Dear Parishioners,
Several years ago, due to the current social environment with respect to active shooter incidents in the work place, schools and places of worship, Father Houlihan asked if anyone on the Parish Council would be interested in attending a church security seminar. We had a volunteer who attended the full day event held in west Omaha. The seminar was quite eye opening, and it was recommended we develop our own program to look at general safety issues. It was also decided to look at some basic security measures that could be taken to enhance the procedures that were already in place. Father Houlihan made the decision to begin the CHS Safety and Security Team for our parish as well as St John the Baptist School, and as your new pastor, I have given the program my wholehearted endorsement!
Since the time of its inception, the team has grown to twelve individuals, including four police officers that belong to our parish. They are actively involved at each Saturday and Sunday Mass, and have developed several discrete measures to help proactively protect our parishioners from violent activity should it arise. It was also determined that we need cameras outside the church to have enhanced situational awareness, while also serving as an anti-theft deterrent. You probably remember that our maintenance shed was broken into a while back, and we lost some very expensive equipment. We are also upgrading the security cameras for the school to help protect our teachers and students. Finally, we will be reviewing security procedures with Dr. Nina Beck, our new school Principal, administrative staff and teachers before school begins this fall. As always feel free to contact me or my staff if you have any further questions.
God bless you,
Fr. Timmerman
