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The Bishop's Notebook
20 September
John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia and his Companions
Martyrs, 1871
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Andrew Gary, Registrar
and Terry Foster, Coordinator, of the Administrative
Group work on the logistics of Bishop Packard's upcoming
Far East Visitation
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With the end of summer and a busy fall upon us, arranging Bishop Packard's
visitations, and calendar planning for the office in general, moves
into high gear. Though trips and visitations may have been scheduled
over a year or more in advance, the final logistics are charted out
to ensure a smooth journey. The Adminstrative Group -- Terry Foster,
Coordinator and Andrew Gary, Registrar -- works in concert
with Bishop Packard and the Directors, and takes on key assignments
allowing the Bishop, Gerry Blackburn, Jackie Means and Mike Stewart
to focus on their specific ministries for the office.
The Bishop's Notebook
13 September 2002
Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage
Before going to the Pentagon on Wednesday we stopped off to
say the Daily Office at Arlington Cemetery where the interment
of victims would take place the next day. Like a year before,
there was brilliant sunshine but this time, very windy. All
that rushing air seemed to fit somehow adding up to a day like
the other, but stressed by the souls who had passed.
And now we are on the other side of the anniversary and never
the same. Those words seem to be conveyed with a flourish these
days, but I wonder in fifty years will this all be a footnote
except for the inaccurate photographs of downtown Manhattan
showing the World Trade towers still in tact? One thing for
sure we will never view the job of "chaplain" as quite the same.
Chaplains from any number of municipal, state and federal agencies
stepped forward during the past year and coordinated with those
of healthcare and armed services. Plainly when the balloon goes
up we have to know each other. That is why I am adding a new
condition to my office. The future position of Director of Healthcare
Ministries will have a sub-department of "disaster preparedness."
That is, the new director will be trained in critical incident
stress management and nurture a continuing liaison with all
the professionals associated with that field. I am critically
aware of the ever-growing span of my office and its implications,
yet this action deepens rather than broadens what we do. In
these days after 9/11 we are called to gird up our ministries
for the new days before us, Lord have mercy.
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| Bishop Packard consults with Chaplain
Rob Dewey of the Coastal Crisis Chaplancy during the 100 Day
Support Mission |
And on the subject of what is before us, while you are on-line
please take a moment to scroll down to the entries in this column
for last week and the comments by Jay Magness, Stuart Kenworthy,
Mike Stewart, and Neal Goldsborough. Jay, who was in the forefront
of the initial response to the Pentagon disaster, acutely observes
a challenge for ministers of God these days. Our technical abilities
vie with our reflective strengths for supremacy. It is the nut we
have to crack if we are to wisely advise all commanders on the proportional
level of response. Indeed, it is the scrutiny this office is applying
to a revised "Just War Policy" to put before next year's General
Convention. It implies that at times automatically embracing peace
is as bad as the calling for retaliation. A proportional level infers
a middle way, one which demands questions and anguished debate.
It is not as some would say tucked out of sight in the "military
option" but acknowledgement that an evil act requires a responsible,
measured response. It is the state of things we must tolerate on
the way to establishing the Kingdom of God.
On Wednesday the Pentagon ceremony included a fly over of the "missing
man" formation. What sorrow we have witnessed in families in these
past months. I thought of your ministrations in New York, Washington,
Shanksville and the "ground zeros" all over the globe; those so-valuable
times you stepped forward to give aid and comfort in Our Lord's
Name. Thank you for them and the future days that will inevitably
come until our Lord's reign at last. +gep
The Bishop's Notebook
Friday 6 September 2002
Bishop Packard and Gerry Blackburn will be travelling to Washington,
D.C. next week take part in the September 11th memorials in
the area. On September 11th they will begin the day by going
to Arlington Cemetery for prayer. Then, escorted by Captain
Alan Moser, they will arrive at the Pentagon. Later, Bishop
Packard will be the celebrant and preacher for the Noon Holy
Eucharist at the Pentagon. After the service the Pentagon Episcopal
community will join the Bishop and Gerry Blackburn for lunch.
That evening Bishop Packard will speak at the Good Shepherd
Church in Burke, Virginia.
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Below are some thoughts and
reflections from ECUSA chaplains who were in the Washington,
D.C. area and at Ground Zero on and after
September 11th.
From Chaplain Stuart Kenworthy, National Guard
Being a priest and pastor in Washington DC has held some unique
challenges. Fear, anxiety, anger, depression, and a low to mid
grade constant of insecurity have touched almost everyone. There
has been a lot of listening and counseling in these last 12
months. Sometimes it was offered in the form of some very practical
suggestions for people to cope and maintain. The longer term
issues have been numerous, not least of which is to continue
to proclaim the Gospel in the midst of people who are at the
highest levels of formulating and carrying out our national
response to that fateful day of September 11th.
