Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Courage amid a 21st-century reality: Worship can get you killed, anywhere in the world

OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist  |  March 22, 2019

In An American Holy Land: A History of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Bellarmine University professor Clyde Crews describes Bloody Monday, August 6, 1855: “Came the dawn of election day, August 6, the Know-Nothings [anti-Catholics] were in control of the single polling place in each [Louisville] ward. Those holding the yellow ticket of the Know-Nothing Party were admitted to vote; many others were not. Rioting quickly began, but . . . it is not clear who made the first aggressions.”

The mayor of Louisville led a committee into the newly constructed Cathedral of the Assumption on Fifth Street, searching for armed men and munitions. None were found. Fearing danger nonetheless, cathedral clergy hid the Blessed Sacrament in a nearby private residence. Shots were fired, and a canon from the courthouse lawn was turned on an Irish-oriented tenement. By the end of the day, at least 22 people were dead; most were Irish or German Catholics.

“Whatever the killers’ motives, we’re all vulnerable, particularly in the presence of firearms that make mass killings massive, in minutes.”

Bloody Monday was precipitated, Crews says, because of nativist, anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic fear that (1) immigrants, “often fleeing revolutionary or famine conditions,” were storming Louisville and the nation; (2) desperate for jobs, the newcomers often worked for wages much lower than “the unprotected salaries of natives;” and (3) most immigrants were Roman Catholics, adhering to a false religion demanding loyalty to a foreign monarch (the pope). On election eve, newspaper editor George Prentice urged Louisvillians: “Rally to put down an organization of Jesuit Bishops, Priests and other papists, who aim by secret oaths and horrid midnight plottings, to sap the foundations of all our political edifices.”

Does any of this sound familiar 164 years later? Nationally and globally, racial, religious, and immigration-related xenophobic sentiments fester into violence visited on “suspicious” faith communities, often in their sacred spaces. The March 15 mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, illustrates the menacing ferocity and broad spectrum of such vehemence.

Amid the ceaseless epidemic of firearm-related mass shootings in the U.S. I’ve sometimes soberly jested that our family might just move to New Zealand where we’d be truly safe! That fantasy ended when 50 Muslim worshippers were gunned down by a 28-year-old immigrant-hating-white-supremacist while they said their Friday prayers. I must now admit that no place of worship in the world is truly “safe.”

People of faith, whatever the specific tradition, now confront a 21st-century global reality: Worship can get you killed, anywhere in the world. For years, bombings, shootings and other violent acts have brought death to mosques, churches, synagogues and temples in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, England and of course the United States. What seems a horrible rarity in New Zealand seems increasingly “normative” in the USA.

A representative American list, 2012-2018, illustrates the point:

Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh, Tree of Life Synagogue attacked by an anti-Semitic gunman; 11 killed, 6 wounded.

Nov. 5, 2017: Sutherland Springs, Texas, First Baptist Church, a 26-year-old male, apparently settling family scores, kills 26 people, wounding some 20 others.

Sept. 24, 2017: Nashville, Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, a 25-year-old male kills one woman and wounds 6 others.

April 24, 2016: Philadelphia, Keystone Fellowship Church, a 27-year-old male is fatally shot during Sunday worship.

Feb. 28, 2016: Dayton, Ohio, St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. William B. Schooler, 70, is shot and killed by his 68-year-old brother as services were ending.

June 17, 2015: Charleston, Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 9 African American worshippers are shot and killed by a 21-year-old white supremacist as their prayer service ended.

March 31, 2013: Ashtabula, Ohio, Hiawatha Church of God in Christ, a 28-year-old man fatally shoots his father at Easter services, then shouts from the pulpit about God and Allah.

Dec. 2, 2012: Coudersport, Pennsylvania, First United Presbyterian Church, a 52-year-old music teacher shoots his ex-wife as she played the organ during worship.

Oct. 24, 2012: College Park, Georgia, Changers Church International, a 51-year-old church maintenance worker kills a 39-year-old layman who was leading a prayer.

Aug. 5, 2012: Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Sikh Temple, 6 members shot by a white supremacist during a service.

While worship-based shootings are not statistically widespread, even a cursory reading of this brief list illustrates the difficulty of discerning where killings may occur. Attacks strike varied religious groups gathered in congregations rural and urban, large and small. Some are interreligious actions with one fanatic literally taking aim at members of a specific faith tradition. Others are personal or familial, while still others reflect hatred for an explicit racial or immigrant community.

“Faith communions . . . must refuse to let the killers win.”

