Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; (Matthew 17:1)
Jesus, thank you that we can have special times with you away from the crowds.
and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2)
Holy Father, clothe us in the light of Jesus. Help us shine forth with his light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. (Matthew 17:3)
Holy Spirit, thank you that even now you help us enter into conversations with Jesus and hear what he is saying.
Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:4-5)
Holy Spirit, restrain us when we are impetuous and want to rush ahead with our own ideas and solutions. Help us to be obedient to the Father and hear Jesus.
Jesus, you are the beloved Son of God. By your stripes we can be healed and become His children as well. Thank you.
A word received: Be prepared for my work.
Monday: 89:1-18 * 89:19-52; Habakkuk 2:1-4,9-20 Revelation 20:7-15 Matthew 17:1-13
Tuesday: 97, 99, [100] * 94, [95]; Habakkuk 3:1-10(11-15)16-18 Revelation 21:1-8 Matthew 17:14-21
Notes from the Front Line
Happy 81st Birthday Jean!
***** Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011
From: Nigelmumford
Subject: Welcome Home Initiative YouTube
***** Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011
From: Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011
From: Noel Dawes
Subject: Re: Report: Welcome Home Initiative Retreat #11 from 7-9 November at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center, Greenwich, NY 12834
Healing Experiences
Pastor helps veterans overcome trauma at Greenwich retreat
Read more: http://poststar.com/lifestyles/pastor-helps-veterans-overcome-trauma-at-greenwich-retreat/article_d0fb90fc-0cd4-11e1-9f1b-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1dbrHdgOT
Photos at: http://poststar.com/gallery/welcome-home-initiative/collection_53b109a4-0cb8-11e1-ad64-001cc4c03286.html
Article:
GREENWICH — The 16 veterans entered the chapel of Christ the King Spiritual Life Center to fanfare.
It was the closing ceremonies of the 11th Welcome Home Initiative, meant to help those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the former members of the armed forces who had experienced the horrors of battle, both on the field and at home, were receiving a standing ovation of support from uniformed school girls, the Greenwich Color Guard, members of the Patriot Riders and the community.
As they made their way to their seats to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and words of “Welcome Home! Thank you!” projected on three overhead screens, some of the veterans seemed overwhelmed, with a few wiping away tears while others were smiling broadly.
For three days, these men and one woman – some with spouses – shared painful memories, prayed together and learned about resources that could help them survive their ordeals with PTSD and thrive.
”Some of you came in very dejected, very broken, with obvious burdens upon your shoulders, and the joy of the Lord now is upon you as the Lord has healed you, redeemed, refreshed and set you free,” the Rev. Nigel Mumford said to the veterans seated in the first two rows.
Personal connections
The ordained Episcopal priest, who also is the director of healing ministries at Christ the King and head of the Welcome Home Initiative team, understands the misery these veterans have experienced.
In the 1970s, Mumford was a drill instructor for Britain’s Royal Marines and watched a friend get shot and others blown apart by bombs.
Then, after Mumford completed his year in combat, he received word that four recruits he believed he had led through basic training were killed.
He said he always was fearful of losing soldiers who were his responsibility, and he blamed himself for the deaths, even though the men were killed as a result of terrorist activity.
The death of the soldiers was the last straw for Mumford. He was so traumatized by the savages of war, he was hospitalized and couldn’t utter a sound for a week.
He stuttered badly for six months after.
”(PTSD) was called ‘shell shock’ back then,” Mumford said. “I was a mess, but God brought me through.”
Mumford has since learned the soldiers killed were someone else’s recruits.
Giving thanks
Part of Mumford’s healing stemmed from being thanked for his combat experience.
”That had a profound effect. I realized that was the main problem with the Vietnam-era veterans. They were spat at, they were called ‘baby killers’ and nobody said ‘thank you.’ To say ‘thank you’ to a veteran can change that person’s life,” he said.
After 9/11, Mumford spent a day working at Ground Zero and said he realized God wanted him to help others who had experienced trauma. For the following three years, he counseled psychotherapists who had developed PTSD secondhand from dealing with 9/11 issues.
During World War I in England, there were retreat houses designed for soldiers suffering from PTSD, and Mumford felt something similar was needed here.
In 2008, the priest and two other retired military men, Bishop David Bena and Lt. Col. Noel Dawes, created the Welcome Home Initiative retreats in Greenwich to address the needs and concerns of veterans dealing with PTSD.
PTSD background
The condition is not always obvious to the outside observer. Symptoms can include stuttering and/or the inability to speak, chronic insomnia, irritability and sudden outbursts of anger, repeated nightmares, depression, an exaggerated startled response and the “thousand yard stare,” in which a soldier is trying to dissociate himself from his trauma.
