Brooklyn Center Church Serves As Haven For All During Unrest
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (WCCO) -- A church in Brooklyn Center is hoping to be a place for the community to find peace despite the chaos outside.
For the fifth night in a row, Kathy Winn and others from her church are preparing to welcome whoever walks in their doors.
"It's not about sitting in a church pew, it's being out in the neighborhood and showing your love for people," Winn said.
Just around the corner from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, Lutheran Church of the Master found itself at the epicenter of the calls for justice for Daunte Wright.
"We're praying for everyone and we're praying for just solutions and peace and this is our little way of showing our love," Winn said.
And they're doing that by putting out food and water and letting people use the restroom, take a breath and have a conversation.
"The people who have come in here are, they just express how thankful they are that we're here," Associate Pastor Emily Wegscheid said.
Wegscheid has been here every night past midnight.
"At the end of the hallway is kind of where the medic team has been setting up," Wegscheid said.
She says makeshift medics are using the space as a jumping off point.
"They're saying, 'Hey, you're the real deal,' so we appreciate that," Wegscheid said.
And just outside the church, a serene sight in the middle of it all.
"There's always a nest in this area in that corner," church member Aqua Mitchell said.
A mama duck that church member Aqua Mitchell says she dedicated to Wright's mother.
"But just the idea, it's birth, life that was taken and life given," Mitchell said.
So Thursday night, someone may come through the door looking for some water or a place to rest. Or maybe they'll come in looking for a little bit more than that.
But this place - in this neighborhood at this moment in time - is here for whoever needs it.
"LCM, living Christ's mission, and this is the mission," Mitchell said.