Church Safety and Security
Resources to aid in ensuring the safety and security of your church.
Safe & Welcoming Church Spaces
We want our doors to be open to welcome all who wish to worship and deepen their relationship with God. We also want our churches to be safe spaces where we can gather with friends and family.
- Paying attention to security of our buildings and events enables us to carry out God’s mission of providing that safe welcome to everyone.
- The resources on this page will help congregations and their leaders to learn about and implement best practices for safety and security that fit their particular context and needs.
- We offer seminars periodically and are always available to answer questions and assist clergy and other congregational leaders as they think through these issues.
- Contact Canon for Formation Lynn Farlin, lfarlin@diosova.org or 757-213-3377, for more information.
Resources
Safety for Faith-Based Events and Houses of Worship
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Mitigating Attacks on Houses of Worship Security Guide
Parish Disaster Response Plan
The Rev. Canon Carla McCook, Canon to the Ordinary, introduced our Parish Disaster Response Plan in 2025. In an effort to better serve the 20,000 parishioners and 100 parishes in our diocese, especially during hurricane season and other emergency circumstances that would merit a Response Plan, Canon Carla developed this strategy to ensure all clergy and church leadership have the opportunity to understand the plan developed and approved for our diocese. The original plan was revised in April 2026 and can be found below.
Click here to download the plan.
Suspicious Activity Recognition and Reports
A program presented by the Church Security Institute. The program discussed the need to be alert, to Deter, Detect, Delay, Defend from Danger. The speaker was Lt. Austin White from the Fusion Center, Virginia State Police, a professional faith-based crime prevention presenter and trainer.
Click here for the video (note the volume is very low).
Click here for the slides from the program.
The Power of Hello Guide
All houses of worship support personnel can contribute greatly to enhancing security by understanding how to identify behavioral indicators and taking precautionary actions to safely mitigate the impacts of a potential attack. Used effectively, the right words can be a powerful tool.
Click here for a detailed explanation and PDF.
More resources can be found here.
For more information you can also contact your local authorities
In many places, police will meet with you and do a site review. That way, you can determine where you might need to focus your attention and make changes. This also helps build the idea of safety being collaborative.
For a review of your insurance coverages for property and liability contact Eric Mann, Vice President Client Services, Church Insurance Agency Corp., ermann@cpg.org.