”Their brain is reliving part of the battle. The problem is you can’t fight and you can’t flight. You’ve been in combat, now you’re thinking about it, and you can’t run away from the memory and you can’t fight because it’s done. You get trapped,” Mumford said. “I know people who are homeless because they can’t work. I know people who, when they are triggered, get in the car and disappear for three to five days, and their wives don’t know where they are.”
Healing ceremony
An integral component of the event is when Mumford prays for each veteran individually on the final morning. He said he often anoints the trigger finger or thumbs with the sign of the cross.
”It’s more than therapeutic. The Bible says, ‘Thou shall not kill,’ and a lot of veterans beat themselves up; they think they’ve broken one of the Ten Commandments. Also, in the Bible, it says, ‘There’s a time to kill and a time to heal’ – and we have to reconcile that, particularly with certain denominations that are so locked on to that. The burden and guilt takes so many lives,” Mumford said.
Vietnam veteran Joe Yeager traveled from Utica for the three-day retreat. He said he has been plagued for 30 years by gruesome images of a man who had the top of his head blown off and his eyes sucked out with an M79 grenade rifle.
Yeager had participated in numerous counseling programs through the Marine Corps but said he either left in the same condition he started or had only “superficial” healing.
”At the military, they told me how to cope, but they couldn’t get to the root of the problem. Here they encouraged me to go back into that situation and ask where Jesus was. I saw him in the heavens. They said when you see (the images), see Christ. It takes the power (of the memory) away. I’m not dwelling on it, you know what I mean?” Yeager said. “I see tangible stuff I can use. I’ll see how it pans out.”
Bryan Ashley-Selleck, 43, came to the retreat with his fiancée, Marcy Smith. The Middlebury, Vt., man is disfigured on one side of his face from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had not only been haunted by the Gulf War but by memories of abuse that began when he was a toddler.
Ashley-Selleck said he managed to graduate from high school and enter the Marine Corps. He married and had two children, but then he “lost everything.”
”There was anger, all that anxiety, and the combat part of it just reared its ugly head. I was homeless, I was eating food out of a garbage can. I lost my job, I lost my wife,” Ashley-Selleck said.
He slowly started to get back on track, returning to church, and he met Smith a year ago. Smith said attending the retreat with her fiancé was “crucial” to their relationship.
”I have no experience of abuse myself or in my family, and we’ve had things come up that have been difficult to deal with, like anger and frustration and learning what the source of that is. I’ve had to learn a whole new world I’ve never been exposed to. I’ve always known God is there helping us all the time, but even sometimes in that difficulty you can find yourself turning away from God, that this person is your enemy,” Smith said. “This (retreat) helps tremendously.”
Shared experiences
For Ashley-Selleck, the highlight of the Welcome Home Initiative was sitting in a circle with other combat veterans and discovering their common bonds.
”They had the same PTSD issues. You just don’t walk in the street and talk to someone about that and have them understand it right down to a ‘T’. I came to tears and let some things out, and I don’t even know these guys,” he said. “You don’t get that from a counselor you’re paying 120 bucks an hour to.”
”God tells us that those who have been comforted by him are then able to give that comfort to others and that’s what happens between these men. They really were healing each other through a mixture of confession, what happened, of crying out for help and being open to receiving help,” Smith said.
Ashley-Selleck said that even though he has a religious foundation, it’s not necessary to benefit from the retreat.
”That’s the thing about this place, they don’t preach to you, they don’t push (religion) on you, but I really believe when they leave here, it’s stamped onto them,” he said.
Helping veterans
It costs about $15,000 to put on a retreat, Mumford said, but veterans or their families are never charged for their participation. Private donations, however, are accepted.
Mumford, who is also the author of “Hand to Hand from Combat to Healing” and “The Forgotten Touch,” has just released a third book, “After the Trauma the Battle Begins,” which is an outgrowth of his work with PTSD sufferers.
He has appeared at the Pentagon to speak about his Welcome Home Initiatives, and the chief of staff of the British Army, who reports to the Queen of England, wrote the forward to his new book.
Mumford cautioned that attending the retreat is just one ingredient to the healing puzzle; there are those who may also may need a therapist and prescribed medication.
He also suggests PTSD sufferers read his book.
The Welcome Home Initiatives have drawn veterans to Greenwich from as far away as Hawaii and Japan, and the program has been duplicated in England and Australia.
Mumford hopes to make a documentary video other churches can use to hold such retreats in their own communities.
”We really need to pay attention so that we don’t pass on PTSD to our children. There could be a new generation of traumatized children because their mummies and daddies have gone off to war,” Mumford said. “We need to be very compassionate and acknowledge these men and women. If we can love and thank them, it can change someone’s life.”
Albany Intercessor
