Not your typical Friday morning in Baltimore.
Around the same time six police officers were given criminal charges in the death of Freddie Gray this morning, the Rapid Response Team was back on the streets in west Baltimore.
A fourth day of ministry had begun, with the Rapid Response Team’s Mobile Ministry Center stationed about 500 yards from where Freddie Gray was picked up by police officers.
In the span of minutes, four National Guard armored Humvees drove by, while a block away some 50 armed police officers in full battle gear stood guard at one of the main intersections.
The Rapid Response Team’s Strategic Chaplain Ministry, which is a group of crisis-trained chaplains, is available to anyone looking for someone to talk to.
“A lot of turmoil. A lot of hurting people,” said manager of chaplain development Jeff Naber, who has spent 35 years in law enforcement. “I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been around awhile.”
One of the biggest differences is how people are attracted to the Mobile Ministry Center, a hub where 25-plus people can sit inside to talk, vent, share and pray. Coffee and water are readily available to anyone who comes by, but on this deployment, it’s not the free beverages that’s attracting the masses.
“People are coming up to us and asking questions,” he said. “Typically, the chaplains will be the ones to start out a conversation.”
One of the questions routinely asked by chaplains, “How are you holding up?” doesn’t quite fit in this area, where protests, riots, looting and violence have become commonplace in recent days.
“It’s obvious what’s going on,” Naber said. “We don’t have to ask them how they’re holding up. They’re not holding up.”
A day after five people were shot in three separate incidents in west Baltimore, the chaplains are making an extra effort to simply listen to what’s on the hearts and minds of those in this hurting community.
“We need your prayers,” is a common request. “We need your help,” is another.
One young man had approached the Rapid Response Team earlier in the week, with a wrapped hand, reporting to the chaplains he was shot by a police officer.
“He was angry and in a rage,” Naber said. “He came by cussin’ and fussin’ and the chaplains said ‘Let us talk with you a minute. Tell us what’s going on.’”
The man eventually settled down and shared his story with the chaplains who led him through “Steps to Peace with God.” After praying together, the man left, reading his new Bible as he walked down the street. “He came with all this bitterness and left with Jesus in his heart.”
The Rapid Response Team asks for your continued prayers for God to work through this civil unrest. The 10 p.m. curfew seems to have made an impact, but additional protests are being planned and there’s no clear end to the turmoil in sight.
“People want to get ‘it’ out,” Naber said. “And the ‘it’ is the frustration and anger they’ve seen here over and over again.”
And as people vent and share their experiences with the chaplains, they’ve “miraculously” seen God work on their hearts.
“We’ve seen the Holy Spirit penetrate through that hard shell, right to their heart,” Naber said, “in a way only God can do.”
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