‘I carry, and I don’t care who knows it’: Pastors pack heat in wake of church shootings

The Rev Rodney Hudson has had enough scary confrontations in and around his churches that he has taken safety measures a large number of would consider extreme There was the day he was giving the eulogy at a funeral and the son of the deceased rose to attack him in the pulpit And another day when two men mugged him in the church parking lot It was more than enough to convince the West Baltimore minister he should carry a gun and have a uniformed armed guard present for all church events to keep himself and his flock safe I carry and I don t care who knows it revealed Hudson the pastor of Ames Memorial Church in Sandtown-Winchester and Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Harlem Park It s sad to say we all believe in God as our protector but the other harsh reality is that there are so various people who have absolutely no respect for God and the church nowadays Hudson shared the memories and his philosophies on precaution against a backdrop of shockingly violent acts against churches in latest weeks One evangelical think tank the Family Research Council identified acts of hostility including violence theft or arson toward churches in the U S between January and December Several have taken place in Baltimore They include the nonfatal shooting by a pastor of an intruder at an abandoned church in Union Square and the fatal shooting of a man in front of Adams Chapel AME Church in Northwest Baltimore both in and the slaying of a beloved congregant on the grounds of Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore in But the gruesome and targeted incidents of the past scarce weeks have further raised alarms A shooter attacked a Mass at a Catholic school in Minnesota in August killing two children and wounding A disaffected military veteran drove his truck into a Mormon church in Michigan last month ignited a blaze and opened fire on the congregation leaving at least four dead Police prevented what could have been another massacre last Sunday by arresting a man who had planted more than destructive devices in a tent he d set up in front of the Cathedral of St Mary the Apostle in Washington These were tragic tragic incidents revealed Greg Farno the chancellor of coaching for the Archdiocese of Baltimore whose job includes overseeing measure for about Catholic schools in Maryland Clearly protection at our schools is a high high priority They ve only caused us to make our protocols even stronger The Rev Dr Harold A Carter Jr commented it s shocking if not totally surprising that selected unstable individuals have chosen to vent their ire at churches The pastor of New Shiloh Baptist Church in West Baltimore cited a few of the motives behind the violence on the harsh nature of modern political discourse the rise of extreme ideologies and the apparent increase in drug and mental medical issues in the U S Spiritual warfare is a major variable in the equation noted Carter a third-generation Baltimore preacher We are engaged in a spiritual battle But people under stress tend to take out their frustrations on religious or faith-based institutions They stand for something unlike neighborhoods group centers or malls It becomes simpler and easier to turn one s frustrations and anger against the church Rodney Hudson pastor of Ames Memorial and Metropolitan United Methodist churches in West Baltimore carries a gun to protect his flock following numerous violent and near-violent incidents Karl Merton Ferron Staff No one knows how plenty of Christian leaders go as far as Hudson by carrying a licensed firearm even in the pulpits however it s clear that pastors make it their business to ensure that other forms of armed protection are in place Lifeway Research a nonprofit evangelical research firm in Nashville discovered in a survey that more than half of Christian congregations in the country have armed church members on site when congregants are present An overwhelming majority have law enforcement or military backgrounds More than three-fourths of larger American congregations those with or more members revealed they had such armed volunteer teams in place Twenty-seven percent of those hired were uniformed officers Nearly had intentional plans for ongoing shooters in place As a free person of faith who believes that God is going to take care of me and my family Carter explained he doesn t feel the need to arm himself But he considers it his sacred obligation to make sure his flock is protected New Shiloh employs a range of methods to make that happen The -plus-member church took a less vigilant approach to assurance measures up until about years ago when Carter and others became concerned that violent incidents were becoming more commonplace The congregation now pays a handful of measure officers and works with a unit of trained supporters to provide armed protection at every activity from Sunday morning services to midweek Bible research classes Carter stated largest part congregants enjoy the sense of precaution they provide The church has long had surveillance cameras in place and it has added upgrades and more units over the past two years with the precaution club closely monitoring the scene For churches of our size it s common it s of necessity Carter reported For his part Hudson a former U S Army paratrooper acknowledges that a large number of pastors if not largest part would frown on his decision to carry a special But he points to the Book of Acts which urges church leaders to be on guard for yourselves and all the flock But Ames and Metropolitan churches can only afford that one uniformed officer If they get past him I m the second guard Hudson revealed The pastor almost has to be a measure guard Have a news tip Contact Jonathan M Pitts at jonpitts baltsun com