Religious leaders share stories and discuss grant funding during forum on security at places of worship

Three religious leaders, united only by acts of violence, took to the pulpit of a North Braddock church Thursday night to share how they have shepherded their congregations from being defined by those who attacked them.

The Reverend Glenn Germany knew the place best.

Just three months ago, the McKeesport man and father of three was preaching — his sermon was live-streamed on social media — when a stranger walked into the nondenominational church in this working-class Mon Valley town.

The man pointed a gun at the pastor and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed. A church deacon tackled the attacker and held him down until police arrived.

Today, Germany is not crying out for justice, but praying for the shooter and visiting him every week in the Allegheny County jail.

“We didn’t expect something like this to happen,” Germany said. “But once it happened, there was no turning back.”

Improving security at places of worship topped the agenda Thursday at a forum the U.S. Justice Department held at the site of the May 5 attempted shooting.

The event was organized, officials said, to promote state and federal grants that fund security improvements at places of worship.

Jesus’ Dwelling Place, founded by Germany in 2010, is one of several area congregations seeking a nonprofit security grant through the state’s Crime and Delinquency Commission. Applications for the $10 million fund closed Tuesday.

A verdict is expected in about a month.

The church in Germany needs more than $60,000 in improvements: installing cameras, new doors, an intercom system and fencing. It also needs to build barriers to protect the church’s stairs from cars.

“When you come to the church, it looks beautiful,” Germany said. “But if you look at it from a security standpoint, it’s much more than vulnerable.”

State Rep. Abigail Salisbury, D-Swissvale, came to the church’s aid. In addition to attending Sunday services there after the attempted shooting, she is helping Jesus’ Dwelling Place raise $20,000 toward a $40,000 state match.

“We want to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

But more than grant checks, faith fueled the conversation.

“I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t be alive,” said the event’s speaker, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived a 2018 shooting at his Tree of Life synagogue that left 11 worshipers dead. “I should be dead, but I’m not. And that’s thanks to the best of Pittsburgh.”

Myers thanked the four Pittsburgh police officers who rescued him during the Oct. 27, 2018, attack and called on others to do more to help police.

“You shouldn’t walk into a place of worship like it’s the TSA, it should be a safe place,” he joked. “But anyone who says, ‘I’m safe,’ is a fool.”

House Speaker the Rev. Brenda Gregg stepped up security at Destiny of Faith after two teenagers opened fire during an October 2022 funeral at the Brighton Heights church, hospitalizing five people.

“We’re all so connected and we can’t ignore it,” Gregg said. “When someone experiences trauma in a church on the North Side or in one of our other neighborhoods, it affects all of us.”

Germany is no stranger to adversity.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Germany, he was dealing drugs as a teenager in Phoenix during the height of the crack epidemic. At one point, he was making $40,000 a month.

However, authorities caught him for drug trafficking and a judge sentenced him to 15 years in federal prison. In his third year there, he found God.

“God strengthens me and helps me connect with people in similar circumstances,” Germany told TribLive.

While he declined to elaborate, Germany said May 5 was not the first time someone pointed a gun at him, but he feels the faulty weapon has led him to take a new path: helping make other churches safer.

“I’m making sure that all churches know that this funding exists,” he said. “When God has a purpose for you, it will be fulfilled in God’s time.”

Germany has wasted no time.

Jesus’ Dwelling Place submitted its grant application to state officials after Germany and others worked with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The Oakland-based nonprofit has trained nearly 43,000 people of all faiths on safety issues and the funding to address them since 2020. It has also secured more than $6.5 million in state and federal grants to help 96 organizations improve safety over the same period.

“Because of the synagogue shooting, we know what plans and what prevention measures worked,” said Shawn Brokos, a retired FBI veteran and director of community safety for the federation. “It is our obligation to share what we have learned.”