Document text
Pastor counsels D.C. terror victims By DANI DODGE The Sunday after terrorists attacked the United States, Pastor Ron Prosise preached about Christ's teaching on terrorism and death in the first century. The next day, the pastor, who is also a chaplain, got a call to go to Washington, D.C., and minister to the families of victims there. "It is a God-given opportunity to be right in the heart of what has happened to us as a nation," Prosise said in an e-mail tapped out on his portable computer. "My prayer is that I would be used by God to do more than make people feel good, that I would have opportunities to go beyond felt needs to the true need that people have for Christ." On the night shift Ron Prosise is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Medford as well as a chaplain and major with the 173rd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard. He was called to active duty in Washington, D.C., last week. This is an excerpt of notes he wrote to his congregation, detailing experiences on a night shift at the victim's family support center. 11:00 p.m. Friday night. I didn't think that I would even see any family members at this time of night, but we had a mother with two young children in tow come by our table to pick up some literature on talking to children about tragedy. 12:10 a.m. Saturday. I've been talking with Bill, a father whose 35-year-old daughter was on board American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. She was a lawyer who had resigned her job in Washington, D.C., to take a position as a gymnastics coach at UC Santa Barbara. 2:05 a.m. I write a postcard to my friend Tony in Manhattan. Tony came to Christ when I was pastoring there, and my moving last year still is hard for both of us. 3:15 a.m. The quiet is momentarily broken as a Jewish chaplain in the Naval Reserve comes off duty and, upon discovering that I am a former Navy chaplain, gives me a thorough ribbing for transferring to the Air Force. 4:05 a.m. I read another chapter from a book I brought with me: Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald Whitney. This is a book I highly recommend, as I did to the Marine staff sergeant yesterday. We should continually evaluate our spiritual condition. 5:25 a.m. I talked with a petty officer first class in the briefing room as we looked at the victims' pictures and biographies, and cards and notes written about them. It's something to see all these faces of people who are now facing an eternity before God. 7:00 a.m. Shift ends. Since he's been in Washington, Prosise has ministered to a father whose daughter died on the hijacked plane, he's taken over the regular services for other chaplains busy ministering to families, and he's cried at the sight of a U.S. flag draped over the damaged wall of the Pentagon. After high school Prosise joined the Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. After four years of service, he went onto get a master of divinity at Western Seminary in Portland. He became a pastor, but still felt the pull to minister to the military. He has served as a Marine, Navy and Air Force chaplain. He moved to Medford last year from Kansas to head the new Grace Bible Church, an independent Christian church in Medford. He is an Oregon Air National Guard senior chaplain for the 173rd Fighter Wing, in Klamath Falls. Prosise got to Washington on Sept. 18 and expects to fly out Saturday. In his absence, members of his church have been taking turns at the pulpit. "I've been very supportive of his participation in the Air National Guard. I think it broadens his ministry," said Grace Bible Church elder Dennis Gladman. "Other people at the church have jumped in and taken the reigns of what needs to be done here." Prosise and his wife, Donna, have two children, Jonathan, 10, and Anna, 7. When Prosise left for Washington at 5 a.m. Tuesday, despite the fact he was as quiet as possible, he says his children somehow woke up, crawled out of bed and waved goodbye from the garage. "Maybe they sensed I was going to be gone for awhile," he said in a phone interview from his hotel room. "What a farewell. I had to stop the car and run back for last hugs." His first day there Prosise assisted in a worship service. The next day he ministered at the victims' family center at the Sheraton Hotel in Washington. While he was there, a grandmother asked him for literature to help her 5-year-old granddaughter cope with the death of her mother. But he also counseled a Marine staff sergeant having marital problems. Prosise said the sergeant was "a reminder that there are many more problems out there besides the one in the news." Prosise said one of the things he's tried to concentrate on during his time in D.C. is to make sure that other chaplains and other support staff also have someone to talk to. "These people are dealing with many emotions and families," he said. "I was concerned with how they were dealing with the stress. "They are doing an incredible job." He said his hope for people in Washington and people here is that the tragedy opens their eyes up to what's really important in life. "Life is more than just going to work and paying bills and mowing the lawn," he said. "People are asking tough questions because of this and those questions are good to ask: "What kind of person am I? What kind of life am I living? Is my life a blessing to others? Am I making a difference?" Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.