{"id":4681,"date":"2007-08-10T13:44:32","date_gmt":"2007-08-10T18:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=4681"},"modified":"2010-12-20T10:54:26","modified_gmt":"2010-12-20T15:54:26","slug":"5768","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/08\/10\/5768\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaplain Shares Pain of Minneapolis Bridge Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 10, 2007) \u2013 Tears have been frequent companions of Pat Hall since the Interstate 35-west bridge collapsed during the evening rush hour August 1.
\n
\nAs chaplain for the Ramsey County Sheriff\u2019s Department and the Burnsville Police Department, Hall has wept often and been with the grieving friends and family of the tragedy\u2019s victims as they cried. Seven people have been confirmed dead and six remain missing.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the bridge collapsed at 6:05 p.m., Hall, who was on his duty rotation, received a call that his services were needed immediately at the site. \u201cThe pictures hardly convey the real thing,\u201d Hall says. \u201cIt\u2019s like trying to experience the Grand Canyon from a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Hall arrived and saw for himself the bridge in the water, the crumpled cars, as well as the injured and shaken survivors, he says, \u201cI just started crying. It was so overwhelming.\u201d He walked up to an FBI agent, \u201cand he just started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, he has helped break the news of the death of loved ones or that someone was missing. He has spent more than 100 hours ministering to families and friends of the victims and has been on the bridge repeatedly, where he ministered to rescue workers and law enforcement officials. Other people who were on the bridge when it collapsed, but survived, also have sought the help of chaplains.<\/p>\n

Hall, who also is pastor of Frontline Church, which is newly adopted into the Evangelical Covenant Church, says many survivors are asking questions about where was God when the bridge collapsed. He replies that \u201cthere\u2019s no answer as to \u2018why\u2019 that anyone knows. We have to ask, \u2018What do we do now?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Each day, many of the victims\u2019 relatives and friends stop at a room that has been set up for them at Augsburg College. \u201cThey come down in a room, and we sit and talk,\u201d says Hall. That has led deepening relationships among all who are involved, he adds.<\/p>\n

Hall says part of his job in helping people deal with the tragedy is to encourage them, \u201cnot to put it behind them, but how to move on with it.\u201d The first step, however, has been for the chaplains to spend hours listening while wishing they knew what more they could do. \u201cI feel so helpless. I can\u2019t do anything but sit with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tragedy continues to affect the chaplains, too. \u201cIt\u2019s really heavy. We\u2019ve been debriefing, talking with one another,\u201d Hall says. \u201cThere are intercessors praying with us.\u201d
\nHall says his daily devotions also are helping him through.<\/p>\n

The Burnsville police chief plans to meet with the chaplains from his department in the morning to help them share stories and discuss their own issues, says Hall\u2019s brother, Dan Hall, the founder and director of Midwest Chaplains<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The support of his family has helped Hall. \u201cI have the most wonderful wife,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes Debbie just holds me while I cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 10, 2007) \u2013 Tears have been frequent companions of Pat Hall since the Interstate 35-west bridge collapsed during the evening rush hour August 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nChaplain Shares Pain of Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/08\/10\/5768\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chaplain Shares Pain of Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - 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