wfn.org | RELIGIOUS LEADERS JOIN FOR FIRST STAR TRAUMA RESPONSE SEMINAR

["Church World Service News" <nccc_usa@ncccusa.org>]

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NCC/CWS3/4/02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELIGIOUS LEADERS JOIN FOR FIRST STAR TRAUMA RESPONSE SEMINAR
By Chris Herlinger, Information Officer, Church World Service Emergency
Response Program
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Like other clergy in New York City, the Rev. Andrew
Nunez has experienced a difficult six months.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, he has had to tend
not only to his regular duties, but deal with the nagging anxiety
experienced by his parishioners in a small Mennonite congregation in the
Bronx, and by members of other churches that belong to the Evangelical
Garifuna Council of Churches. The council is a group of congregations of
Garifuna immigrants - descendants of Caribbean slaves who have since left
Honduras, Belize and Guatemala for life in the United States.
While the New York Garifuna churches are small in number, collectively they
have not been immune to the challenges posed by Sept. 11 - some congregants
have lost jobs and some knew people killed or directly affected by the
terrorist attack. And all of this comes amid a context of greater economic
hardship in the Bronx and other urban centers during an economic recession.
"People are expressing their anger; people are losing their jobs," he said.
"Were trying to see how we can help those in our communities."
So it was appropriate that Rev. Nunez joined other pastors and caregivers at
the first of a series of trainings that are a joint effort of Church World
Service (CWS) and the Conflict Transformation Program of Eastern Mennonite
University (EMU).
The Seminars on Trauma Awareness & Recovery (STAR) are being held at the EMU
campus in Harrisonburg and build upon the work of CWSs Interfaith Trauma
Response Trainings that have been held in the New York City and Washington,
D.C., areas since Sept. 11.
The focus of the STAR trainings is to equip religious leaders in New York,
Washington, and other cities with new tools to deal with the ongoing trauma
caused by the events of Sept. 11 and help individual congregation members,
the congregation as a whole, and as appropriate, the surrounding community.

STAR is also a way for clergy to leave New York and other cities for a week
and have time to reflect and meet other religious leaders in the quieter
surroundings of Harrisonburg.
The training events will be held monthly for the next two years. The
two-year program is being supported by Church World Service and the
denominational members of the CWS Emergency Response Program Committee.
Church World Service is a ministry of the 36 member communions of the
National Council of Churches.
The STAR curriculum focuses on trauma and healing as well as an introduction
to broad justice, security and peace-building issues and frameworks, and on
day four of the first training, held Feb. 18-22, the rich range of the
curriculum was evident. EMU faculty introduced the concept of "study
circles" to the 10 participants; study circles are a way groups of people -
in congregations, for example - can meet on a regular basis and discuss
critical topics in "a democratic and collaborative way," said EMU Professor
Lisa Schrich, who teaches conflict studies.
Participants, including Rev. Nunez, 39, took turns as facilitators for
groups, delving into questions of how the United States should respond to
the crises posed by Sept. 11. There were no "right answers" stressed; the
idea was to give participants time and practice to oversee discussions that
could elicit insight and dialogue, rather than just mere debate.
The exercise was a practical tool the clergy and other religious leaders
could use with their congregations and communities. "Im really looking
forward to taking this back with me and seeing how it works," said Susana
Albo, a community organizer who works with the religious community in the
Bronx.
Time was also spent reflecting on some of the ways participants dealt with
Sept. 11 and its aftermath. For Rev. Nunez, the tragedy elicited signs of
hope: the sight of Christians, Jews and Muslims working together. "That was
exciting and I think that changed a lot of attitudes of how we can work
together," he said.
But there was also the horror of the event itself. The Rev. Konrad
Kaltenbach, 66, long-time hospital chaplain and a member of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) who lives in Washington, N.J., related his experiences as a
chaplain at Ground Zero in the days following Sept. 11.
Saying that he and other chaplains have had to minimize what he called
"God-speak" at trauma-related events, he recalled that he has learned much
from agnostic Jews who have taught him the limits of religion in moments of
trauma. "You have to respect death," he said. "It sounds strange, but you
have to respect death." Recalling his work at Ground Zero, he said: "Silence
has to be more important than babble."
Relating personal experiences was a vital part of the training, as was
reflection on the larger security issues surrounding Sept. 11 and how U.S.
religious communities can begin the work of peace-building. Joanna Flanders
Thomas, a South African who has done extensive prison ministry in her home
country and who now works with the Philadelphia Leadership Foundation, said
that while she is "always looking for the hope," she and others who are not
U.S. citizens felt as outsiders in the days following Sept. 11 - a "lack of
inclusion" which exacerbated their trauma.
Such an international perspective is a critical part of the STAR program, as
Jan Jenner, director of the CTPs Institute for Justice and Peacebuilding,
said at a luncheon that allowed participants to hear the perspectives of
international students studying in EMUs Conflict Transformation Program.
"This was a world-wide trauma," Jenner said, echoing Thomas concerns and
introducing the luncheon. "It (Sept. 11) was a world-wide incident."
Students from Pakistan, India, Kenya and Guatemala, all countries affected
in varying degrees by war, attended the luncheon. They offered their
perspectives on Sept. 11 and how it has affected the world community. It has
not been an easy time, they said. Willi Hugo Perez of Guatemala, who has
been involved in peace-related work in his country, said of Sept. 11 and its
aftermath: "When you try to build peace, you feel this whole monster of
violence is taking over again."
How to tame the cycle of violence remains a challenge; in a final session
held at a Presbyterian retreat center in Massanetta Springs, just outside of
Harrisonburg, Professor Schrich was joined by Professor Jayne Seminare
Docherty and the two offered a "framework for peacebuilding" that included
an exploration of the roots causes of conflict. "Understanding (what drove
those who perpetrated the crimes of Sept. 11) doesnt excuse what happened,"
Schrich said.
By the end, participants were tired but exhilarated: Rev. Nunez said he
"really appreciated" what he had learned, particularly what he called the
"trauma process" and bringing more clarity to a host of issues, including
peace-building. "I feel Ive got more confidence now," he said.
Carolyn Yoder, coordinator of the STAR Program, said the first group "bonded
well" and brought a host of experiences that coincided well with STARs
goals; she said among the most important skills learned may be those of
helping develop dialogues within congregations and communities. "There is a
way to discuss critical issues thats not divisive," she said. "Many feel
that their voices are being stifled and in a dialogue format you can give
voice to everybody who wants to be heard."
"Thats whats most exciting to me - to allow all voices to be heard," she
said. "In a national crisis, that in itself is a type of trauma healing."
In addition to CWS and EMU's Conflict Transformation Program, STAR's
sponsors include the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Lutheran
Disaster Response, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, United Church of
Christ, American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., Church of the Brethren,
Mennonite Disaster Service and Reformed Church in America.   Contact is
Carolyn Yoder at 540-432-4636 or by e-mail at star@emu.edu
See also http://www.emu.edu/ctp/star-project.html
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