Oklahoma City Pastors Share Insights from 1995 Bombing

Keeping faith and supporting those affected by the tragedy of September 11 are important as the nation moves ahead, say United Methodist pastors who responded to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

"You never get over something like what happened in Oklahoma City," said the Rev. Robert Allen. "You'll never get over what happened in New York and Washington. These are just horrible, tragic events. ... Our faith is important at times like these." Allen, currently serving at First United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas, was pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building [left] was bombed.

The people of Oklahoma City know the trauma that still lies ahead for New York and Washington. The bomb blast that destroyed the Murrah building on April 19, 1995, killed 168 people and injured 400 to 500 others.

"It took us about three and a half to four weeks to get all the bodies out," Allen said of the bombing. "There's no telling how long it's going to take" in New York and Washington, he said.

Six Years Later

Six years later, several people are still receiving free counseling offered by the United Methodist Church's Oklahoma Annual (regional) Conference for those affected by the bombing, said the Rev. David Severe, executive director of conference program ministries. He expects more people to seek help as the trauma of the bombing returns, triggered by the recent attacks.

"One of the things we're anticipating right now is that there were some folks that appeared to recover rather quickly (from the bombing) who really only stuffed that down inside, and with this experience, that is going to be pushed back up to the surface," Severe said. The conference is getting the word out about its counseling service. "We have people ready and standing by."

The Volunteers-In-Mission program is prepared to send teams to New York and Washington if they're needed, Severe said. The conference initially considered gathering material supplies for the people and rescue workers in New York and Washington, but learned that those types of aid weren't needed. The church also dissuaded groups from donating clothing. "We wound up hauling off truckloads of unusable material" in 1995, he said.

"Basically, we're saying to people, 'You need to give to UMCOR,'" Severe said. "That's the best way to help the people of New York right now." The United Methodist Committee on Relief was critical in helping Oklahoma City recover from the bombing and a devastating tornado in 1997, he said. "We would not have made it through either one of those experiences without UMCOR." Contributions can be made through local United Methodist churches, designated for UMCOR, "Love in the Midst of Tragedy," # 901125-3, or by calling 800-554-8583.

God's Grace and Care Strengthens People

The strength of community comes to the fore at times like these, said Bishop Dan Solomon of Granbury, Texas, who led the Oklahoma Conference at the time of the bombing. "We must be clear to ourselves and others that those who instigate these acts of heartache and terror and disruption are in fact violating the basic human community to which all of us belong -- Muslim, Jew, Christian."

After the attack on the Murrah building, the church used worship services and liturgies to emphasize God's grace and care for all people, Solomon said. "We tried to put God as the central focus of our conversation and our concern." That helped people move away from making simply a human, "personal-hurt" type of reaction to a Christian, faith-based response, he said.

One of the church's first responses was to field experts in working with children, Ames said. That was a major concern because 19 youngsters died in the blast, and Oklahoma's children were feeling tremendous anxiety. With UMCOR's help, the church provided statewide training for teachers and others who work with children. Kits for children were distributed across the state.

Allen organized a corps of chaplains in Oklahoma City at the mayor's request. He stationed them in critical areas -- with rescue and recovery people, in the morgue at First United Methodist Church across the street from the Murrah building, on the street, at the notification site at First Christian Church where families awaited news of loved ones. The chaplains were "vitally important," he said. Some of the rescue workers wouldn't talk to professional counselors, but they did talk to the chaplains, he said.

Ames said the rescue and recovery workers dealing with the latest tragedy "will suffer tremendously" and will need a lot of support. Police and firefighters involved in Oklahoma City's recovery experienced a high divorce rate, he said. Chaplains also will need support, he added, recalling that the city's chaplains suffered emotional distress as they responded to the bombing.

The Church's Special Focus

The federal government will focus on families that lost loved ones, but tens of thousands of people are experiencing the trauma of serious injury, the loss of a colleague or friend, the loss of a business, and they will receive little if any attention, Ames said. "Their pain is tremendous."

The economic impact will be tragic, he said. "Oklahoma City lost 600 businesses the day of our bombing; 300 of them never came back."

Funding counseling for several years will be a major ministry for the church, he said. The church also must do a lot of theological work, he said, addressing questions such as: How can a good God allow suffering like this? Why the loss of innocent lives? What's the meaning of evil?

Churches in Oklahoma City, as around the country, are holding vigils and prayer services, and responding in any way they can. Chapel Hill, for example, is collecting an offering for UMCOR and sending notes of encouragement to New York.

The outpouring of concern from around the country strengthened the people of Oklahoma. "One cannot underestimate the significant impact it produced," Solomon said. "It brought comfort; it brought strength. There was a sense of solidarity that was experienced at levels that persons in Oklahoma had never had occasion to experience in terms of the meaning of the Methodist connection." That feeling grew out of UMCOR's immediate presence, letters from around the country – including hundreds from children -- and the responses of congregations.

The Healing Process Takes Time

The healing process takes time, pastors said.

"It unfolds in waves, like when you throw a pebble in a lake," Severe said. "And some people recover relatively quickly, others process it for indeterminate lengths of time, and some folks are still struggling with it."

"There's just not closure," Ames said. "When you've lost a loved one to an act of violence ... it may get easier to bear, but it's with you."

However, Christians proclaim that even in tragedy there can be triumph, he said. "We sure have seen that in Oklahoma City. We have seen people made stronger and bridges built." Downtown, once in decay, has been restored. On the grounds of a bombing memorial stands a building dedicated to the study of anti-terrorism and peaceful conflict resolution.

"There will be good coming out of the evil," Ames said, "but healing will take years."

UMCOR 9/11 Update September 2004: UMCOR's response to the aftermath of September 11 continues. We thank are thankful for all of contributions that United Methodists and others have so generously given.

September 20, 2001