Between Heaven and Earth - Chaplain's Blog

Chaplain's Blog

How many so-and-so does it take to change a light bulb? Yeah, it's always a good one, isn't it? But let's change the question and asked it seriously: "How many people does it take to help stranded people at JFK?", and let's add one more: "What kind of people does it take to help stranded people at JFK?" You see where I am going with it... Yes, we have a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but it is not entirely ours to keep. I think that despite the fact that we all live in a world filled with so much greed and corporate coldness, many of us have had the chance - and in a sense privilege - to experience in both active and passive forms, so many examples of goodness, compassion and true love of neighbor no matter who he/she was.

I am sure that the time for analysis will soon come, when all issues will be dissected and looked at, but we see already what kind of a "monster" we deal with. Today in the morning, right before breakfast, one of the managers at Terminal 4 said that she has been through big snow storms, blackout, and 9/11 but what happened this time was something totally stunning. The outpouring of human concern and generosity went beyond her expectation. She was was obviously in awe of what she has been so close to. I keep wondering about the same. And I will for a while...

OK, what happened today? We woke up again to a new reality. Indeed we had over a hundred people sleeping in the "red carpet area". Most of them however left very early on, even before breakfast. So we ended up serving the first meal of the day for about 40 people. And we kept plenty of food for them throughout late afternoon, when we moved some food the "red carpet area" for those (about 10) who would be forced to spend another night at the terminal. Thus, the Tri-Faith Chapel Museum became a museum and conference room again. Tomorrow the last ones will finally say goodbye to JFK, which I am sure they are eager to do.

Imagine that: we have a couple of hundred used Red Cross blankets left behind. The Red Cross does not take them back. So we tried to find a place that would be willing to take one-time-used good blankets. Yes, they need to be washed, but these are good blankets. Not much good luck with that and we hate to get rid of them! Well, if people don't take them, let's try animals... We were able to donate them to JFK Vetport and a few shelters and animal clinics. If you are interested in getting some (they are unfolded; in trash-can size bags; you can fit 3 such bags on the back seat of Corolla [recall and not recall alike]) call our office at 718-656-5348. Also, we made sure no food was wasted as we were wrapping up the Camp Kennedy.

Folks, thank all of you who were concerned, helped or just read what I tried to share with you in these days. Those of you whom I had a chance to talk to, I will keep your email and phone numbers and you will hear from me soon. Thank you and God bless you,

fr. chris

Chaplain's Blog

Wednesday. The day comes to an end. Very different day. We started with furnace-hot bagels. Man, they were good. Not much you need when you have a great bagel: a little bit of cream cheese crowns the whole thing. For some people it is a good start into a day full of attempts to get on the plane, or the standby list. It sounds strange, but I am beginning to think "and then there were showers etc." As usually. I don't even know if it is good or bad.

There were, however unusual things as well: We got new food providers which took care of the rest of the day. Tomorrow we will have other ones. It is so great to see them helping out and really stepping in with such generosity. There were also regular people (a.k.a. strangers) whose hearts are just beautiful all over: one gentleman from Long Island City (who did not look like somebody who had much himself) brought a loaf of bread and a can of soda. You can't help but just think of the widow from the gospel that gave everything she had. Such people can move you from your foundation, and they really do. Or Katie and her family, with little Kennedy (I am not kidding) they collected $500 at work and brought tons of food. I don't know their last name, so in my phone I stored her number under "Katie Samaritan". Go figure.

And the big one too: the combined forces of Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn gave us a grant for $7,000. Sweet, isn't it? It just simply makes you feel good, that even in the event of few people staying longer than anybody else, we are good to go for quite some time.

Just make believe that there were more people whose generosity went a long way. "God will provide", I am thinking many times, and God does. Thanks to God and these just phenomenal people. And the timing is just perfect: Easter time. These people create a lot of hope. Thank you all.

