ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) -- A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church opened its doors to more than 50 employees of an engineering firm in downtown Orlando, Fla., rocked by workplace violence Nov. 6.

Tommy Deal represents the Florida Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as associate coordinator and chaplain for the Orlando Police Department.

College Park Baptist Church turned its fellowship hall into a crisis-counseling center after a disgruntled former employee killed one person and injured five inside an eighth-floor office of Reynolds, Smith and Hill, a facilities and infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. Company executives also used the church's facility as a meeting place to plan next steps and as a temporary office while cleanup and police work continued in the days after the tragedy.

Police charged Jason Rodriguez, 40, with first-degree murder in the killing of Otis Beckford, 26, who worked at the firm. According to his arrest affidavit, Rodriguez, a former employee recognized by several former co-workers, strolled past security guards into the main entrance of the office, drew a handgun from a holster underneath his shirt and opened fire.

The report said Rodriguez pointed the weapon directly at Beckford, who was standing near the receptionist's desk, and fired at least twice. He then moved to a common work area and fired multiple rounds at other employees, wounding several. Five workers were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. All have since been released.

Police later arrested Rodriguez without incident at his home. While being handcuffed, officers reportedly heard him say spontaneously: "I'm just going through a tough time right now. I'm sorry." Later, when asked by news media why he had done it, he was quoted as saying: "They know why I did it. They left me to rot."

Rodriguez worked for Reynolds, Smith and Hill for about a year before the company asked him to resign because of performance issues in July 2007. He reportedly was unable to find a comparable job, working most recently at a Subway sandwich shop where he made less than $30,000 a year. A lawyer described him as mentally ill. For some reason, he apparently blamed the engineering firm for his recent difficulty in trying to collect unemployment benefits.

Tommy Deal, associate coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, had taken a day off from work and was doing chores around the house when a pager he carries -- because he also serves as a chaplain with the Orlando Police Department -- went off. After hearing about the tragedy going on about two miles from his home, he rushed to the scene.

Deal said his first concern was the safety of officers who were attempting to catch a suspect still at large. When command officers began looking for a place for families to come looking for information, Deal suggested nearby College Park Baptist Church, where he is a member.

Shaun King came to College Park Baptist Church about a year ago. Previously he was pastor for six years at First Baptist Church in Etowah, Tenn.

Shaun King, who has been pastor at the church for about year, gave what he called "an instinctive yes" when asked if the church would open its doors.

Church staff worked feverishly to prepare the fellowship hall for an influx of traumatized employees and anxious family members. They also fielded phone calls from media all over the country. After the suspect was apprehended, tensions eased. For most of the rest of the afternoon the group was able to watch reunions -- including a daughter who came not knowing if her father had been shot being told he was alive and well.

Company executives put their heads together to decide about what to do next. They decided to invite employees to come to the church the morning of Nov. 9 for voluntary grief-and-crisis counseling. Counselors and other volunteers from both the church and community were recruited over the weekend.

As workers began to show up Monday morning, they used about an hour while the company leaders were busy in a press conference for much-needed casual conversation about the experience. Eventually hugs were shared and smiles began to emerge, and from there workers were led in group and individual counseling sessions.

Ramona Reynolds, a chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor and a member of the church, said she was moved by the contrast of the pain and the expressions of love that reverberated through the fellowship hall. For example, some women in the kitchen found something for employees who wanted to go outside to smoke to use as an ashtray. "It was a beautiful expression of care for a community and a great model for a church," she said in an e-mail message.

When it became apparent that the firm's offices would not be ready by Nov. 10, executives were invited to work in the church building, using laptops and the church's wireless Internet network. Everyone had cleared out as of Nov. 11, and on Nov. 12 the company planned to meet in their office building's parking lot and re-enter the building as a group in a first step toward getting back to normal.

Jason Rodriguez is charged with murder in a Nov. 6 shooting in a Florida office that killed one employee and sent five others to hospitals. Other charges are expected to be filed.

Pastor King said opening his church's doors was a natural response, given the congregation's identity and sense of mission. 

"We're not here for ourselves," he said. "We exist for the missional moments. Sometimes they fall right in your lap."

"All the things we did were just a natural response," he said. "It doesn't surprise me, based on what I know of the folks in this congregation -- but I am very grateful, humbled by it."

Deal, who has been involved in police and fire work since he was 16 and has been a chaplain since 1986, said he had never seen a situation of this scale first-hand. He said he hoped the church could continue to minister to the employees and their families in its aftermath.

"You get past it, and you think this could become a great thing for ministry, and we hope it does," he said. "It's not why we did it and not why the church did it at all."

Deal said Reynolds, Smith and Hill officials had tentatively agreed to let him do a follow-up visit to the firm's office in several weeks as both a police chaplain and a member of College Park.

-30-

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

---