Harford County church comes calling when tragedy strikes, including recent shooting at school

BALTIMORE -- A Harford County church stepped up to help as a deadly shooting at Joppatowne High School last Friday left a community shaken.

Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church served as a safe haven for authorities, students, school staff and their families following the shooting that left a teenager dead. 

From church to reunification center

Services at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church begin with a song each Sunday.  

But this week, services were held outdoors, and the lyrics to the songs meant more because the high school down the street was the center of violence.

"You never think that it will happen in your community, and when it does, it's surreal," said Kelly Donelson, a member and leader at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Joppatowne. 

On Friday, the church was an evacuation site where students at Joppatowne High School reunited with their families following the deadly shooting on campus.

Leaders said trained church staff members are called in to open their doors to help authorities in any way they can.

"When we got the call that we needed to be a site to get parents and students away from the danger scene, our church springs into action," Donelson said. "We allowed students to come in, allowed for the Harford County Sheriff's Office to be here and to reunite parents who were frantic with their children." 

"It also serves as a reunification center where parents can be reunited with their children and get them to safety once the incident is under control," said Kerry Slinkard, the interim pastor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church.

Preparation for any emergency 

Images of Friday's shooting show how big an operation it can be. 

Leaders at the church spend time working with law enforcement and authorities preparing for any kind of emergency.

"You have staff that have been trained with the authorities, and we also have the teachers from the high school come over regularly to walk through the facilities just to see how best to manage an evacuation when it happens," Slinkard said.

The Joppatowne High shooting is not the first time the church served in this role. 

In 2023, they were the reunification site following a deadly shooting at a nearby apartment complex.

"We were actually here when family members were notified that there had been a tragedy in their family, and when you hear the sounds of that, it's awful," Donelson said. "There's nothing that you can do except stand there and be present and provide some small measure of comfort in any way."

Helping the community

Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church is showing how a community shows up for each other during challenging situations.

"The congregation steps up to help provide support in situations like this," Slinkard said. 

"Our community will remain strong and want to just protect the children," added Donelson. 

Church leaders explained that they have been a reunification center for Joppatowne for more than two decades and they have only had to take on this role two times. 

Church leaders believe the part they play may be small, but it's mighty in the way they help their community.  

"It does make a difference in the community," said Slinkard. "That's why we do it."