a show of force .. maybe the security has been there all along .. but a sudden show of force could mean that some warning was sent out; possibly to churches in certain areas.
I think it’s good to let the killers know you are there to stop them .. which means they may change their mind about attacking them.
If I recall correctly, several years ago we began having attacks upon churches .. and maybe they ramped up their security then.
I tried to get that started at my church, but if they did, I didn’t notice. Maybe that’s a good thing; and they have their security in plain clothes. We have several military and police who attend there; and I’ve noticed lately that I have not seen any uniforms anymore .. interesting.