The safety of the congregants and the functionality of our facilities are a serious concern to all of us. A Safety Team formed by the Board of Trustees and chaired by Greg Kramer has been looking at ways to provide a proper level of safety recommended for churches. The Team has accessed local church groups, police and fire departments, our insurance carrier (Church Mutual), FBI, and Homeland Security educational sources. The educational materials are abundant and provides suggestions for large to small churches in rural as well as urban communities---churches with meager to large budgets and with above and below average volunteer and staff capabilities.
As with all the church’s endeavors, developing a safety plan to include protective strategies to deal with fires, shooters, bomb threats or other risks is an important mission. Without question, this mission warrants the time, caution, energy and commitment for the Board of Trustees, the Safety Team and indeed the entire congregation. All of our research to date reinforces our beliefs that careful planning and preparation could undoubtedly make this church safer and give each of us a greater sense of control over unpredictable crises.
Preparing a comprehensive proposal for the Board of Trustees to review is our next step. We are identifying safety concerns and potential solutions and the next part of our assessment will solicit ideas from the congregation. Thus, this announcement is a progress report to the larger congregation as well as an invitation to let us know your relevant thoughts and suggestions. Please feel free to pass your input to the Safety Team; Greg Kramer, Tori Smith, Joseph Viola, and Charlie Stuart, and new Facilities Trustee Bryan Kleske safety@hvuuc.org
Safety Team Update