Killing won’t shake sense of security, Oklahoma City church leaders say

The Rev. Clark Frailey of Edmond said the Rev. Carol Daniels probably was preparing for ministry as most ministers do on a typical Sunday morning when she was slain on Aug. 23 at Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko.

"I recall Jesus’ instructions to his disciples as He prepared them for ministry in Matthew 10:16: ‘Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.’ Our difficulty is in the balance of being innocent and wise at the same time,” said Frailey, pastor of Coffee Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

"If we are to be the redemptive community Christ has created us to be, our doors must remain open and at the same time remain a safe space for people to experience the presence and power of a holy and loving God,” Frailey said.

Image shattered

Violence at houses of worship often shatters the image of these places regarded as sanctuaries.

Such was the case in 1995 in Tulsa when an ex-convict working as a janitor at First United Methodist Church of Tulsa killed a church secretary.

In March, the Rev. Fred Winters was at the pulpit of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Ill., when a gunman shot him in the chest, killing him. Dr. George Tiller, a well-known abortion provider, was shot to death in May at Reform Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan.

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