I have previously advocated for men who read my self-help work, to act as an usher of sorts in close spaces and public places...

Alarum at the church

Clued

Thu, Jan 16, 5:53 PM (10 days ago)

I'd like to relate a small incident today, and ask for your advice and experience.

Was in my church earlier today with my (Orthodox) priest doing formal Confession. We're halfway through it when there's a knock on the front door, priest opens it and an elder (60's? 70's?) paleface asks to be let in out of the cold. It's negative five with windchill, so the priest can hardly say no, but the stranger doesn't even have a foot in the door and he just starts TALKING. "Hi, my name's X, what's your name, you have a beautiful church, I'm Orthodox myself, grew up Unitarian though, lived here for five years, currently at (apartment complex), you know I've had two wives, four beautiful daughters, how many children do you have? blah blah blah...

The man just wouldn't shutup, goes on and on and on about his life, apparently wants to know every little detail of the priest's life too, every now and then looking behind him or fidgeting with the rings on his fingers. I'm too polite of a paleface so for the first five minutes I try to think of God and look at the icons of the saints, but this old bum just would. Not. Shut. Up. The priest can barely answer a question before there's another two more.

I'm honestly getting warning bells about this guy, so I just glare daggers at him behind his back. Eventually he looks behind himself, sees me ten feet away, asks: "Is this your assistant?" And in the very next breath blurts out "He's got the eyes of Naroth".

He eventually left with nothing else happening, but his mouth was never closed more than half a second the whole time.

Were my instincts correct? I felt like this was a front for spying the place out,seeing if there was anything worth having, or something of that nature... I don't know what, but couldn't be anything good. What should I do in the future, in a situation like this? What was it, really? I think you wrote something about ushers or churchmen protecting their church, what should I prepare for, as a new brother in Christ who doesn't want to see a shooting here?

What says the old warrior of Baltimore?

What a weird harbinger of the future of church-going this is.

First, to the general point.

Traditionally a pagan temple was the sanctuary of the god and his worshipper's alone, also a place of petitions heard—usually for a fee—from those not of his cult.

The universalist nature of Christianity invites tithing rather than paid service to outsiders as a means to support the sanctuary. Under Christian dominion the church has grown into a sanctuary for the church members, even a place to have schooling and family meetings in an amorally hostile world. The more your church realizes that most of the world hates it, the more likely it will be that counter-aggression continencies can be made with the pastor.

Recently, most Christian Churches have advertised themselves as sanctuaries for all, in particular their enemies, which I find to be very Christian in spirit on one hand, and cringe at letting enemies through the front door on the other.

However, let's not forget the sanctity of the space and the fact that the worshippers should be maintained in peace.

For this reason, I doubly stand by my assertion that any place of worship should conduct worship with an usher to assist and protect the pastor as well as the integrity of the place and the peace of the space. At a certain point, the only churches still able to minister to their congregation behind unlocked doors in America will be those with ushers or armed security.

Second, to the specifics.

The circumstance you were in brought you to the perfect solution.

The man may have simply been insane and there is no sense in building acrimony.

Over 90% of clergy will effectively be women in such a situation.

This old ghost was demonstrating classic ebony display behavior and your cool disapproval spooked him.

What you do, depends on the shadow you cast.

This is why good bouncers are big and imposing.

Physically, I think I recall you describing yourself as slight of build and not athletic.

In that case, you reaction was perfect for either of the likely contingencies, that he would escalate to an assault or begin building a nest of opportunity in the church. No man wants an evil twerp behind him when he begins a caper unless that twerp is his ally.

The bum's suggestion that you were an assistant demonstrated his lack of fear for a parishioner, but his suspicion that an assistant would be a problem. Faithful are seen as the sheep of the pastor by outsiders and the ability to bully the pastor is effectively a free pass in many minds among his congregation.

As for behavior that could protect with minimal risk of causing law suits, blow back, bad press and calls for vengeance in the addled mind of the outsider, who will tend to see Christians as weak [an assertion that street people will have, while liberal leftards see Christians as rampaging crusaders] is to politely engage the visitor, ask after his needs and conditions and usher him into a less disruptive section of the sanctuary and possibly out the door, depending on how dark or large a shadow you cast. Speaking with the pastor ahead of time about continencies and volunteering to handle the homeless in a charitable capacity is one possible option that might help him deal with his class's tendency to accept aggression and turn the other cheek in these mischaracterized times of peace.

Sounds like things worked well.

Good job, Eyes of Naroth.

I currently attend a small church where their are numerous able-bodied men with their families. A retired baker who cuts lumber for fun and used to be a fighter, always sits by the door. I think this old fellow has assigned himself a protective role. In a time when so many holy places are being attacked, any man of violence lucky enough to attend, should assign himself a protective role in a manor which will not trouble, implicate or conflict the pastor or the frails. As with dealing with street violence, the best option will rarely be to enter a contest with the aggressor, but to manage his behavior.

Churches in cities were built to serve communities that have all been driven into the suburbs. They now occupy an inner frontier among savages. Don't forget what the Mohawks did to the Jesuits and what the Comanche did to the Spanish priests in Texas. Cities are the new wilderness of the soul. It is my opinion, that any urban church that operates without an usher when the door is open and without two or more ushers during services, has got its collective head in the sand.