FORT HOOD, Texas— With this year’s theme dubbed, “Relevant and Responsive in Times of Crisis,” and in observance of Pastoral Care Week, the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center hosted its annual prayer breakfast to promote spiritual resiliency for its Soldier/civilian workforce and their families, Oct. 26.
“I think that theme fits for almost all of us,” said Lt. Col. Jason Unsworth, CRDAMC chaplain. “Whether a chaplain, a doctor, a nurse, front desk personnel or administration, here in this hospital many of you have been there in times of crisis. Whether trauma, a mass casualty event, global pandemic—through your skilled professionalism and training—you’ve been relevant and have offered the necessary care. Through your gifts of care and compassion, you have been responsive to those in crisis. Thank you for what you do.”    
During the prayer breakfast, members of the pastoral team offered prayers for the hospital leaders, staff, patients and the surrounding community; and, the audience was graced with a message from the guest speaker for the event Lt. Col. Chris Wallace, III Corps deputy command chaplain, and singing from Nina Robinson, minister of music with the Agape Church in Killeen. Robinson sang the national anthem and her version of “I’ll Trust You” by Richard Smallwood.
Wallace drew from his experiences to emphasize the power of prayer and the importance of those “words of encourage.”
Centering his message on Psalms 121 from the Bible, the chaplain shared his story about being a pilot and calling for help from the control tower because he couldn’t see the beacon for the air field runway, and his mother was onboard sitting next to him.
“I was literally on the verge of freaking out, but I made a call to the tower, and got some help,” Wallace said.
Words from the tower, their encouragement and skills—I was never really in danger— I was just extremely anxious and nervous, and when you have anxiety and nerves you have to to get some help for your spiritual life and your spiritual discipline, he said.
“Psalm 121, if you literally pray that psalm, it will calm your soul and encourage you to face whatever makes you anxious or worried, and that will help you be relevant and responsive,” Wallace said.