Welcoming Portland Church Installs Armed Guard Towers To Protect Congregation From Violent Ideas
PORTLAND, OR — All Welcome Church, a progressive spiritual community in Portland's inner east side, has completed installation of two armed guard towers on its property, citing a need to maintain a safe and affirming environment for all people.
"The world is changed," said Mx. River Harmony, the church's spiritual director, pausing to center themselves before continuing. "We felt that deeply after the incident."
The incident in question occurred last spring, when a man later identified as Theodore Beza Van Roosmalen of Grand Rapids, Michigan entered the sanctuary and began reading aloud from the book of Romans — what congregants now refer to as the passage that shall not be named.
"Every word felt like a wave of bullets raining down," said one congregant.
TR was escorted from the building by three staff members and a therapy dog.
"We are deeply committed to creating a harmonious and inclusive space where every person feels held and celebrated," Mx. Harmony continued. "The towers are simply an extension of that commitment."
The towers are staffed around the clock by trained volunteers described in the church's official statement as "radical hospitality enforcers." Individuals approaching the building are carefully and kindly screened for potential sources of harm, like a red hat or any objects resembling Bibles, before being swiftly unalived.
The base of guard tower one also houses what the church describes as a "community wellness and safe injection space," which opened alongside the towers last Tuesday.
During sermon preparation last spring, Mx. Harmony came across a well worn copy of The Lord of the Rings on their desk. "That's precisely when the idea hit me," they said.
At this point Mx. Harmony was starting to become uncomfortable with all of the questions. They rose from their chair and retrieved an ornate wooden staff from the corner of the office.
"The age of hate has ended," they said, gesturing toward the door. Our reporter was escorted from the premises.
