rost495;
Top of the morning my old friend, I hope you're all well whether you're still in your winter digs or you've migrated north for the spring already.
While I'm cognizant that Sam began this thread with tongue firmly planted in cheek AND that as a Canuck I cannot speak from personal experience about anything handgun/defensive carry related, I'd offer some thoughts for those who might find it useful.
During the course of my life as it pertains to church involvement, for about a decade I was a leader in the Ushers and Greeters and as such I developed some safety protocols for the congregation.
Many older church buildings are not set up with proper fire exits even, which makes orderly evacuation in any emergency complicated. Combine that with a usually elderly thus mobility impaired group of people as well as visitors who are untrained/new to everything can be an uphill struggle to say the least.
Statistically most churches on both sides of the medicine line are more likely to have a medical emergency where an Automated External Defibrillator will save some lives. Hopefully it goes without saying that like a firearm, having an AED without proper training in it's use is less than optimum.
Our church didn't have a stocked First Aid Kit before some of the work and time was put in developing the protocols and procedures.
Each Sunday someone needs to be the one on duty whose will dial 911 to get medical assistance coming should the need arise. It's amazing how many times everyone believes someone else has already made the call.
The pastoral staff need to buy into whatever programs are developed. Part of the buy in is if not having "drills" at very least mentioning it often enough that some in the congregation will act appropriately during an emergency.
Training people to look for potential threats isn't always possible, as some of the folks who are attending the service, especially those who want to greet and welcome others, are not remotely wired to be "sheep dogs" in any way, shape or form. Realize those folks exist, accept them for what they are, try to find enough "Sheep Dog/Doubting Thomas" types to balance it out and go from there.
Looking back through the decades of church attendance, specifically dealing with different sorts of emergencies and disturbances, it was always better to have at least some sort of a plan rather than nothing.
That's a really broad overview of the subject and truly it's likely better to have a thread on it's own about that rather than take Sam's further into the rhubarb.
All the best to you all rost495.
Dwayne
Another month down south then bear starts soon.
These inane threads bother me but I digress..
Training is paramount in everything.
Having the right tools is paramount.
You hit the nail on the head here. And without tools and training you are at the mercy of whatever the outcome will be.
As you know plan A rarely works. Its generally at least into B or C before things work. Without a plan A its a total loss generally.
Piss poor planning leads to piss poor performance.
Best to you and the family as always.
Jeff
