PB's Fund, Bishop for the Armed Forces Responding to Gulf War
Episcopal News Service. January 25, 1991 [91017]
Immediately after war broke out in the Persian Gulf, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning instructed the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and the Office of the Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces to respond to the victims of the conflict.
"I know that your sorrow is as deep as mine as the reality of the war settles upon us. Tragedy is piling upon tragedy," Browning wrote in a January 17 letter sent to all parishes of the Episcopal Church. "I call upon each of you to join me in an outpouring of love and concern."
Browning instructed the PB's Fund to respond to:
- (1) the plight of the refugees. "Their need for medicines, food, and shelter is enormous," Browning said. He added that the fund would provide assistance through local bishops in the Persian Gulf, and where possible, join other ecumenical agencies in relief efforts.
- (2) the great upheaval and despair among the dependent families of our military serving in Operation Desert Storm. Browning called upon the fund to provide emergency aid, through the Office of the Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces or the Office of the Bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, to distressed dependents, where no other funds are immediately available, and to financially assist the Office of the Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces in providing additional pastoral care personnel to be with dependent families.
Browning urged that Episcopalians "give generously and immediately" to the fund, reminding them to earmark donations for "Persian Gulf relief."
"We are just beginning to receive calls for information and assistance," said Bill Carradine of the PB's Fund. "We will be working closely with Bishop Keyser to help dependents, and with Church World Service for victims and refugees in the [Persian] Gulf countries."
In addition, the fund has already sent its first grant of $20,000 to aid the growing number of refugees. The grant will support St. Margaret's Hostel in Nazareth, and relief efforts underway in Amman, Jordan. "St Margaret's has become a place of refugees fleeing danger," reported Nan Marvel of the PB's Fund. "Bishop Elias Khoury in Jordan has established a diocesan relief committee in Amman to administer relief there for the many families fleeing Iraq," she said.
Browning said that the church would institute special measures to assist the work of the Rt. Rev. Charles Keyser, suffragan bishop for the Armed Forces, in the pastoral need of military personnel, dependents, and chaplains serving in Operation Desert Storm.
To provide for the best pastoral response to these persons, the following plan was established in Bishop Keyser's office at the Episcopal Church Center:
- (1) A 24-hour phone line has been established (212) 599-4429. The Office of the Bishop for the Armed Forces will act as a clearing center for information that will be relayed to bishops, clergy, and families.
- (2) A pastoral care team consisting of Bishops Keyser, Donis Patterson (Dallas), Craig Anderson (South Dakota), John Ashby (Western Kansas), Maurice Benitez (Texas), Herbert Donovan (Arkansas), Harold Hopkins (Minnesota), Calvin Schofield (Southeast Florida), and Robert Witcher (Long Island) is prepared to travel to areas of high pastoral need in the United States or overseas.
- (3) Reserve, active duty, and retired chaplains in all areas of he country will be available through the 24-hour line to assist with pastoral care in locations near their homes.
- (4) Follow-up to each pastoral contact will be coordinated through the Office of the Bishop for the Armed Forces.
Keyser reported that he is establishing a "Persian Gulf Office," to be operated by retired Army Chaplain Tom Staab of Tabernacle, New Jersey. "He will coordinate staffing of the hotline, maintain the network of chaplains available for pastoral care, serve as liaison with the military services in Washington, and generally keep us up to date on all developments," Keyser said.
"We have already received many calls from clergy who are more than prepared to offer pastoral care," Keyser added. "The military services have been very receptive to the church's offer to be of assistance -- especially in locations, like Germany, where there are large numbers of dependent families."
Although he has no immediate plans to travel to the Persian Gulf himself, Keyser said that he does not rule out a trip to Germany, "especially where the armored divisions have just left."
Keyser said that his office will collaborate with the PB's Fund to remind bishops and dioceses of the need for financial support in the relief effort -- especially for dependent families. "When the requests come from families outside the United States, they will be directed to chaplains who will be in touch with us. Requests from inside the country will be made through the diocesan bishops."
Keyser reported that there are currently 18 Episcopal chaplains in the Persian Gulf. "The troops are receiving excellent pastoral care," he said. Keyser added that many of the chaplains have told him that in spite of the tragedy of being there -- and wishing and praying that they did not have to be there -- they find that "the opportunity for deep ministry and pastoral care is exceedingly great."