The Salt Lake Tribune has published an article that speaks of the presence of chaplains serving at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The article chronicles the work and feelings of the chaplains for the '10 Games who represent five major religious traditions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
Many people, religious or otherwise, don't realize that there actually are chaplains for the Olympics and wouldn't think of such a need. However, in the wake of the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, it's quite apparent that chaplaincy at the Games is quite important. The head of the interfaith team of Olympic chaplains, Rev. David Wells, relates what happened after the accident when he had to confirm that Nodar was Eastern Orthodox and then arrange for an Orthodox priest who was accompanying the Russian luge team to compassionately fill in as the spiritual support.
All of this simply goes to show how important the spiritual and emotional support of chaplains is for many arenas of life, even the Olympics. Just being a listening, receptive presence can be the most encouraging, nourishing, and supportive activity that chaplains do. And the response of the Olympic chaplaincy team at Vancouver simply confirms the significance of the work of chaplains.
Read the entire story at Faith in Public Life.
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