Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Poles are left down in the roadway along Eastbound Route 140 in Westminster following a powerful afternoon thunderstorm that passed through Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Courtesy photo)

Power of presence


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Catholic Review Filed Under: Advent, Christmas, Commentary, The Domestic Church

A storm rolled in one day with dark skies and winds more intense than I had ever seen. When I saw the news coming from Westminster, I was worried that people would be injured.

Several electric poles were knocked down by the August storm, and people were trapped in their cars for hours. Somehow, though, everyone escaped unharmed. When I read the news stories, I couldn’t figure it out. How did the people trapped in their cars know to stay put – to stay safe? Would I have known?

Then I heard about John Compher, a BGE employee who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. As the storm was arriving in Westminster, he had just finished his workday as a senior manager of substations for BGE. His wife had asked him to stop at Shoppers for a few groceries. As he scanned his items at the self-checkout, he looked out the window.

“You could just see the skies changing,” he told me. “It was a storm like I’d never seen before.”

Grocery carts were flying across the parking lot as Compher made his way to his car. After he slid into the driver’s seat, he saw an explosion nearby. He thought it was a pole transformer, but he couldn’t see well through the driving rain.

After 33 years at BGE, Compher knew there would be extensive damage from this storm. He drove 10 minutes home to get his hard hat, noticed his own power was out, told his wife he would be back, and returned to the scene. He could see that power lines were down across cars, trapping people inside.

“There was one guy sticking his head out yelling,” Compher recalled. “And I said, ‘Whatever you do, do not get out of your vehicle.’ I started yelling that to others. I said, ‘Do not try to get out of your vehicles. Please stay in your vehicles.’ ”

BGE would later classify the damage as catastrophic with more than 20 poles down and 33 adults, 14 children and a dog trapped in the cars. Compher knew the danger of those wires on and around the cars. Some were 110 kV transmission lines. His instructions almost certainly saved lives.

I told him I was in awe of the role he had played as he tried to assist people at what he called a “war-torn” scene. He was in the right place, at the right time, with the right knowledge.

Emergency responders arriving on the scene joined Compher in spreading the word, keeping people safely in their vehicles until BGE crews could remove the wires. The occupants of the cars had to stay put for hours, but they did, and everyone escaped unharmed.

That feels like a miracle to me.

As Advent begins and we journey toward Christmas, we enter a season of miracles. God loves us so much he sent his only Son into the world. Jesus was born to a virgin in a stable. An angel proclaimed the Good News to shepherds in their fields. A star guided magi as they traveled across the miles.

We have a chance to participate in that miracle, too. Like John Compher surveying the storm damage that evening, we may find we are right where we need to be to enter into the story.

“To the servant of God, every place is the right place, and every time is the right time,” St. Catherine of Siena tells us.

This Advent and Christmas season, the time is right for us to rediscover that familiar story and experience God’s presence in a new way, knowing we are exactly where we need to be.

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