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February 13, 2012

Home > 2001 > November 12Christianity Today, November 12, 2001
Readying for Takeoff
According to airport chaplain, travelers don't take flying for granted after September 11.

Hutz Hertzberg is the Protestant chaplain at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, which sees more than 72 million passengers annually.

Who attends airport chapel services?

Two-thirds of the people that come to the services on Sundays are passengers, the rest are employees. The chapel is a little less threatening than walking into a local church, so we get Mormons, every stripe of Protestant, and non-Christians. I think we have one of the higher percentages anywhere of practicing Catholics that attend a Protestant service.

Are you seeing an increase since September 11?

Numbers were much higher the first Sunday after the attack. Since then, the interest is still there, but the amount of people in the system is not as high. The problem of going through security twice is a deterrent.

What are worshipers feeling?

It's basically the same question: Why did God allow this? But there seems to be an enhanced awareness of spiritual things in airports. People don't take flying as much for granted as they did before.



Related Elsewhere:

The O'Hare Airport Chapel is online. There are Catholic, Muslim, and Protestant services held at the airport chapel located in Terminal 2. The site also includes a photo of Hutz Hertzberg of the Evangelical Free Church of America.

Christianity Today essays and analysis following the September 11 attacks include:

Where Was God on 9/11? | Reflections from Ground Zero and beyond. (Oct.23, 2001)Apocalypse Not | As speculations mount regarding the significance of recent events in God's plan for the end of the world, voices from the past urge restraint. (Oct. 12, 2001)Now What? | A Christian response to religious terrorism. (Sept. 21, 2001)To Embrace the Enemy | Is reconciliation possible in the wake of such evil? (Sept. 21, 2001)After ...
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