Bloggerlife.blog

06/30/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Really?

Yesterday’s church service was longer than usual. The youth group put on a little play about the benefits of planting seeds and caring for them as they grow. This took a little longer than expected because, well, the teachers were herding the little cat children just to get them into the sanctuary. It was a sweet presentation and even the littlest ones had a role in the play. Some were quite enthusiastic about saying their lines. Others looked a little scared but did a good job anyway. 

Then there was a sermon and a lot of prayers. When we thought the service was over, a woman was introduced as the moderator for a presentation after church on how plastics get into our environment and our bodies. She spoke eloquently about the film that was going to be shown about a group of middle school kids in Brooklyn, NY, who managed to get Styrofoam out of the New York Public School district. 

But there was more to come. The president of Parkway United Church of Christ’s council came to the pulpit and promised she was the last person who would speak. She said she had an announcement that would affect the church as a whole. 

What came next was a shock to me. She started by summarizing what our church believes in. DEI is a strong part of our belief system. We are an open and affirming congregation, welcoming all to the church. We are engaged in social justice outreach. We support agencies that work with underserved people. We are closely allied with a Jewish Temple and a Muslim worship center. There is a very large pride banner affixed to the front of the building. I wondered where she was going with this information that describes our mission and our actions in the community.

Now, Parkway UCC occupies acres of valuable land in Town and Country, Saint Louis County. This community of over 11,000 people happens to have the highest median income of any city in Missouri with a population over 10,000, and also has one of the highest median incomes in the United States. The demographics are not surprising to me: 77% white, 2.65% Black, 11% Asian (2020 US Census). 

What the speaker said next was what made me sit up. She said our church council reached the conclusion that, because of our beliefs and actions, we are a target for hate crimes. In order to remain a safe place in which to gather and worship, in two weeks there will be new policies in place. The church will be locked for three hours on Sundays during worship and other activities. An off-duty Town and Country police officer will park his clearly marked police vehicle in our lot. That officer will also patrol the grounds and the interior of the church during services.

There is already a provision in place to keep the church locked at all times. Each of us has a 4 digit code that we can use on a keypad at the front door to get into the church building. I get why that’s important for the safety of the building and the people working in it. It never occurred to me that we would need police presence during worship. Am I that naïve? Really? 

I have read about and heard about graffiti and destruction at Jewish temples, vandalism at Muslim mosques, arson and shootings at Christian churches. I lay this at the altar of MAGA, the hateful rhetoric from this administration, 47’s open support of violence and the white Christian nationalist movement. I think there is an arterial flow of hatred against “the other” in our country. Since the separation of church and state is quickly being undermined it shouldn’t surprise me that criminal behavior occurs in sanctuaries. 

What was divulged in church yesterday has stayed with me all yesterday and again this morning. I am grateful that the council is acting to make our worship experience as safe as possible. It just breaks my heart that we’ve come to this.