Church responds to stabbing with prayer

By Heather Hahn*
May 27, 2009 | LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (UMNS)

United Methodists in northeast Arkansas came together in prayer after a church secretary was stabbed and robbed in her office.

The pastor and church members rushed to the hospital after Vickie JoMueller, 52, was stabbed twice in the chest and twice in the abdomenMay 22 by a man who came into the office of St. Paul United MethodistChurch in Jonesboro asking for gas money.

And that night about 180 people — including pastors and members ofother area United Methodist churches — gathered at St. Paul to praysome more. Mueller’s husband, Bill, and daughter Dena, a sophomore atArkansas State University in Jonesboro, also were there.

By May 26, Mueller’s vital signs were stable and she was in fair condition at the city’s St. Bernards Medical Center.

God was present even in this brutal act, said the Rev. Beth Waldrup,St. Paul’s senior pastor, who got a catch in her voice as she recountedwhat happened to her friend and co-worker.

“Jo shouldn’t be here with us,” Waldrup said. “The surgeon saidthere were three wounds that should have killed her. You can see God atwork in her being here, and you can see God at work in the way thischurch has come together.”

Heroic effort

Mueller was alone in the office, printing Sunday bulletins, ataround 10:30 a.m. May 22 when a man came in asking for gas money,Waldrup said.

Mueller told the man the church did not provide that service. Hethen asked to use the church bathroom, and she pointed the way to themen’s room. He went into the bathroom for a moment, came out andattacked Mueller from behind. After stabbing Mueller, the man grabbedher purse and bolted out the door, Waldrup said. 

Despite her injuries, Mueller was able to drag herself to the phoneand call 911. Just as emergency workers were loading Mueller into anambulance, an altar guild member drove by the church and startedcalling church leaders including Waldrup, who is off on Fridays.Waldrup and church members joined Mueller’s family at the hospital towait and pray.

“We’re all still kind of in shock,” Waldrup said. “But she told me, ‘Beth, it’s going to be OK. I have faith.’”

According to the Jonesboro Sun, police arrested a suspect in thecrime the afternoon of May 22. Roy “Ray” Lee Anthony, 47, of ForrestCity, Ark., is accused of first-degree battery, aggravated robbery andfraudulent use of a credit card, the newspaper reported. He also is asuspect in several other robberies in this eastern Arkansas city.

The church responds

As the police tracked down the suspect, St. Paul’s congregation andother area United Methodists mobilized to show support for the Muellersand provide them with food.

Church member Linda Graham helped organize a prayer service for theMuellers that night at the church. Graham is a school psychologist andmember of the county’s crisis response team.

Forher, the assault brought back memories of another act of violence.Graham was among the crisis counselors on the scene after two studentsfatally shot four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School inJonesboro in 1998.

“Both acts were violations,” she said. “A school and a church areboth supposed to be safe. The prayer vigil was a really good thingbecause you have to reclaim your turf.”

Graham said she was particularly touched when those gathered sang the hymn “I am Standing on Hallowed Ground.”

David Sutton, who also helped plan the Friday night service, has long known the Muellers.

“Jo is a very strong woman and very inspirational in her love forher family and her dedication to the church,” Sutton said. “To have thefortitude to know what she needed to do [even after the attack] is justamazing to me.”

Waldrup said the church is re-examining its safety procedures. Shewants St. Paul to continue to be a sanctuary and not become a fortress.She also wants other churches to take precautions.

“You think it can’t happen to you, but it can,” she said.

*Hahn is editor of the Arkansas United Methodist.