September 24, 2001
Texans among chaplains serving in New York
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___NEW YORK CITY--Texas Baptist chaplains helping coordinate pastoral ministry in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster have noted an "unusual openness" to spiritual matters and an uncharacteristic desire for human contact on the sidewalks of New York.
___"Where in the past people walked through the city with their eyes avoiding contact withothers, since last Tuesday residents look into the eyes of one another as they pass on the streets. It seems they are hungry for community," said Milfred Minatrea, director of missional church strategy with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
THE AMERICAN FLAG flies at half mast over a New York City building, with the city's "new" tallest building, the Empire State Building, in the background. (BP photo)
___Minatrea, Michael Haynes of Temple and Hugh Atwell of Fort Worth are serving at the request of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board disaster response office.
___The chaplains are working with Metropolitan New York Baptist Association, providing immediate pastoral ministry for rescue and recovery workers, as well as seeking to develop a long-range response system to help churches provide grief counseling and other ministries.
___Noting that only a few credentialed chaplains will be granted access to the "ground zero" disaster site, the Texas Baptists identified for NAMB and the association more than a half-dozen possible venues where chaplains potentially could serve.
___After a few days spent working the perimeter of the disaster site and streets of Manhattan, the three Texas Baptist chaplains received credentials Sept. 19 to enter "ground zero."
___They were assigned to the morgue, to offer counsel and prayer for recovery workers as they reclaimed bodies from the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers.
___A small multi-state team of certified crisis responders, including at least two Texas Baptists, tentatively is scheduled to arrive in New York Sept. 22 to continue providing pastoral ministry. In coming weeks, additional teams may be deployed both in Manhattan and to churches in communities surrounding New York City, according to Jim Young, director of the BGCT Center for Community Ministries and state chaplaincy liaison.
___In their first two days in New York City, the three Texas Baptist chaplains "literally walked the island from 84th Street south," Minatrea reported. He noted that people on the streets demonstrated a willingness to talk about spiritual issues.
___On numerous occasions, people have approached the uniformed chaplaincy workers to say, "Chaplain, thank you for being here," he added.
___"That simple comment frequently opens the door for deep conversation. Clearly, the tragedy has resulted in a window of opportunity in which people are spiritually hungry."
___Minatrea particularly was touched by an encounter with a single young man named Oliver, a Manhattan resident whose parents recently moved to North Texas.
___When Minatrea met him, Oliver was sitting on a park bench in the midst of one of the city's many unofficial memorials to victims of the attack. In places throughout the city where desperate friends and family members have posted photos and personal information about missing loved ones, grieving citizens have surrounded the photos with flowers and candles.
___Oliver told about his struggles to cope with the reality of the attack and the loss of friends who were missing and presumed dead.
___"He grieved alone and continued coming to the park as a way of staying in touch with the losses of so many people," Minatrea said.
___"We spoke of faith and hope beyond the tragedy, and I asked Oliver if he would like me to pray with him. He indicated he would appreciate that, and that it had been a long time since he had practiced his faith."
___Specifically, the young man asked the chaplain to pray that God would help his parents understand why he wanted to stay in New York. After the prayer, Minatrea asked Oliver if he could contact his parents when he returned to Texas.
___"I could tell them that I visited with you for awhile and that you really are doing all right," Minatrea said.
___Beaming, the young man eagerly accepted the chaplain's offer and gave him a phone number to call. Just before Minatrea left, Oliver wiped a tear away and said, "Thank you so much for being here."
___Another Texas Baptist chaplain is serving with the American Red Cross in Manhattan.
___Lynn McMasters, minister of counseling at First Baptist Church in Lubbock, is working at the Red Cross family assistance center for two weeks.
___"This is like a war zone in key areas," McMasters said. "Even Red Cross workers must repeatedly show ID."
___She cited many prayer needs for "these precious, loving, hurting people," adding a plea: "Much prayer is needed."
___Meanwhile, a team of Baptist chaplains from Oklahoma also is working at the ground zero morgue. Several of the Oklahomans ministered at the site of the 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City.
___Jack Poe, head chaplain of the Oklahoma City Police Department, said it's hard to keep one's emotions checked when looking at the broken remains of the towers.
___The scene in New York City is far worse than what he witnessed in Oklahoma City, he said. "We've got people in there who served in Vietnam, and they're coming out of the debris in shock. This is 100 times worse than Oklahoma City."
___Oklahoma chaplain Leslie Sias, who spent the last nine years on active duty as a military chaplain, said telephone calls back home have helped him deal with the emotionally charged atmosphere surrounding the World Trade Center.
___The father of two boys, ages 9 and 6, said he and his wife are parents who make sure their children understand what is happening in the world.
___Although it was hard for his children to let him go to New York, "I think they understand now," he explained. "Yesterday, my 6-year-old got on the phone and he said, 'Daddy, are you helping people in New York?'
___"I said I was and he said, 'Good,' and hung up the phone."
___With additional reporting by Baptist Press
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
