In wake of school shooting, Samaritan’s Purse send chaplains to Uvalde
Vice President of Samaritan’s Purse Edward Graham discusses a team of crisis-trained chaplains sent to Uvalde and shares a Memorial Day message.
In the wake of the Texas school shooting in Uvalde this past Tuesday, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association — which is run by Rev. Franklin Graham, its CEO and president — has sent chaplains to the town that was the site of a massacre at Robb Elementary School.
Nineteen children and two adults lost their lives at the hands of an 18-year-old gunman, who was ultimately killed by responding Border Patrol tactical agents.
During an appearance on Saturday morning on "Fox & Friends Weekend," Edward Graham, a son of Franklin Graham and a grandson of Billy Graham, described how the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is sending prayerful help and guidance to the people of Uvalde after the horrible violence the community experienced this week.
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"This is horrible, what these families are going through — but many are just grieving, they're angry, they're fearful," said Graham on Saturday.
"Our chaplains, the Billy Graham rapid response chaplains, have been trained on how to share hope during a time of crisis."
Crosses with the names of Tuesday's shooting victims are placed outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The 18-year-old man who slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in Texas left a digital trail that hinted at what was to come. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
"They're really going to go there to listen. They're going to be there to love on them and pray for them."
Graham added that the chaplains responded right away.
"They were there in the Civic Center when the families were there [waiting] to receive [their children from the school] — and their kids didn't come off [the bus]."
Children run to safety after escaping from a window during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where a gunman killed nineteen children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 24, 2022. (Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News/Handout via REUTERS)
He added, "And they've been there, just loving on them and praying for them … Especially for our law enforcement there, too. They're grieving and hurting, too … The [chaplains] are just there to pray and to share the hope of Jesus Christ."
He said it's important to "just be there and pray for them."
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Graham also said, "There's a spiritual aspect to everything in life … This was a manmade problem. This is sin — and I believe that the only hope and the solution for this is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
People embrace at a memorial in the town square for victims of Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 26, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
And "that's our answer," he said.
He said he is also praying for the chaplains, who have such a tough job to do.
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"They're doing an unbelievable job. I'm praying for my chaplains because they're seeing and being a part of a lot of hard things. So pray for them," he added.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a nonprofit Christian outreach group, is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.
Samaritan's Purse, the charitable evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization, is also run by Rev. Franklin Graham and is based in Boone, N.C.
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Edward Graham also said, in regard to Memorial Day weekend this year, "Let's take a moment to remember the families who have lost a loved one … the men and women who gave their lives that allow us to have the freedoms we enjoy."
To learn more, watch the video at the top of this article, or click here to access it.
