The locked doors to protect the offering at the First Church of God and the new alarm system to ward off burglars at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church both reflect a disturbing problem for congregations in Inglewood.
"It's sad. There's nothing sacred anymore," said the Rev. E. W. Dierker, who has been the pastor of Good Shepherd for 45 years. "We have to keep our church doors locked. Years ago, we kept the doors open" to the public.
Many church officials in Inglewood say they are enforcing a closed-door policy to guard against robberies and vandalism. Church officials have reported break-ins, with silver, microphones, office and sound equipment stolen.
And while the ministers are preaching the gospel and the choirs are belting out hallelujahs inside churches on Sunday, ushers and guards are walking the parking lots to prevent cars from being vandalized and stolen.
Churches in the most crime-prone areas are hiring security guards and installing alarm systems, barred windows and security lights, ministers said. But even locked doors are not always the answer in a city where crime has increased 10% since last year.
The Rev. Austin Williams of True Vine Baptist Church on Centinela Avenue described a robbery at his church on a weekday last January. "A fellow came to the door and told the office assistant that his mother had just passed away, and he needed some counseling," Williams said.
The office assistant opened the door and was robbed at gunpoint of his jewelry. That robber "said the right things to get the door open," Williams said.
Dierker is debating having a security guard patrol his Maple Street parking lot because cars have been tampered with during services. But he said it is not a simple decision. The feeling that the 600-member church has become a fortress has caused numerous congregants to leave so they can worship "where the security is less severe," he said.
In addition to an atmosphere that is driving away some parishioners, the closed-door policy has placed the church in conflict with its traditional role of being open 24 hours for the spiritually needy, many pastors said.
But the increase in violence and drug use and the availability of weapons in the community, they said, have placed their buildings at risk, so congregations are taking precautions.
There are 60 churches in Inglewood, according to the Inglewood Chamber of Commerce.
