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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
May/June 2005 |
A wing and a prayer
As ambassadors of faith,
airport chaplains comfort travelers
By John Shaughnessy
INDIANAPOLIS - The Rev. Yung Sheng Chen has just finished comforting an airline employee struggling with her father's death when he sees an American soldier at a ticket counter.
Striding across the crowded concourse at Indianapolis International Airport, Chen approaches Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Mason, who has just checked in for a flight that will lead him back to Iraq.
As the 75-year-old volunteer airport chaplain listens, Mason explains he has taken emergency leave to be at home with his wife, Angela, for the birth of their son, Jared Michael.
Chen's smile grows as the Noblesville resident says his boy measured 21 inches and weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at birth. Then Chen prays for the soldier and his family, asking God to bring them safely together again.
"I didn't know airports do that," a pleased Mason says. "He seems to be a very nice guy."
Moments later, Chen walks into a small makeshift chapel - an area marked by symbols of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism that reflect the interfaith quality of the airport's chaplaincy program.
In its 15th year, the program is starting an effort to recruit volunteers to supplement a staff that consists of a rabbi, two Methodist ministers, a Catholic priest and an imam, a Muslim spiritual leader.
The chaplains are talking with airport officials about having a greater presence as part of the $1 billion development scheduled to be finished in 2008. A chapel is part of the design plans for expansion of the airport, where about 2,000 people work and through which more than 8 million passengers passed in 2004.
One of 150 airports with chaplains
Indianapolis International Airport is among about 50 in the United States - and 150 worldwide - that have chaplaincy programs. The programs are part of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains, a network that shares information and concerns about serving the spiritual needs of air travelers.
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"We offer services and counseling." - Airport Chaplain Yung Sheng Chen |
"We are there because there's a need," says Ashfaq Lodhi, a Muslim who serves as a chaplain. "Sometimes passengers get stranded; they're going to a funeral or to visit someone who's sick. And they get stressed out. We try to give them help emotionally to get over the tragedy they're facing."
Spiritual and emotional support also are needed by people who work there, says Rabbi Lew Weiss.
"It's high stress at the airport with airlines going bankrupt, people losing jobs and the security issues," says Weiss, who also works as a full-time chaplain for Clarian Health. "It's important to minister to them. We offer services and counseling."
The Rev. Glenn O'Connor, a Catholic priest, and the Rev. Landrum Shields, a Methodist minister, also are chaplains. Yet Chen provides the program's most consistent presence, spending six days a week at the airport in a whirlwind ministry that touches passengers and personnel in every part of the facility.
As he strolls through the concourses, Chen wears a gold cross around his neck and a red vest embroidered with the words, "Airport Chaplain." A small New Testament is tucked into a vest pocket.
A Chen story
Nearly everyone at the airport has a Chen story.
"Someone had a death in the family, and the woman was sobbing on the floor. He calmed her down," says Brian Eckstein, the manager of guest services for BAA Indianapolis, the company that operates the airport for the Indianapolis Airport Authority.
"Sometimes, people get here and they're stuck here," says Theresa Hedge, a member of the Airport Police Department. "He'll get them a cab, a place to stay. He'll go to the airlines with them and help them rebook their flights. He's always uplifting, no matter what your religion. He puts a smile on your face."
Even Chen has a favorite Chen story.
"One year and three months ago, I married two airport workers on a shuttle bus," says the retired United Methodist minister with a laugh. "That's where they met - on a shuttle bus that took the workers from the parking lot to the airport. That was the first time in my 58 years of ministry I married someone on a bus."
Talk about the war in Iraq changes Chen's nearly constant smile to a look of concern. He has comforted families as they watched loved ones leave for war. He has prayed with soldiers leaving to face the unknown.
"Any soldier, I welcome them, thank them and tell them I'll pray for them - so they can all come home safely," Chen says.
He knows the heartbreak of saying goodbye to someone you love. His wife of 31 years died 10 years ago of breast cancer. She was 55. At the time, Chen says, he told God he was ready to die, too.
"It's by God's grace and power that I keep going," he says. "I believe, 'Only one life soon will pass. Only what's done for Christ will last.' I keep doing it because of the love of Christ. He wants me to share his Gospel."
Chen leads Bible study every Thursday at noon in the chapel that also serves as an office for the chaplains. It is across from the offices of US Airways on the second floor of the airport. The room is locked when the chaplains aren't on duty. The chapel has an altar for services. There also are a prayer rug and the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, for Muslims who want to pray.
On the office wall a small picture of a grieving Christ has been placed atop a large poster showing the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The poster's caption reads, "Forever in Our Hearts."
History of comfort
The chaplains comforted travelers in Indianapolis on Sept. 11, 2001. They also responded quickly on Halloween night in 1994 when an American Eagle plane that left the Indianapolis airport crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people on board.
O'Connor, the Catholic chaplain, won't forget the agonizing hours he and his colleagues spent with families who rushed to the airport that night. The chaplains prayed with them from 7 p.m. to past 1 a.m., when confirmation of the passenger list finally came.
O'Connor now says Mass every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. for travelers and airport workers.
"At the airport, you'll get people who have been away from the church for a long time," says the pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church and St. Ann Catholic Church.
"They don't feel threatened to talk to someone they'll never see again. It can help people back to God."
Community in itself
So will more volunteers and the planned new chapel, the chaplains say.
"The airport is like another community," says Shields, the chaplain who is pastor of Covenant Community Church. "I walk the halls and talk to passengers. I stop and talk to the ticket sellers. They're all glad to see you. They want to talk. People especially look forward to seeing Chen because he's out there so much."
Just ask Jeni Robertson, the airport's parking operations supervisor. "It's like he remembers everybody," she says. "That always amazes me. I work outside the terminal, and he remembers me."
After talking to Robertson, Chen walks past the airline counters again, talking to as many people as he can. Then he holds open an elevator door for three passengers. He asks where they're going, tells them how to get to their gate and says to them, "God bless."
Every conversation reflects the prayer Chen made during a recent Sunday ecumenical service at the airport.
"We pray for those who are traveling today, for those who are working today," Chen said. "May you be with them, God. And until we meet again, may you hold us in the palm of your hand."
John Shaughnessy serves as a religion reporter at the Indianapolis Star. This story first appeared in the April 3, 2005 issue of the Indianapolis Star. Copyright 2005 Indianapolis Star. Used by permission. All right reserved.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008