Religion – The Durango Herald

Durango Vineyard Church to hold Christmas Eve service at Strater Hotel

Durango Vineyard Church will hold a Christmas Eve service at 4:30 p.m. at Henry Stater Hotel, 699 Main Ave. The service is open to everyone and will celebrate God coming to the world in love...

DATE: Dec 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

First Baptist Church to host Christmas Eve services

First Baptist Church will host Christmas Eve services at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at 332 E. 11th St. Both services are identical and will last about an hour. Nursery will be a...

DATE: Dec 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

First Presbyterian Church of Durango to host Christmas Eve service

First Presbyterian Church of Durango will offer a Christmas Eve service, featuring family worship and a candlelight service at 5 p.m. and a candlelight worship at 7 p.m. at the church, 1159 ...

DATE: Dec 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Tara Mandala to host Winter Solstice Celebration

Tara Mandala will host its 25th anniversary Winter Solstice Celebration on Dec. 21 at the center, 4000 Forest Service Road 649, outside Pagosa Springs. Participants will have the...

DATE: Dec 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Shinto festival carries on centuries-old tradition in Japan

CHICHIBU, Japan – As fireworks light up the winter night, scores of men, women and teenagers crying “washoi, washoi” haul the last of six towering, lantern-covered floats up a small hill and...

DATE: Dec 9, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Local churches to hold Advent services

These ecumenical Advent services will be held in Durango: 6 p.m. Dec. 11: Ecumenical worship at First United Methodist Church, 2917 Aspen Drive. 6 p.m. Dec. 18: Ecumenical w...

DATE: Dec 2, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Utah banning ‘conversion therapy’ with Mormon church backing

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah is on its way to becoming the 19th state to ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy in January after state officials formed a proposal that has the support o...

DATE: Dec 2, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Rabbi touts giving as way to counteract religious hatred

NEW YORK – At a time when anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise worldwide, schools should take steps to teach empathy as an antidote to racism and religious hatred, several rabbis attending...

DATE: Nov 30, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope visits Jesuit Japan community that could have been his

TOKYO – Pope Francis wrapped up his visit to Japan in a very personal way Tuesday, spending the morning with his Jesuit confrerees in the community that would have been his own had his dream...

DATE: Nov 25, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Mister Rogers’ faith shaped his idea of children’s television

The beloved children’s television icon Fred Rogers – who is played by actor Tom Hanks in the film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” – entered the world of children’s programming during a...

DATE: Nov 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Lawsuit: Church pressured victims into unfair settlements

NEW YORK – Two impoverished Mississippi men who say they were sexually assaulted by Franciscan missionaries filed a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming that Catholic officials pressured them i...

DATE: Nov 22, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

AP: Catholic boards hailed as fix for sex abuse often fail

Facing thousands of clergy sex-abuse cases, U.S. Catholic leaders addressed their greatest crisis in the modern era with a promised reform: Mandatory review boards. These independ...

DATE: Nov 22, 2019 | CATEGORY: Religion

Photos: Parade launches 2024 Connie Mack World Series in FarmingtonFans line street as players march on Main Damp, overcast weather cooled off the crowd lining Main Street on Friday morning for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series Parade. The hourlong parade began shortly after 10 a.m. in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Fans line street as players march on Main

Photos: ‘Mini Takes the States’ tour stops in DurangoHundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Hundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Photos: Boxing returns to DurangoAnimus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Animus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Photos and video: Going for the gold by devouring piesContestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Contestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Photo: Fireworks light the sky in DurangoDurango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Durango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Photos: Working with woodLocal craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

Local craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

2024 Fourth of July Parade draws crowd Thursday in downtown Durango

Photos: Downtown Durango hosts Fourth of July ParadeDowntown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Downtown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Durango Rotary Club, Parks and Recreation department host Independence Day events

Law enforcement conducts active threat training at Park Elementary SchoolResidents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Colorado sent officers to participate in active threat training this week at Park Elementary School in Durango. Those in the neighborhood can expect police vehicles parked on the premises, officers in tactical gear conducting exercises inside and outside the school, and signs advising that training is in progress. The sounds of shouting, airsoft weapons and the popping of a starter pistol will also be audible near the school, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R.Sluis said that members of the school district’s safety department have gone door-to-door with flyers notifying residents around Park Elementary School about the training.

Hosted by the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, this week’s voluntary training invited officers from law enforcement agencies across a five-county region of Southwest Colorado encompassing La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Montezuma and Dolores counties.

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy Durango Police Department Deputy Mike Latham, lead instructor for this week's training, said Wednesday and the first half of Thursday were mostly preparatory, teaching officers the school’s layout and devising scenarios, whereas the latter half of Thursday and Friday residents should anticipate some noise as active threat scenarios play out.

Latham said active threat training teaches officers proper protocol during active threat scenarios, especially in densely populated areas where they have become increasingly common.Park Elementary School is not the only Durango School District facility law enforcement has conducted active threat training. Latham said schools lend themselves well to this sort of training because, “It gives us all kinds of doors to work on, different rooms, different scenarios we can run. We can pretend it’s a mall with nice big corridors, we can even pretend it’s an outdoor area in the gymnasium.”Latham has participated in active threat training multiple times in the past and described the drills as exhilarating and nerve-wracking. He said one of the training’s main goals is teaching officers how to manage stress and remain calm with lives on the line.

“I take a pulse oximeter in the morning and get a baseline on their heart rates,” Latham said. “And sometimes, just before they’re about to engage a threat, I say ‘Timeout.’ Put it (the oximeter) on there, and their heart rate’s skyrocketed to 140, 150, 160 just in training.”

Latham said throughout his career active threat training has evolved to become safer for officers and fall in line with increasingly professional police standards.“When I first started we were just running into halls and rooms hoping for the best,” Latham said. “Now the tactic is still to get there, still stop the taking of lives, but tactics are much better than they were 20 years ago.”

Residents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Durango Vineyard Church to hold Christmas Eve service at Strater Hotel

First Baptist Church to host Christmas Eve services

First Presbyterian Church of Durango to host Christmas Eve service

Tara Mandala to host Winter Solstice Celebration

Shinto festival carries on centuries-old tradition in Japan

Local churches to hold Advent services

Utah banning ‘conversion therapy’ with Mormon church backing

Rabbi touts giving as way to counteract religious hatred

Pope visits Jesuit Japan community that could have been his

Mister Rogers’ faith shaped his idea of children’s television

Lawsuit: Church pressured victims into unfair settlements

AP: Catholic boards hailed as fix for sex abuse often fail

Videos & Photos

Search Directory Plus

Most Popular

Most Recent

Ballantine Communications, Inc.

Contact Us

Find Us

Log In