U.S. Army Chaplain Jared Vineyard was only in his fifth day on the job at nearby Buckley Air Force base when a dozen innocent victims were brutally murdered by a gunman early July 20 at the Century Theater in Aurora.
Captain Vineyard, a 36-year-old Southern Baptist chaplain, is using every bit of the grief counseling experience he gained as an Army chaplain in Afghanistan to console the family, friends and Navy colleagues of John Larimer, one of 12 victims killed. Another 58 people were injured in the melee.
Larimer was with another sailor who was injured in the attack at the midnight opening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the latest Batman movie.
“The shooting happened less than 10 miles from my house,” said Vineyard, who had spent his first three weeks in Aurora getting processed as a resident of the base and moving into his new home. July 16 was his first day on the job. It’s a week he won’t soon forget.
Vineyard, awakened at 4:30 a.m. July 20 with news of the 12:39 a.m. shooting, took off for the base early and immediately began counseling with a dozen of Larimer’s fellow sailors.
“With the friends and loved ones, you’re initially dealing with the shock factor,” Vineyard said. “They’re not looking for answers. There are no easy answers. The biggest thing to do initially is just to listen.
“We’ll have many more opportunities to talk with other people in the days ahead. I don’t know how this could happen,” he said. “But I know God is loving, good and still on His throne. There are questions but we can look to Him for answers — whether we get them or not. There’s peace in that.
Vineyard was one of thousands of local citizens, officials and pastors who attended a prayer vigil at Aurora’s municipal complex July 22. There’s already been an outpouring of love and support by area churches, civic groups and businesses, he said. “Everybody’s working together. While it is such a tragedy, it’s been amazing to see how people have come together on a united front just since [July 20].”
“It’s a time when Christ can shine through the tragedy — an opportunity to show God’s love through the evil.”
(BP)
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