Campus ministry responds to shootings
BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF
A shooting at Frostburg State University that killed one student and injured another has many of the students reeling as they attempt to make sense of the violence.
The Rev. Cynthia Zirlott is the chaplain at Frostburg’s United Campus Ministry. She has been praying with many of the students, participating in conversations to help students work through issues of fear and anger, and bringing the presence of Christ to the campus. In tragic instances like these, she said, the importance of having United Methodist campus ministries is paramount.
Early Sunday morning, April 18, around 4 a.m., at an off-campus apartment, across the street from upper campus, Frostburg State student Tyrone Hall allegedly shot two fellow students with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing Brandon Carroll and wounding Ellis Hartridge Jr.
The Cumberland Times reported the students were in a personal altercation that began earlier that evening at a party.
Brandon Carroll, a sophomore, was one of the school’s star basketball players, Zirlott said. “He was part of the United Campus Ministry’s Christian Athletes Bible Study. We were just getting to know him, but my experience was that he was a quiet, laid-back and respectful presence when he came to the Bible study group. Hearts are truly heavy over this incident and the lost potential we had in Brandon.”
Sunday, at 5 p.m., Zirlott continued, “13 hours after the shooting and Brandon being pronounced dead, a spontaneous and impromptu gathering was formed in front of the dining hall by students that knew Brandon.
“During this gathering, students sang gospel songs. ‘His Eye is On the Sparrow’ was one. The students were allowed to speak their anger, share how much Brandon meant to them, and they challenged other students to put away violence from their hearts. Prayers were said and the group was dismissed.
“But many remained, continuing to share their tears in smaller groups. I was able to speak to several of the students then, and at other
opportunities, including our Sunday evening True North Bible Study,” Zirlott said.
The prayers for Carroll, Hartridge and Hall and their families will continue, she said. “We pray that God will inspire us to take this tragedy and use it for good – for the transformation of the campus – that Brandon will leave us a legacy of a stronger community, one committed to nonviolence.”
Zirlott’s ministry on the campus has become especially meaningful to the school’s athletes.
This fall, for example, a football player asked her for a Bible for one of his teammates. This led her to create a Bible study, which started with four football players that grew to include 27 students.
One of these students had grown up in and out of homeless shelters since the age of 10 and had never been to church. One evening last fall he made a commitment to accept Christ and become a disciple, Zirlott said.
The recent violence at Frostburg will create spiritual questions for the students. Zirlott is hopeful the campus ministry will be able to provide solace, healing and an opportunity to live out powerful spiritual stories that reflect God’s power and love.
UMCONNECTION STAFF
A shooting at Frostburg State University that killed one student and injured another has many of the students reeling as they attempt to make sense of the violence.
The Rev. Cynthia Zirlott is the chaplain at Frostburg’s United Campus Ministry. She has been praying with many of the students, participating in conversations to help students work through issues of fear and anger, and bringing the presence of Christ to the campus. In tragic instances like these, she said, the importance of having United Methodist campus ministries is paramount.
Early Sunday morning, April 18, around 4 a.m., at an off-campus apartment, across the street from upper campus, Frostburg State student Tyrone Hall allegedly shot two fellow students with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing Brandon Carroll and wounding Ellis Hartridge Jr.
The Cumberland Times reported the students were in a personal altercation that began earlier that evening at a party.
Brandon Carroll, a sophomore, was one of the school’s star basketball players, Zirlott said. “He was part of the United Campus Ministry’s Christian Athletes Bible Study. We were just getting to know him, but my experience was that he was a quiet, laid-back and respectful presence when he came to the Bible study group. Hearts are truly heavy over this incident and the lost potential we had in Brandon.”
Sunday, at 5 p.m., Zirlott continued, “13 hours after the shooting and Brandon being pronounced dead, a spontaneous and impromptu gathering was formed in front of the dining hall by students that knew Brandon.
“During this gathering, students sang gospel songs. ‘His Eye is On the Sparrow’ was one. The students were allowed to speak their anger, share how much Brandon meant to them, and they challenged other students to put away violence from their hearts. Prayers were said and the group was dismissed.
“But many remained, continuing to share their tears in smaller groups. I was able to speak to several of the students then, and at other
opportunities, including our Sunday evening True North Bible Study,” Zirlott said.
The prayers for Carroll, Hartridge and Hall and their families will continue, she said. “We pray that God will inspire us to take this tragedy and use it for good – for the transformation of the campus – that Brandon will leave us a legacy of a stronger community, one committed to nonviolence.”
Zirlott’s ministry on the campus has become especially meaningful to the school’s athletes.
This fall, for example, a football player asked her for a Bible for one of his teammates. This led her to create a Bible study, which started with four football players that grew to include 27 students.
One of these students had grown up in and out of homeless shelters since the age of 10 and had never been to church. One evening last fall he made a commitment to accept Christ and become a disciple, Zirlott said.
The recent violence at Frostburg will create spiritual questions for the students. Zirlott is hopeful the campus ministry will be able to provide solace, healing and an opportunity to live out powerful spiritual stories that reflect God’s power and love.
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