Tonight the number of passengers is much lower than we used to see. There are over 80 people as of now. There still might be a few coming back from their unsuccessful attempts to board a plane, but the number should not exceed 100, I think. Which means, things are going back to normal slowly but surely. The area outside the chapel is clean and empty now; no cots, no Red Cross blankets. They all sleep in the "red carpet area" right under the JFK tower. Sleep well, my friends, tomorrow is another big day for you, hopefully the last one at JFK. Until you come and visit us again.

Chaplain's Blog

Do you like wine? Well, you really don’t have to in order to understand what I am writing about. It is about something that is called a "tail", “legs” or quite simply an aftertaste. In other words, you have already swallowed the precious liquid and then, only then you taste something else, if anything at all. I suspect this is exactly where the situation with the stranded passengers is heading.

Remember Katrina? Of course you do. However since it is no longer main headline, many people stopped realizing that the drama in Louisiana is far from over. I am afraid that this is where the story about stranded passengers is leading. Why? Because in many people’s minds the situation is stabilizing. It is somewhat true, due to reestablished connection between Europe and North America, and let us hope that soon all the stranded will find their way home. However, I think the problem is reaching the point of acceptable negligence. What I mean by that is there might be people, whose confirmed seats (as of tonight) are at the end of next week, meaning MAY! That is still roughly about 10 days and nights away. Imagine that. So, I hope they either leave soon, meaning tonight, tomorrow or maybe on Thursday at the latest, or they know they have to stay longer period. In that case we could place them in shelters and provide home-like conditions. Otherwise there will be no more food or showers provided for them for the time being, not mentioning the fact of sleeping at a 24-hours open terminal with so many people around all the time. Let’s hope and pray for the best.

Our good-old campers took showers in the morning and had two meals provided. There were over 80 of them. At this time however, the numbers have increased. I am not sure by how many, but if I say that total number is about 200 I won’t be off the mark by much. Where are they coming from? Europe! Yes, they just arrived just as many travelers going to Europe by catching any flight over the pond. And since the New York hotels are either booked or incredibly expensive, they will be camping with us for a night or two, in order for them to catch connecting flight to their original destination.

What can you do? I am afraid nothing at this time. But keep your eyes open, apparently every day brings new development. Let us pray that at least the volcano is no longer the problem and the situation goes back to normal as soon as possible.

Chaplain's Blog

The fifth day of Camp Kennedy is coming to an end. Today it was really a good day. The stranded passengers received a lot attention not only from the media, but through the media. I received about a dozen calls and emails from people offering their hospitality, who really felt for them. There is no way to express how important it is to have the feedback, that people are concerned, that they simply care for some strangers. I am sure there are many such stories in your lives as well on a daily basis, however, you all know we live in a very disposable society, thus your concerns, phone calls, emails and prayers are very important. Here is the updated situation from Camp Kennedy at Terminal 4 (the biggest group, which is growing to passengers moving from Terminals 1, 3 and 8):

Today it was a major accomplishment in terms of people being able to take showers. It really pleased them a lot. I can see that their morale is much higher. They are happier and we really have a sense village here. Some were lucky enough to leave for Amsterdam (Congratulations upon your graduation from our camp). Others will be leaving around midnight. Throughout the day, they were very well fed, particularly in the evening, when they had a nice meal. Now, I type these words, some of them are watching TV.

Everybody is waiting for tomorrow and possible flights that the day will bring. That is why all your wonderful offers of hospitality we had to decline, because nobody wants to leave the airport at this time. Of course we can't blame them. We would be eager to leave the the place as soon as possible as well. They know about the invisible network of people of goodwill, however they all hope to be gone by tomorrow night or on Wednesday at the latest. Let us hope it is the case. In case the situation turns ugly, I am keeping your phone numbers and emails. Thank you again 

Tomorrow, the Terminal 4 will serve breakfast at 7:00 AM, so they will have a nice good start into hopefully a good day of travel home.

Thank you for your help and support. Goodnight from all of us at Camp Kennedy.