The Call that Moved Mountains

On Monday, July 8th, 2019, I contacted Father Greg McBrayer, the Director of the DFW Chaplaincy, about a fragile situation concerning my colleague. Sadly, my colleague’s mother and father were vacationing on the trip of a lifetime to Italy when his mother fell ill and died unexpectedly. As you can imagine, a death of any sort is sad enough, let alone under these specific circumstances.

I called Father Greg with the details regarding my colleague who was flying out from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Italy to meet his father and bring his deceased mother back home. In a matter of hours, he was able to work out the necessary logistics to ensure he was at the gate to meet my colleague. Without hesitation, Father Greg said he would meet my colleague at his departing gate at DFW. To my surprise, Father Greg also took two other airline employees to assist my colleague pre-board and ensure he was comfortable as he boarded what was likely the most difficult flight of his life.

One would argue that our first responders do not get the recognition they deserve. I am not talking about a firefighter or a police officer in this case. I am speaking of the chaplaincy staff of spiritual first responders, specifically Father Greg. He is the epitome of a spiritual first responder at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He does it all with compassion, humility, and dignity for the people he encounters and serves daily. First responders are the individuals who rush in while everyone else walks away. At one of the world’s busiest airports, many passengers are unaware that as they hurry past or wait impatiently in the terminals, some of the airport’s finest unsung heroes are working to provide healing and hope for others on their journeys.

Ultimately, at 4:35 pm CST, my colleague boarded his flight to be with his dear mother and father. Before his departure, Father Greg and the team members he assembled prayed and gave comfort during a time when comfort had been lost. There is work that only a select few are chosen to do, and luckily for the rest of us, Father Greg answered the ultimate call to serve on the front lines. Father Greg is a blessing to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, American Airlines, and everyone he encounters in his global ministry of presence mission.