St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in north Austin has brought in temporary plain-clothes security after a wave of attention and hostile messages tied to state Rep. James Talarico's Senate campaign, leaving the quiet neighborhood congregation suddenly pulled into big-league politics. Church leaders told members they are weighing longer-term safety steps and said they plan to let visitors know what to expect before coming to services.
Pastor Jim Rigby told congregants in a Facebook post that the church had "temporarily hired plain clothes security as a safety precaution" and assured them that "we want you to know your safety is very important to us and we are doing all we can to protect you," according to Axios Austin. Rigby said church leaders are already talking through longer-term security options, and the message stressed that members should be informed before deciding whether and how to attend. Talarico's campaign declined to comment, the outlet reports.
Campaign Spotlight And Pushback
Republican critics have zeroed in on Talarico's public embrace of his faith and his past remarks, arguing he is out of step with conservative Texas voters, The Texas Tribune reports. Talarico has made a progressive interpretation of Christianity central to his public image. He began pursuing a master of divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2022 and has preached at St. Andrew's, and he has defended his views as grounded in his religious convictions, not at odds with them.
Church's Mission And Local Role
St. Andrew's describes itself as an inclusive, community-focused congregation that "affirms the full participation of all ages, sex and gender identities, races, color, and ethnicities," according to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. That ethos shows up in everything from food pantry work to social-justice programming. Leaders say that welcoming posture is exactly what they are trying to preserve even as they respond to new safety concerns and consider how visible security might change the feel of Sunday mornings.
Local Safety Context
The church's move comes as Austin is already on edge. The city has seen high-profile violence in recent weeks, including a March 1 mass shooting on West Sixth Street that left multiple people dead and more than a dozen wounded, prompting public venues to revisit their security plans, according to the Houston Chronicle. For congregations like St. Andrew's, that has meant trying to walk a tightrope between remaining open to the wider community and keeping worshippers safe.
Talarico, who clinched the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate earlier this month, now finds his longtime congregation swept into a statewide argument over faith and politics, ABC13 reports. For the moment, church leaders say the extra security is a cautious, temporary measure while they sort out what comes next.
