Safety

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

I hope you are continuing to pray for all our friends and neighbors just up the road in Allen, Texas.

One of the things I have been reflecting on since the shooting in Allen is just how “safe” Kessler Park really is as a neighborhood, but also about how vigilant we must be at KPUMC.

By every measure, our little area of North Oak Cliff is remarkably safe. The crime statistics are low. Neighbors really *do* know each other, take time to stop and talk on the street, or meet in Roberts Forest. The children are all becoming close friends through things like our own Wednesday Night Live. (We’re averaging between 40-50 children a week!)

These activities tend to mutually reinforce each other…the more we know our neighbors, friends, church members, the less crime there is likely to be, the “safer” everything is likely to be too. As I’ve said to those from the greater Dallas community, North Oak Cliff is more like a “small town” than any other part of Dallas I know.

So, before I say anything else, let me note this beautiful truth and what a true blessing it is. But let’s remind ourselves how such blessing, such community, is always just one tragedy away from being destroyed. Such community must be cultivated and cared for.

As you know, our nation is seeing a shockingly high number of mass shootings, and there no longer seems to be discernible “patterns.” Which unfortunately compels us to a higher level of awareness and readiness than perhaps we have ever had before.

If these last two sentences appear confusing, let me explain by a quick side note…

When I was a young man we lived in the same house we now own. At that time there was a lot of gang violence on the streets. (I know from talking to you that also happened in North Oak Cliff…) There were *two* drive-by shootings just two doors down from us back in those days.

You might imagine these things terrified us. But, strangely as it may seem, we never really feared for our overall safety because was also always so clear how *that* violence had a specific target…it was not random…it was never directed at us. This is not to minimize the horror of that violence of course. But a part of how we lived with it was understanding how specifically planned and targeted it was.

Decades later, the situation is quite different. There are no discernible patterns to the gun violence we are currently seeing all across society, and there is clearly no will in our state legislature to take action on gun safety. As the total numbers of firearms and battlefield weapons increase in our streets, the total number of incidents continues to rise, so does the total randomness of the settings.

This, then, calls us to a higher level of awareness than perhaps we have had before on issue of safety and security. I wish it were not so, but it truly is. Further, precisely *because* North Oak Cliff is such a friendly, neighborly place, it could be argued that most of us simply are not paying as close attention to our every day security. The “safety” and peace of our setting could allow us to be loose with our guard.

Having just said things that might be frightening, let me remind you about the Gospel lesson from last Sunday and how Jesus tells us “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”

The word “troubled” is also translated “stirred up” in the New Testament. (As in: water that is ‘stirred up”).

I believe this is an important word for us. We must be more “aware” and “ready,” but we must not allow ourselves to be “stirred up” to a level at which it causes us unnecessary anxiety and fear. This is a challenging line to walk in any time, and even more so at a time like this when the randomness of it all can cause us to easily spin out into fear and anxiety.

So, friends, let’s not be “stirred up,” with anxiety and fear; but let us definitely take steps to —as best as we can— keep our community safe. No one can ever assure 100% safety into today’s world. But we are called to do our best to be aware.

To that end, will share with you that several weeks *before* the Allen shooting, some of your KPUMC lay leadership and staff met with retired Dallas Police Sergeant Carrie Wise. The purpose was to allow a professional to tour our building and help us think through security issues we might have, now and in the future.

I speak for all of us when I say: It was an eye-opening few hours. We anticipate that Sergeant Wise will come back to specifically help train our Kessler Park Day School teachers and staff, and has offered to help our “Security Team” as we develop new policies and procedures. (Yes, that means we will have a new “Security Team” soon to help us think these things through…)

There are small, immediate changes that can, and will, obviously be instituted asap. I hesitate to list them here in a public setting. Part of having increased security is not sharing every operational aspect of your church’s plan…but simply to assure everyone that there is one.

A few things are known, however, and can/should be shared. We’ll soon institute a much needed upgrade to our door access and door security system. (Also in the weeks before Allen, we’d also met with some door security companies, and will likely do this work in conduction with the renovation of Day School space…)

A further issue that has come up several times is this: Having a private guard or off-duty police officer on site during Sunday mornings.

I must be honest and say I have been very hesitant to consider this idea in the past. But as I’ve already laid out there, the *randomness* of the violence leads me to consider that the *helpful* move, the safe move, might be to add that layer of security.

I would be interested in your view on this: What are your thoughts on a Sunday morning paid guard? Please write or contact me publicly or privately if you have an opinion you would like to share. (We are looking at options even now, and I share this in full transparency…)

I want to say again: I was planning to share many of these steps we are taking with you, even before the Allen tragedy, but it seems timely for me to share them here now. We have to look honestly at all these things without added anxiety and fear. Having a plan will help us, to the best of our abilities, preserve the remarkable feel of our neighborhood.

Our Gospel lesson gives us a little preview of the Holy Spirit (which will come to us again on Pentecost in a few weeks…). And that word Jesus uses is “Paraclete,’ which also means “Helper.”

We will not be alone, Jesus says. He will send the “Helper” to be with us. And that helper will not only be in God, but in each of us too….as we help one another stay as safe as we humanly can. No one can guarantee 100% safety and if anyone tells you they can, my sense is that they are lying to you.

But the way we can be the best helpers possible to everyone we are in ministry with —members, neighbors and their children, the greater community— is to carefully and in a considered fashion move to greater safety awareness.

Grace and Peace,

Eric Folkerth