Everything seems different since 9/11. Yet one thing is the
same and ever will be-- "God's truth abided still, his Kingdom
is forever" Living into our new future calls for an embracing
of hope-- not for some distant time but the future hope that
we can already embrace in the present: God's living hope in
the person and presence of Jesus Christ.
Living into our new future calls for strength, courage, goodwill,
determination, a desire for true peace with justice, and most
importantly, grace--God's unmerited love and care. Without
that, all that is listed before is for naught.
There is a moral obligation for this nation to defend itself
from any such future attacks. That mission is fully underway
and will be going on long into the future. That is a certainty.
But there is something even more certain. Terrorism and it's
complex roots and motivations will never be totally defeated
by force. Force may check it here and there. Force may slow
it and it and cripple it in places. Force may even eliminate
it in certain parts of the world. But that will never be the
final hope or answer.
Terrorism will only finally end when there is a conversion
of the human heart.
The work of the church in the world and in every community is
to proclaim and live as best we can the reconciling love of
Jesus Christ. Our mission now is to learn how to do that in
the here and now.
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From Captain James B. Magness, CHC, U.S. Navy
I see two major items that have changed:
1. Prior to 9.11 there was scant interest in religion within the
various agencies within the Department of Defense. However, during
the last year there has been a 180 degree shift to a focus upon
all of the indigenous religions that are dominant in the AORs where
we operate. Though the primary emphasis is upon Islam, the implications
are far broader than just this single direction. I expect this to
continue to change, perhaps dynamically as we move into a variety
of other AORs.
2. The military capabilities required for DOD's response to the
asymmetric threats have created a significant reliance upon some
very technical weapons systems. Our capabilities to respond with
violence in Rapid Decisive Operations (RDO) have sometimes taken
us to the point of having technical capability out distance our
capacity for logical decision making. This assessment is not accusative,
but rather is evaluative. The consequence is the need for thinkers
who know how to process and apply effective and accurate moral thought
to these combat operations situations.
In both of these items it is fair to say that we are not there yet,
but as religious support providers we have a significant role to
play in these command advisory functions.
From The Rev. Michael O. Stewart, Chaplain St. John’s Episcopal
Church, Mason City, IA and Interim Director of Healthcare Ministries
A TANGIBLE SYMBOL OF REMEMBRANCE: ONE YEAR LATER September 11, 2002
What is a tangible symbol of that awful day when individually
and collectively we wondered silently or aloud: “Where is God in
all of this?” We felt violated and our continental national security
had been physically violated not since the British burning the White
House in the War of 1812.
I cannot get the smell and the fine talcum soot out and off of my
body still a year later. These events have been seared in my soul
and my psyche for ever. This is from someone who spent months in
New York City but really only hours at St. Paul’s Chapel and ground
zero. What about others who spent day, weeks or months at ground
zero?
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On Saturday September 22d I first visited St. Paul’s and ground
zero. It was a warm day. As I walked back from “the pit” at ground
zero, I picked up a piece of paper covered with ash - ash that probably
contained human remains as well as everything thing else combustible
at 2000 degrees. It was a guide to what could be asked lawfully
and what could not lawfully be asked in the hiring process. It could
have come from any business. I kept it as a remembrance. Today I
opened it for the first time in almost a year. It is torn; it is
singed from heat or fire; ash is embedded in it still and forever.
It is page 5 of whatever document it belonged to. I cry as I open
it for it has been neatly folded by me into twelve little squares.
I refold the paper gently, reverently, and prayerfully.
This is my tangible symbol of that horrible day. I choose to share
my precious remembrance with no one except God and whatever or whosever
ash is embedded in the paper. I say a prayer as I put the paper
away. It is very private. Pictures, television and other media cannot
do justice to the horror I have witnessed. The paper I picked up
to treasure can do such justice. I have in on its own altar; its
own special place. So when I still cry about September 11th, I have
a visible and tangible symbol on which to focus my tears just as
Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb.
And I have an answer to the question: “Where was God is all of this?”
It is the same answer I gave to the fireman who first asked it of
me. “God is out there in the middle of that flaming and smoking
pit!” Amen.
From CDR C. Neal Goldsborough, CHC, USNR
Encounters with Jesus at the Pentagon: 12-25 September, 2001
"Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons…" BCP p. 305
"Do you need a new pair of socks, chaplain?" She was working the
PX/BX tractor trailer and I had been constantly on my feet for six
hours ministering to the recovery workers at the Pentagon. I still
had six hours more to go. How did she know my feet hurt? "That sounds
great!" I said. "How much are they?" "They're free. Everything in
this trailer is free. Help yourself." She had several kinds of socks
to choose from, and she helped me select a pair, and then told me
to take another. "Have some foot powder, too", she said, "you'll
feel better." I sat down on the trailer steps in the dark, pulled
off my old socks, threw them in the trash, powdered my feet, put
my combat boots back on, and felt like a new man. The compassionate
woman in the Exchange trailer washed my feet as surely as if Our
Lord had done this. I saw the living Christ in her that night.
