Dear ones of St. Columba’s,

As some of you may be aware, a series of unrelated events have brought up concerns for the security of our building and back yard. We have had a couple of keys stolen out of lock boxes on the outside of our building; our mailbox was recently broken into; the scissor lift was driven out of the backyard and high centered near the trees on the south end of the community garden; and our Tuff Shed has been broken into twice, and a donated lawn mower, power washer, and tiller were stolen. Garden implements and a wheel barrow used by our community gardeners have also been stolen from our back yard. 

A number of people in the congregation met after church last Sunday (9/9) to discuss options. We agreed we want St. Columba’s to remain the welcoming place we depend on, but still feel the need to find ways to secure our space. 

The first action was purchasing and installing a key-code door lock on the single door leading outside from Erskine Hall. This will allow not only the ability to offer our neighborhood partners specific times their codes will be able to access the building, but also allow members of St. Columba’s to access the building without needing physical keys. The advantage is that the fewer keys we have, the fewer can be lost or stolen. From a risk management perspective, it is a positive step to limit opportunities for human error. It allows no restriction on access by members of St. Columba’s to carry on the care and worship in our space while protecting access only when needed by those who use our space. 

The loss of donated items from the shed strikes a more personal loss for our community. Especially with the coming updates for our Memorial Garden, we have an urgency to secure our backyard space and protect it from vandalism and theft. The location of the garden, hidden from public view by the building, seems to have allowed those dedicated to breaking into the backyard or shed the opportunity to do so in perfect obscurity. We agreed to illuminate the backyard and install a camera, as these actions remove the ease by which those choosing to take what isn’t theirs can do so. This type of security can double as a means of reopening the garden as a sacred space, to be enjoyed in safety by our members and broader community.

If you have suggestions or ideas on how to further improve our security, please contact me.

Faithfully,

Micah Kurtz, Jr. Warden