Lutheran WordALong Network: Disrespect For Security Guards

WordAlong Editor Betsy Carlson (August 21, 2009, http://www.wordalone.org/nr/isn't-it-ironic.shtml) seemed to relish the opportunity to slam the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America when an Ethiopian pastor, The Rev. Francis Stephanos, one-time vice president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus was "kicked out of the Minneapolis Convention Center." Carlson and Stephanos show a careless disregard for the security officer who asked Rev. Stephanos for identification and credentials required for presence in the convention center. The security guard was performing his duty. Stephanos, now a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor, was not a delegate but had taken it upon himself to talk to various voting members, "the people with the yellow name tags" about "the word of the Bible," according to Carlson. Security guards do not get their authority or instructions from the ELCA. They are ultimately answerable to security firms contracted by the Minneapolis Convention Center. They are responsible for the security of persons attending meetings at the center, and they are, yes, on the lookout for persons who are not registered or who are not a part of the proceedings. Security officers are first responders, the eyes and ears of people assembled in public spaces across the nation. They are low paid workers who deserve the respect and thanks of persons who meet in gatherings such as the ELCA Assembly. Stephen Tyrone Johns, a six-year veteran security guard at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was fatally shot by 86-year-old white supremacist James W. von Brunn several months ago when he too performed his duties as a security guard. The WordAlone Network invited uncredentialed people into the convention center to pray for the assembly, and then protested when the Rev. Stephanos was asked to leave. Security workers are on the move in public spaces, and they do "walk around" people. They too, serve and protect.