thedrifter
09-27-05, 09:12 PM
October 03, 2005
Hurricane gives Navy chaplain ‘baptism by fire’
By Christopher Munsey
Times staff writer
A new chaplain usually spends the first few weeks at a new command getting to know people and learning how to get around the base.
Navy Lt. David Cullen, 39, didn’t have that luxury.
Four days after graduating from the Naval Chaplains School on Aug. 12, Cullen arrived at Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Miss.
And then came Hurricane Katrina.
“It really was a baptism by fire,” Cullen said.
While sailors helped rescue victims, clear roads and repair damaged homes and buildings, Cullen and his six fellow chaplains had an equally demanding mission: ministering to troubled souls and lifting the downhearted.
Cullen spent the first week after the Aug. 29 hurricane living and working in Warehouse 19, one of three warehouses converted to shelters. His Navy congregation: about 1,200 stranded sailors, family members and NCBC students.
Cullen and his fellow chaplains tried to keep spirits high with nightly prayer services that leaned heavily on psalms and religious music accompanied by Cullen’s acoustic guitar.
He also ministered to anyone who wanted simply to stop and talk.
Surprisingly, Cullen said, most people seemed more caught up dealing with the usual problems of life — marital and financial concerns, for instance — and not the stress of the hurricane.
That was then. More recently, Cullen has helped sailors grapple with more weighty concerns. Such questions as “Why did this happen?” are not unusual.
An ordained Presbyterian minister, Cullen says disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are not “acts of God.”
“God is not sitting around with a giant bowling ball waiting to see who he can knock down,” he tells those seeking spiritual answers.
Besides offering his own assurance, Cullen said he’s referred some people to a team of Navy psychiatrists and psychologists for follow-up counseling.
It’s been a tough period for Navy people, Cullen said.
Besides having their homes destroyed, many Seabees have worked long days on recovery operations, trying to restore power and water, and get local schools open by October.
Most of Cullen’s own household belongings were stored in a warehouse and wiped out by the hurricane. He said his faith restores his spirits.
Cullen became an officer in September 2003 through a direct commissioning program. For the first two years of his career, he served as a drilling reservist.
Cullen said the weeks after the storm have sped up his transition to being an active-duty chaplain.
“It’s just being present and willing to act and helping them if they need it,” he said.
Ellie
Hurricane gives Navy chaplain ‘baptism by fire’
By Christopher Munsey
Times staff writer
A new chaplain usually spends the first few weeks at a new command getting to know people and learning how to get around the base.
Navy Lt. David Cullen, 39, didn’t have that luxury.
Four days after graduating from the Naval Chaplains School on Aug. 12, Cullen arrived at Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Miss.
And then came Hurricane Katrina.
“It really was a baptism by fire,” Cullen said.
While sailors helped rescue victims, clear roads and repair damaged homes and buildings, Cullen and his six fellow chaplains had an equally demanding mission: ministering to troubled souls and lifting the downhearted.
Cullen spent the first week after the Aug. 29 hurricane living and working in Warehouse 19, one of three warehouses converted to shelters. His Navy congregation: about 1,200 stranded sailors, family members and NCBC students.
Cullen and his fellow chaplains tried to keep spirits high with nightly prayer services that leaned heavily on psalms and religious music accompanied by Cullen’s acoustic guitar.
He also ministered to anyone who wanted simply to stop and talk.
Surprisingly, Cullen said, most people seemed more caught up dealing with the usual problems of life — marital and financial concerns, for instance — and not the stress of the hurricane.
That was then. More recently, Cullen has helped sailors grapple with more weighty concerns. Such questions as “Why did this happen?” are not unusual.
An ordained Presbyterian minister, Cullen says disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are not “acts of God.”
“God is not sitting around with a giant bowling ball waiting to see who he can knock down,” he tells those seeking spiritual answers.
Besides offering his own assurance, Cullen said he’s referred some people to a team of Navy psychiatrists and psychologists for follow-up counseling.
It’s been a tough period for Navy people, Cullen said.
Besides having their homes destroyed, many Seabees have worked long days on recovery operations, trying to restore power and water, and get local schools open by October.
Most of Cullen’s own household belongings were stored in a warehouse and wiped out by the hurricane. He said his faith restores his spirits.
Cullen became an officer in September 2003 through a direct commissioning program. For the first two years of his career, he served as a drilling reservist.
Cullen said the weeks after the storm have sped up his transition to being an active-duty chaplain.
“It’s just being present and willing to act and helping them if they need it,” he said.
Ellie