i’m feeling really weirded out and wanted to see if this is normal church behavior. That's my second time to visit the church (very new to the faith, still exploring but very interested in orthodoxy)
This morning, I traveled a long way to attend a service that starts at 10:00 am. I hit the snooze button one too many times and arrived at 10:10 am. When I got there, the doors were already locked/bolted (but I could hear the chanting). I couldn't get in, so I left feeling pretty sad and frustrated since I’d made such an effort to get there.
I sent a polite complaint through their website just to let them know I was disappointed the doors were locked so early. I got a reply from someone.
He said that the church is open and that they saw me on camera another time opening the door.
I don’t even know where to start with this: It doesn't matter if I opened the door another time, it was locked today, why is his first instinct to go pull security footage to "prove me wrong" which I wasn't trying to prove myself wrong or right, just reached out.
It feels really invasive that they are tracking my face and previous visits on camera just to use it against me in an email.
Is this a common thing now? I thought churches were supposed to be welcoming, but now I feel like I'm being watched every time I walk up to the building.