In the Chapel of St, Joseph of Arimathea in the National Cathedral
is a painting of the entombment of Jesus (by one of the Wyeths,
I think). The dead Christ is carried on a stretcher to the rich
man's tomb. One of the body bearers turns and looks out at the congregation.
I became that man on September 18th. I had duty with the mortuary
recovery team that morning from 0700-1300. Our ministry as chaplains
was to accompany the teams into the Pentagon whenever remains were
found and to assist the loading of the body bags into a large refrigerated
white panel truck. One chaplain would go into the burned out building
while another would wait in the truck. We took turns with this grim
ministry. I remember how silent and cold that truck was, even through
my protective jumpsuit. The only sound was the whirr of the refrigeration
unit and the soft whoosh of my breath through the filters of my
protective mask. The solemn processions would come out of the building
and I would reach down and lift the stretcher up into the truck.
One of the enlisted soldiers would help me lift the bag off the
stretcher and place it gently on to the pile that we were building
on the truck's floor. I laid Jesus in the tomb several times that
day. It was a simple thing, really. We just did what Joseph of Arimathea
did. Joseph believed that his friend Jesus' life counted and that
the young man deserved a decent burial. We believed the same thing
about those who died on September 11. "The Secretary of the Navy
regrets to inform you that your husband's remains have been positively
identified" or words to that effect, were what we said to a brand
new 35 year old widow in a her suburban Virginia home. We
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We had visited with her twice before on September 12 and 15. The
young lieutenant and the salty old senior chief and I prayed in
our government car for strength and courage and wisdom before walking
up to the house to deliver this terrible news. The dead sailor's
parents and his brother were there as we talked through the kabuki
theatre formality of our official message. They were a four-generation
navy family and they already knew what we had to say. Yet the young
widow's first remarks were heartfelt words of faith and gratitude:
"Thank God! I thought all we would have to put in his casket was
his uniform." To be grateful such for such a gift in the midst of
such an overwhelming loss is a mystery. Even a year later I am in
awe of such faith. I saw the compassionate face of Jesus in her
face that day through the kindness she showed the three of us.
The most important ministry of my life took place from 12-25 September
at the Pentagon. There I came to see how essential the ministry
of a chaplain is when devastation and death are all around. I also
have come to see that the Resurrected One walked with us during
those terrible days. And like the disciples on the road to Emmaus,
I sometimes only glimpse him in a flash of hindsight. And those
memories renew and sustain my faith.
The
Bishop's Notebook
Wednesday 21 August 2002
I wrote
this 11 September 2001 rememberance item in response to an invitation
from the editor of a parish newsletter (called "Network") of
a church in Wisconsin. --Gerry
REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11TH, ONE YEAR LATER
by Gerald J. "Gerry" Blackburn
On September 11, 2001, I was leading Morning Prayer at the Episcopal
Church Center (ECC) Chapel in New York City. I work there in
the office of Bishop George Packard, our church's Bishop for
the Armed Services, Healthcare and Prison Ministries. I serve
as Bishop Packard's Director of Military Chaplaincies. Those
of us who work at the ECC are invited to volunteer to lead Morning
Prayer. Some days before September 11th I had signed up to be
the leader for that Tuesday.
Morning Prayer begins promptly at 8:45 AM at the Church Center.
The first plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade
Center (WTC) at about 8:47 AM. Just before we began our "intercessions
and thanksgivings" portion of Morning Prayer (page 101 in the
Book of Common Prayer) Richard Biernacki came into the chapel
and whispered to Clay Morris that a plane had crashed into the
Trade Center. Clay shared it with the group during the intercessions
and Our Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold, voiced a special prayer
for those effected by that event. At about 9:10 AM as we were
leaving the chapel we learned from folk standing in the lobby
that a second plane had just hit the south tower of the WTC.
By then, with sirens sounding, emergency vehicle after emergency
vehicle was passing by our 815 Second Avenue mid-town Manhattan
building. Most were heading downtown toward the WTC. Still others
were bringing police and large vehicles to seal off streets
to the United Nations buildings that are located just a block
from us.
Like most Americans, those of us who work at "815" gathered
around TV sets and radios. We gazed and listened in horror and
disbelief as we saw and heard of the wreckage at the Trade Center
towers (just a few miles from us), the Pentagon and the field
near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We prayed and we made and received
telephone calls with family members and loved ones.
Over the next few days a special sign was made to invite passersby
to stop into the Episcopal Church Center Chapel for personal
prayer or to attend our weekday Morning Prayer and noon Holy
Eucharist services. Many did. Some shared their stories of loss
and pain. Some made special prayer requests and some asked for
pastoral conversation.
