‘A ministry of presence’
CHARLOTTE — Providing a listening ear, assisting confused travelers, counseling distressed employees and praying for intentions left in the airport chapel are all in a day’s work for permanent deacons who serve as airport chaplains at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Add a worldwide pandemic over the past 27 months, and the need for chaplains to provide a shoulder to cry on, a calming presence and an encouraging word has increased as the stress level of both airline employees and travelers has skyrocketed.
Deacon David Reiser, executive director of the Inter-Faith Chaplaincy Program, has served in airport ministry for the past 11 years. He oversees the training and scheduling of the 23 other chaplains who serve with him at the nation’s sixth largest airport.
“The last two years or so have been a roller coaster ride,” he says. “In the beginning of the pandemic, people were coming to the airport very anxious because of masking and social distancing. Airport employees were very stressed, especially at first when their kids were home from school and they needed childcare. They really needed our guidance in those times.”
Deacon Reiser has noticed that with the advent of summer, the volume of travelers is starting to pick up. “The number of infrequent fliers is increasing, especially older adults and non-English speaking travelers. They experience anxiety in going through security and in not (having) enough time to check in or showing up too late. They find TSA lines are long, and they miss their flights. We try to lead them to a service counter and calm them down,” he explains.
“We see people too who are just unprepared to travel, like moms with infants who don’t pack enough diapers to account for flight delays. They get stranded, and they only have one diaper because they didn’t plan on getting stuck. So we keep diapers in the chaplain’s office for those kinds of emergencies now,” he notes.
A key component of airport chaplaincy ministry involves providing emotional support to the 17,000 airport employees. “We interact more with the cleaning crews, those working concessions, and in the restaurants – with all different types of people. We’re just a good listening ear for people to express themselves,” Deacon Reiser says.
The chaplains are also there to counsel employees who have suffered trauma on the job or suffered the loss of colleagues, many of whom died of COVID-19. The chaplains continue to offer live-streamed memorial services at the airport for those who cannot attend the services due to illness or distance.
Deacon Kevin Williams has served as an airport chaplain for the past 16 years. He has noticed that as people have started coming back to the airport, employees are bearing the brunt of travelers’ frustrations and are experiencing stress because of the passengers who are acting out.
“Employees are sharing how much more stressful their job has become,” he admits. “Flight attendants say that ‘the general public has no idea how stressed we are.’ That (stress) is the biggest change in what employees are saying that they are going through now.”
Deacon Williams says that his time in the ministry and helping others get through difficulties has impacted his faith in a positive way. “The crux of it for me is to be the person who is there to help them when they’re in distress. The giving back to people who need some help is what is most important to me.”
He likes wearing his clerics with his chaplain vest while on duty so that passengers and employees know “that it is someone wearing a collar that is helping people.
I’m planting seeds by wearing a collar and just by being there.”
He is reminded daily that there are a lot of people going through life stressed and need help. “It’s a reminder for me that I may be doing okay but others aren’t. I want to help them through the situation,” Deacon Williams says.
Echoing his fellow chaplains, Deacon Jim Bozik notes that “our work is really grounded in ‘ministry of presence’ – of being present when someone is traveling (especially during the pandemic) for difficult reasons.”
An airport chaplain for the past six years, he shares a couple of instances when travelers asked him to pray. “One time a woman stopped by at the end of the service asking for prayers, as she was hoping to arrive (to her destination) before her mother passed away. Another time earlier this year, a man asked for prayers as he was traveling to Ukraine. He was setting up a field hospital as the war was just beginning.
“It was a reminder that often we are humbled by the witness and service of others.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Learn more
At www.cltairportchapel.org: Find out more information about the Airport Inter-Faith Chaplaincy Program