CNA Staff, Aug 20, 2024 / 17:36 pm

The Baltimore Orioles, a Major League Baseball team, hosted its first-ever “Faith Night” on Aug. 13. Six players — including starting pitcher Trevor Rogers and All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson — shared their testimonies of faith to thousands of fans after their game against the Washington Nationals.

The event included a time of worship and praise with a live performance by Reach Worship, a group from Reach Church, a nondenominational church in Newark, Delaware.

An event description released by the MLB stated that “faith plays a big role in the Orioles clubhouse. Even though the Orioles typically play six or seven games a week, they always make time for chapel.”

It also stated that after experiencing his first Faith Night in 2023 thanks to the Minnesota Twins, Henderson thought it was a great idea to bring it to Baltimore.

The infielder shared with the crowd at Camden Yards that he reads the Bible daily and it reminds him that God comes before everything, even baseball, the Baltimore Sun reported.

One testimony that particularly stood out to observers was that of veteran catcher James McCann. He asked the crowd to close their eyes and imagine a young couple who were trying to have a family. The couple got pregnant, only to deliver a baby who was stillborn. They tried again and had another tragedy when the mother suffered extreme complications at six weeks’ gestation. Doctors told her that her baby had a 1 in 4 chance of surviving and that if the baby did survive, he or she would be severely mentally or physically disabled. The young couple chose to put their faith in God and declined the offer to terminate the pregnancy.

“Open your eyes. I was that child. From Day 1 God has been protecting me,” McCann said. “My goal is to share what God has done for me.”

Rogers, the starting pitcher of the game who was traded to the Orioles only two weeks ago from the Miami Marlins, shared with the crowd at Faith Night that he faced great uncertainty after the trade, but his faith helped him feel that he was going exactly where he needed to be.

“The timing — the first Faith Night, my first start in Baltimore, that’s God [working] right there,” Rogers said. “To be around such a good group of guys, such good Christian guys … this is really fun, and I’m so happy to be here in Baltimore.”

Infielder Jordan Westburg said he has “never been in a clubhouse with so many players who love Jesus Christ and follow him every single day.”

Relief pitcher Danny Coulombe echoed his teammates’ sentiments, saying: “This is the most faithful team I’ve ever been around.”

Longtime Orioles broadcaster Rob Long also took part in the event and sparked a minute-long standing ovation when he said: “Let’s give the Orioles organization a hand for having the courage to put this on tonight.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers made headlines last summer when they hosted a LGBTQ+ “Pride Night” where the special guests were the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a self-described “leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns” with a long history of obscenely satirizing the Catholic faith.