With the concurrence of the Presiding Bishop, Bishop George
Packard, working in concert with the Diocese of New York, quickly
initiated a chaplain rota for New York area Episcopal clergy
to volunteer to serve at Ground Zero. (I was appointed coordinator).
Bishop Packard also gathered trained persons as members of crisis
response teams to advise those dioceses directly impacted by
the crashed planes. During the next weeks and months over 150
area priests and deacons served on teams of two for eight-hour
shifts, 24 hours each day, in and around the World Trade Center
site. Crisis response teams provided training for the New York
City tri-state and Washington, DC area dioceses.
Scores of Episcopal Church church groups and lay individuals
volunteered and served in outreach ministries coordinated through
General Seminary which is located just a couple of miles from
the WTC. Many of them worked at the Seamen's Church Institute
or at St. Paul's Chapel. Both of these Episcopal Church facilities
are located very near the WTC.
In and around the Pentagon a similar thing was happening. Several
Episcopal Church (EC) military chaplains and clergy as well
as many military and civilian EC lay persons and church groups
responded to the needs of individuals and families. Similar
responses occurred in communities throughout our country. Episcopalians
and many other Christians responded alongside people of other
faith (and no-faith) groups to be part of the compassionate
healing hand to those in need. Each of us doing our part made
a difference in some way.
As we were look to the future, I join you in praying that no
community, city or country will ever face this kind of destruction
again. And I pray with you for those places in our world that
are racked with on-going violence and hatred. May the events
of September 11, 2001 serve as our modern "day of infamy" to
help us work even more devotedly for a world of peace, a world
where God's love and compassion rises above any kind of religious
or political fanaticism that births the worst in humanity.
The Bishop's Notebook
Monday 26 August 2002
Update
from Bishop Packard’s Office (8/26/02)
Dear Chaplain:
The following is sent on behalf of Bishop Packard.
We have remarkable news about DAVID HENRITZY. Following several
tests, it was determined on Friday (8/23) that David did not
suffer a heart attack! Instead, he was diagnosed with myocarditis,
an infection of the heart muscle. The acute onset of this condition
can mimic many heart attack symptoms, and is very serious -
it brought David very near death almost three weeks ago. But
David’s recovery and rehabilitation will be markedly different
than what was originally expected. After a few days of physical
therapy to strengthen and coordinate his muscles, it is hoped
that David will be able to go home for the Labor Day weekend.
He has shown much desire to do this, so please pray for his
successful in-hospital rehabilitation. After David returns home,
he will need follow-up rehabilitation to recover from this long
ordeal, but with the “one-day-at-time” approach of his cardiologist,
and your continuing prayers, we are optimistic about his future.
Our office continues to praise God for this miraculous recovery,
and to give him thanks for the chaplain community of which you
are a part. Thank you for your prayers on behalf of David. We
will contact you again when there is significant news to share.
For Bishop Packard and his staff,
Terry Foster and Andrew Gary
Administrative Group
Office of the Bishop for the Armed Services, Healthcare and
Prison Ministries
The Bishop's Notebook
Wednesday
14 August 2002
Below is the text of a QuikNotes sent to all our chaplains on
behalf of Bishop Packard concerning David Henritzy and Mike
Stewart who have recently had serious medical emergencies.
Dear Chaplain:
David Henritzy, formerly of this office, suffered a major heart
attack last Wednesday, August 7, after being admitted to the
hospital with chest pains the previous evening. As most of you
know, the initial prognosis for David was very poor, but he
had a remarkable turnaround on that Wednesday, is continuing
to heal, and his doctors are continually encouraged by his progress.
David has been sedated in order to give his body the most rest
possible during the recovery process, but doctors are now weaning
him off these medications - a slow process as he returns to
consciousness over the next day or two. Please Continue To
Pray for David Henritzy's further recovery and healing from
this serious cardiac event and its consequences.
Mike Stewart, Interim Director for Healthcare Ministries in
this office, underwent emergency back surgery on Tuesday, August
13 for a number of calcium deposits along his spinal cord. The
surgery went well, and Mike has been greatly relieved of the
pain he had been suffering in his back and legs. We have just
heard that Mike may be able to go home today following this
successful surgery. Please pray for Mike's full recovery
from this surgery, and for the surgery's efficacy in relieving
Mike of debilitating pain.
Thank you for your concern and prayers for David and Mike. When
there is significant news to share about either of them, we
will send out another "Chaplains' QuikNote." In the intervening
time, you may always stay updated through our office website
under "the Bishop's Notebook."
Andrew Gary
Registrar
Office of the Bishop for the Armed Services, Healthcare and
Prison Ministries The Episcopal Church
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