Prayer gathering unites community

Christian groups on campus organized ”Prayer for Baltimore,” a non-denominational prayer event, held Tuesday on the Keyser Quad. The gathering united people from the University community during a time of chaos in the city. Approximately 200 students attended.

Sami Lindgren, a sophomore involved in the Hopkins Christian Fellowship (HCF), discussed the purpose of the event.

“We were asked by our leadership today if we wanted to lead some kind of prayer ritual or something, some kind of event today in light of everything that’s been happening,” Lindgren said. “A lot of Bible studies were meeting last night. We decided to skip that to have a time just where all of us came together in Charles Commons to pray.”

The prayer event was organized by Lindgren and HCF as well as other Christian ministries on campus.

The event had to be moved from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. because Hopkins did not allow events to be held in the evening due to the curfew. The organizers wanted the nature of the vigil to be open and welcoming to all people so that they could come together for the city.

“We know that there is hope for this city, and we want everyone to know that we are all standing in this together,” Lindgren said. “This is really big and traumatic and unprecedented, I think, for most of us.”

The group did not take a stance or an angle on the situation, but is opposed to the violence.

“Our main thought is that we want there to be peace,” Lindgren said. “We don’t like the racial tensions. We don’t like the violence. We don’t believe that those are right. I know one thing we talk about a lot is social justice, and justice is toward other people.”

All those in attendance gathered at the beginning of the event and were put into groups of about 10 people. Guided by group leaders, students reflected and prayed both in silence and out loud for the victims of the riots, the civilians fighting the riots and Freddie Gray’s family.

At the end of the event, students in attendance formed a circle, held hands and sang “Amazing Grace.”

Attendees felt the event created a sense of unity at Hopkins.

“It was powerful to see how many people showed up,” freshman Kyra Meko said. “That was the first time I felt any sort of campus unity since this stuff has started happening. Even if you weren’t praying, it was nice to have structured time to specifically reflect on what was going on and know that other people around you also were.”

Religious and nonreligious alike were present in the prayer circles.

Andrew Kim, who graduated from Hopkins in 2012, was one of the prayer circle leaders. He is currently one of the volunteer staff at Stepping Stone Ministry, a church on campus. As a student he was drawn to Stepping Stone because he found it to be a place where people asked tough questions about faith. He chose to stay in Baltimore after graduation.

“My heart for the city and the campus has really grown. I’ve chosen to stay here, and it’s been such a blessing to give back in a sense as a volunteer member,” Kim said.

Kim reflected on recent events in Baltimore.

“My heart has been heavy for the passing of the young man, Freddie Gray, and his family. Not to mention the unnecessary violence that has ensued as manifestations of brokenness that we’ve seen in our city,” Kim wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter.

Kim thought the prayer event was a cathartic experience.

“One thing that was encouraging for me to see is that we all just came out with heavy and broken hearts but we got to share and be together and pray together in just our rawest and most human form,” Kim said.

“I know that I was not alone as I shared together in the grief and heaviness of heart among the numerous students who gathered on a short notice via social media — to simply gather at the Gilman quad at 4 p.m. to pray for Baltimore City,” Kim wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter.

Freshman Elizabeth Konopacki felt that by attending the event she could affect the situation in some way.

“I jumped at the opportunity to go because it made me feel like I was doing something to help a situation that I had no control over,” Konopacki said. “Praying for the people involved in the protests in any way, shape or form gave me a bit of peace and comfort.”