Whatever the killers’ motives, we’re all vulnerable, particularly in the presence of firearms that make mass killings massive, in minutes. Given all that, what are we to do?

First, faith communions must take security seriously, perhaps following Jesus’ admonition to be “wise as serpents, innocent as doves,” welcoming the stranger but exploring ways of protecting the faithful with intentional preparation. Active shooter training, perhaps.

Second, we must refuse to let the killers win. In a March 20 New Yorker essay, Jelani Cobb writes of the Christchurch and other massacres:

. . . decency these days requires the ability to stare barbarism in the face, repeatedly, randomly, intensely, without ever becoming inured to the ugliness of its features. Terrorism hopes to inspire fear and confusion, but its most pernicious impact begins the moment that people no longer feel either of those things but, rather, simply a grudging acknowledgment that this is the way we now live.

Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews and other faithful are dying in our midst. We must keep the faith not only because it sustains us, but to ensure that they have not died in vain.

In the year 2019, whatever our religious commitments, let us agree that attendance at worship reflects a certain kind of courage. Indeed, courage lies at the heart of religious faith – the courage to pursue spiritual sustenance in community, to confront our sins, our failures and our need for grace. It is the courage to confront the Other, the Sacred, Almighty God as source for who we are and how we live in this world. These days, however, we confess that our decision to join in collective worship is itself a courageous witness because locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, faith communities, particularly at worship, have become – or at any moment could become – a killing field.

Amid the hatred, the rage and the violence, we’re still here, together, praying with all our hearts. Till time and Bloody Mondays are no more.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Gun violenceracismMuslimscouragehatredmass shootingsxenophobia
Bill Leonard, Senior Columnist
More by
Bill Leonard, Senior Columnist
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      Opinion

    • What I learned by listening to women pastors during the pandemic

      Analysis

    • Racism is never an innocent joke

      Opinion

    • Does landmark religious freedom legislation need a fix or is it fine as is?

      Analysis


    Curated

    • Dave Ramsey’s new crusade: Ending COVID-19 mask orders

      Dave Ramsey’s new crusade: Ending COVID-19 mask orders

      March 8, 2021
    • Conditions deteriorating in Myanmar, Baptist doctor says

      Conditions deteriorating in Myanmar, Baptist doctor says

      March 8, 2021
    • Prison Fellowship Sells Colson’s Campus to Alliance Defending Freedom

      Prison Fellowship Sells Colson’s Campus to Alliance Defending Freedom

      March 8, 2021
    • At ancient city of Ur, Pope Francis makes heartfelt appeal for fraternity of faiths

      At ancient city of Ur, Pope Francis makes heartfelt appeal for fraternity of faiths

      March 8, 2021
    Read Next:

    Free Lenten daily devotionals offered

    NewsBNG staff

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Our needs are holy to God: The Gospel of Dr. Seuss

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Remember that time you were teaching Sunday school on Zoom and a cat entered the screen?

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why am I so afraid of my son’s tutu?

      OpinionHanne Larson

    • Equality Act stirs passions about the definition of religious liberty and RFRA’s role

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Racism is never an innocent joke

      OpinionChris Conley

    • Students and alumni express concern about restructuring of OBU’s storied music program

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pandemic plans: Keep on coping

      OpinionDavid Jordan

    • Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • Does landmark religious freedom legislation need a fix or is it fine as is?

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • How to follow a leader

      OpinionPaula Mangum Sheridan

    • Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy

      OpinionAidsand Wright-Riggins

    • Author of Eugene Peterson biography was one of many shaped by America’s pastor

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 3-5-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • World religious leaders remember Shahbaz Bhatti as martyr 10 years later

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • The charismatic story is part of the Baptist story, historian contends

      NewsPat Cole

    • Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic

      OpinionCurtis Ramsey-Lucas

    • Son’s legacy lives on through Kansas City ministry for children with special needs

      NewsHelen Jerman

    • Maybe your church needs a minister of loneliness

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Rural churches need to understand the cultural capital of their communities

      AnalysisBrian Foreman and Justin Nelson

    • How slavery still shapes the world of white evangelical Christians

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • New study finds affirmation of Black church experience even as attendance declines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Remember that time you were teaching Sunday school on Zoom and a cat entered the screen?

