wfn.org | Chaplains, pastoral counselors aid victims of terrorist attacks

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Sept. 19, 2001 News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{409}

NOTE: This report is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS story #410.

A UMNS Report
By Kathy Gilbert*

United Methodist chaplains and pastoral counselors are among the many who
have rushed to the aid of the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in New
York, Washington and Pittsburgh.

"United Methodist chaplains and pastoral counselors are called to stand in
the midst of the broken places with the broken people," said Patricia
Barrett, executive in the Section of Chaplains and Related Ministries at the
denomination's Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn.

"These are people who are prepared for these types of crises," Barrett said.
"They have taken the gifts God has given to them and devoted themselves to
using those gifts to be effective in the face of the same emotional chaos
that they themselves are also experiencing."

Barrett's unit is receiving e-mail notes and messages from chaplains in New
York and Washington.

The Rev. Dale White, a U.S. Navy chaplain and member of the New York Annual
(regional) Conference, reported on work during the day of the attacks, Sept.
11. "Tonight, we will spend the night on the lawn of the Pentagon,
ministering to rescue workers who have a difficult and physically draining
job. Please pause and pray for them, their families, and all those who have
died or lost loved ones here and in New York and in the Pittsburgh area on
this tragic day. May our faith shine through the darkness to bring them
hope." 

The chaplains' work is not easy. The Rev. Jo Ann Mann, an Army chaplain and
member of the Florida Annual Conference, described the work of fellow Army
chaplain Terry Bradfield at the Pentagon site. About 188 people are dead or
missing after terrorists crashed a hijacked plane into the building.

"It is my understanding Terry spent three consecutive days with the staff
inside the refrigeration truck where bodies and body parts were taken," Mann
said. "You don't get attention for doing things like that. No one sees you
honoring the dead or encouraging the wounded, but I can think of no more
difficult ministry." Bradfield is a member of the West Virginia Annual
Conference.

Clergy who minister in military, industrial, health care, or prison settings
are accountable to the annual conference, but they are endorsed by the
Division of Ordained Ministry in the Section of Chaplains and Related
Ministries. Endorsement is the process established by the church to ensure
appropriate representatives in such settings. People serving in those
settings are expected to have specialized training to qualify for
endorsement. 

Pastoral care has often been identified as a "ministry of presence" and
chaplaincy has been spoken of as being a "reminder of the sacred," Barrett
said.

The Rev. Paula Payne, a member of the New England Conference, is a United
Methodist chaplain with the Air National Guard at the Otis base in Cape
Code, Mass.

"The first jets that flew over New York City, Sept. 11, were from my base,
Otis," she wrote. "I was already there for the week attending a human
resources meeting, and the jets took off in such a troubling way, I knew
something was up. Then suddenly we were told about the attack on New York
City. God knew I would be needed there at that time. As mentioned on the
news, we are on alert. I have been asked to return to Otis. We are taking
one day at a time."
 
Pastoral care organizations have initiated their disaster response
procedures in this time of crisis, Barrett said. "These caregivers don't
focus on a particular denomination or faith in times like this. They work
ecumenically and through interfaith groups to take care of those in need."

Barrett said chaplains and pastoral counselors from outside the area will be
offering their services in the weeks to come as relief to those in New York
and Washington D.C.

Sam Mariya and his wife, Deb, visited the Pentagon shortly after the plane
crash. Deb is a medically retired United Methodist Navy chaplain, and her
husband worked at the Pentagon. "His [Sam's] relief [replacement] and the
entire staff at his last assignment were located in the section that
collapsed and are among the dead. It is tragic beyond belief, and I believe
that we have experienced true evil in our midst," Deb said.

"We have received calls from chaplains who are retired or are inactive
offering to help," Barrett said. "Many of our chaplains in New York and
Washington have also called just to let us know they are OK."

Chaplains who are working in these situations not only provide care to the
patients and family of victims but also to the caregivers on staff in
hospitals and relief workers on site. "They are there to support the people
who are doing the hands-on care," she said.

On Sept. 14, the Rev. Robert Phillips, United Methodist Navy chaplain, held
a service of prayer and remembrance at the Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey, Calif. It was part of an interfaith memorial attended by several
hundred. The school has one of the largest concentrations of Muslim students
in the U.S. military. 

The service included a reading from the Koran and brief comments from an
Egyptian doctoral student as well as words from Phillips: "America remains
indivisible, united, resolved that justice be done. And above the nations
and the evil and the passion of the moment, God remains and reigns. May
God's wisdom guide our leaders in the days to come; may God's Spirit move us
to deepening courage and compassion and perspective as we live through these
difficult days, and may God's will be done."

United Methodist chaplains are serving at several hospitals in the affected
cities, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and St. Vincent's
Medical Center, both in New York; and Sibley Memorial Hospital, Walter Reed
Army Medical Center and the Washington Hospital Center in Washington.

The Section of Chaplains and Related Ministries has published a packet of
worship cards as a pastoral-care kit for use in situations where other
resources are not available. One of the cards is for emergency workers and
caregivers. The cards are available for order through Cokesbury,
1-800-672-1789 or www.cokesbury.com. Prayers for the emergency workers and
caregivers can be found at
www.gbhem.org/chaplains/WhatsNewArticle.asp?articleID=67 online.

# # #

*Gilbert is a member of the staff of the Office of Interpretation at the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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