On the 2015 National Day of Prayer, Navy Yard shooting survivor Jennifer Bennett explained her relationship with the power of spiritual conversation at the 9th Annual Military and Civilian Chaplain Interagency Conference held at the Fort Myer Officers' Club May 7.
Bennett, a featured speaker at the conference, was critically wounded Sept. 16, 2013, and after sheltering in place, she and a number of her co-workers began to reach out to God for others.
"We started to pray. We first prayed for the shooter [Aaron Alexis]. Then we prayed for the shooter's mother. That was very heartbreaking," Bennett said as her voice cracked during a question-and-answer session with an audience that numbered close to 100 military and civilian chaplains.
Bennett, deputy chief of staff, Naval Sea Systems Command, gave a first-hand account of her involvement of the Navy Yard incident, how her faith aided in her perseverance and her emotional, heartfelt appreciation of Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington's chaplaincy were all parts of her address.
"You each - and each of you - are the ones who are called. You are God's lion chasers," Bennett said of the entire congregation of chaplains. "Lion chasers are the type of people who rise to the occasion. They do not live by sitting back waiting to see what God is going to do next."
The conference, entitled "The Washington Navy Yard Shooting - Chaplaincy Response - Learning and Moving On," was a forum providing information, response analysis and eyewitness accounts of the shooting, yet there were a number of themes and purposes introduced to attendees. One purpose of the conference's comprehensive analysis of the shootings was that it would help chaplain first responders when another moment of crisis occurs. A main theme was to train and stay sharp for the spiritual fight.
"In the Army, we begin our day one of two ways," JFHQ-NCR/MDW Command Chaplain (Col.) Gary Studniewski said as he began the prayer service which preceded the conference. "The first way is to do physical conditioning...The second thing we do, the chaplains will put on a prayer breakfast, where we do spiritual fitness. We come together to hear a message."
The messages were clear from the guest speakers - chaplains are the workhorses of the military.
"A chaplain's work doesn't occur for just an hour. You don't call them on site for just an hour; you bring them on for days and days and days, and not just at the event, but for days and weeks and the months that follow," said JFHQ-NCR/MDW Deputy Commander Egon Hawrylak during welcoming remarks.
An integral part of the day-long affair was the panel discussions, where fellow chaplains and first responders were invited to ask questions and make comments. In some cases, the questions were hard hitting like when one written inquiry asked if anyone of faith reached out to the shooter's family.
"The fact that we can ask those questions helps us address the small things which helps us tackle the big things," said Navy Cmdr. Michael Pumphrey of the JFHQ-NCR/MDW Command Chaplain's Office and moderator of the conference. "By having people not pull any punches in terms of the questions and comments they make, that helps us prepare for the future."
The meeting was also a chance for regional police and fire department chaplains to network with military chaplains, exchange contact information and trade thoughts and ideas. Some chaplains traveled from Pennsylvania for the conference.
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