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Students and alumni express concern about restructuring of OBU’s storied music program

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Author of Eugene Peterson biography was one of many shaped by America’s pastor

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 3-5-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • World religious leaders remember Shahbaz Bhatti as martyr 10 years later

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The charismatic story is part of the Baptist story, historian contends

      NewsPat Cole

    • Son’s legacy lives on through Kansas City ministry for children with special needs

      NewsHelen Jerman

    • New study finds affirmation of Black church experience even as attendance declines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Christian nationalism deeply embedded into American life, Tyler warns

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith community nurses ‘carry the hope’ during COVID-19 pandemic

      NewsLiam Adams

    • Coronavirus challenging denominational summer conventions yet again

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Some Methodist churches finding greater mission results with simplified governance

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Diverse religious coalition urges Congress to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • She’s Gen-Z, became leery of the church but practices faith with fitness

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • LGBTQ inclusion and clergy sexual abuse treated equally in SBC expulsions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • As people walk away from the church in droves, Russ Dean hopes to tell the old story in a new way

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The strange saga of the Riley Foundation lawsuit now forces SBC to figure out who has the right to remove a seminary trustee

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In-person worship dropped in January as more churches were directly affected by COVID

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Caldwell succeeds Anderson as chair of BNG board

      NewsBNG staff

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Final vote sounds the death knell for capital punishment in Virginia

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Reeves to lead Fellowship Southwest

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Three years later, Leah Sharibu is still held captive, reportedly for refusing to renounce her faith

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Our needs are holy to God: The Gospel of Dr. Seuss

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Why am I so afraid of my son’s tutu?

      OpinionHanne Larson

    • Racism is never an innocent joke

      OpinionChris Conley

    • Pandemic plans: Keep on coping

      OpinionDavid Jordan

    • Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • How to follow a leader

      OpinionPaula Mangum Sheridan

    • Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy

      OpinionAidsand Wright-Riggins

    • Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic

      OpinionCurtis Ramsey-Lucas

    • Maybe your church needs a minister of loneliness

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • How slavery still shapes the world of white evangelical Christians

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • Faith leaders call for an end to racial bullying in the Indiana legislature

      OpinionIvan Douglas Hicks

    • One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Why vote to fund something you won’t ever use?

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • Matter-of-fact statements about Scripture aren’t always the gospel truth

      OpinionJordan Conley

    • Black History Month: Remembering, waiting, watching

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Canada labels Uyghur repression ‘genocide,’ but that’s not as exemplary as you might think

      OpinionRay Mwareya

    • About disfellowshipping churches based on the ‘clear’ teaching of Scripture

      OpinionDalen Jackson

    • What the SBC should learn from the Ravi Zacharias tragedy

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • The Black church and the salvation of the world

      OpinionPaul Robeson Ford

    • St. Benedict and a two-fold path for the church In America

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • What if we cared about Black History Month as much as Lent?

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Prophecy is obedient imagination

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Dave Ramsey’s new crusade: Ending COVID-19 mask orders

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Conditions deteriorating in Myanmar, Baptist doctor says

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Prison Fellowship Sells Colson’s Campus to Alliance Defending Freedom

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At ancient city of Ur, Pope Francis makes heartfelt appeal for fraternity of faiths

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Lawmaker pushes for 3rd time to make Bible the state book of Tennessee

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A Third Of Gen Z Doesn’t Trust People Of Other Religions, But They’re Willing To Try

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith Leaders Urge Missouri Not to Create “Rush Limbaugh Day”

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Brian Houston apologizes for Hillsong NYC’s ‘failings,’ promises whistleblower policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Myanmar’s Christian refugees hold anti-coup protest in India

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tanzania’s President Focused on Prayer as Coronavirus Cases Climbed

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • After Ravi Zacharias report, Christians examine how to avoid ‘betrayal blindness’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why a Catholic journalist is urging the church to engage Black Lives Matter

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Texas church helps mosque damaged after snowstorm

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Vaccinated for virus, Jimmy Carter and wife back in church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Black Church Group Offers Its Best Shot at Closing Vaccine Gap

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Man who played Duke Chapel bells for 50 years dies

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ravi Zacharias’s Denomination Revokes Ordination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Disinformation Fuels A White Evangelical Movement. It Led 1 Virginia Pastor To Quit

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Southern Baptists divided over politics, race, LGBTQ policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rush Limbaugh, who shaped conservative Christian politics on the radio, has died

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Dallas faith groups help shelter homeless Texans during deep freeze

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • SBU Trustees Reverse Some Tenure/Promotion Denials

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • U.S. Supreme Court sides with Alabama death row inmate, declines to lift stay of execution over state’s refusal to allow clergy in chamber

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Survey: Black Americans attend church and pray more often

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Christian Bookstores Survived 2020

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2021 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS