wfn.org | Pastor's book offers help in wake of tragedy

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Sept. 19, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn. 10-21-71B{412}

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - When the World Breaks Your Heart, a book that
suggests spiritual ways of living with tragedy, is being recommended by the
Upper Room for people who are dealing with grief following the recent
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.  

Released in 1999, the book was written by the Rev. Gregory Clapper, a United
Methodist clergyman and National Guard chaplain.

The Upper Room, part of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship in
Nashville, is recommending the book as its most helpful resource for people
who are struggling with emotional issues following the recent attacks.
 
The book offers Christians six spiritual ways to confront, think about and
deal with heartbreak and disaster, according to Sherry Elliott, Upper Room
marketing director. "Its message reminds us that God is always present, even
in tragedy, and tells us again of God's great gifts of hope, tears and
mystery."

Clapper is an associate professor of religion and philosophy and associate
director of the Center for Christian Vocation at United Methodist-related
University of Indianapolis. He wrote When the World Breaks Your Heart
following his firsthand experience of ministering to the survivors of United
Airlines Flight 232, which crashed in 1989 in Sioux City, Iowa. He assisted
in the rescue and counseled people in the community. 

Clapper, who trains chaplains on crisis response, said his book recognizes
that most people experience tragedy with an element of mystery. Tragedy
makes people realize that they cannot always make everything better, he
said. "The humility that comes from this realization helps us create
spiritual space for God in our lives."

A sense of disorientation and mystery is common following disasters, and
people shouldn't think they are not good Christians because of those
feelings, he said. Tears, he added, should not be repressed but seen as "a
kind of prayer acknowledging our limitedness."

After the Sept. 11 attacks, a woman contacted Clapper by e-mail to express
her appreciation for the book.

Tired from a week of travel, she had awakened in a Charlotte, N.C., hotel
room on that infamous day feeling "bereft and in need" because she had no
"spiritual material" with her. Less than an hour later, tragedy struck, and
"I, like millions of others, stood in front of the television unable to put
my mind around the horror."

In need of comfort, she sought out a Christian bookstore and discovered
Clapper's book. "It touched my soul in my greatest time of need," she told
the author.  

The 112-page book (Order No. 0-8358-0842-4) is available from the Upper Room
or Cokesbury for $10 by calling (800) 672-1789 or going to www.cokesbury.com
online.

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*Green is news director for United Methodist News Service in Nashville,
Tenn.

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United Methodist News Service
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