In light of the Jan. 27 tragedy in which 10 people, including two Oklahoma State University students and four staff members, were killed in a plane crash while trying to return to Stillwater from Colorado, many people have been affected, and are turning to their faith.
Deacon Tom Haan of St. Johns University Parish and Catholic Student Center, said people naturally gravitate toward God during hard times.
“We are a religious people, based on our hope and faith in the afterlife,” he said. “Without that faith, we’re faced with wondering — what happens next? Do they cease to exist?”
“One of the lessons we need to learn from this is recognizing how valuable life is,” Haan said.
Prayer and counseling are being offered by many area churches, including New Life Christian Fellowship. The church’s senior pastor, Kent Kelso, said his church had been directly impacted by the tragedy.
“We had quite a few students who had classes with the students who died, and we have quite a few OSU employees that attend church here,” he said.
New Life has had several times of prayer and made phone calls to many people whose lives were touched by the tragedy, Kelso said.
“I have spent time this week with them, and consoling them,” he said.
Kelso said God’s salvation and the hope of heaven offers security.
“In our service Sunday morning we read scripture about the grace of God and how he is able to care for the families and for those who were lost,” he said.
Although understanding why tragedies occur is difficult, believing in God’s sovereignty offers comfort, Robyn Eads, Campus Crusade for Christ staff member said.
“Initially, you ask why and you definitely don’t understand why people have to die like this,” she said. “My faith comes in when I choose to believe God is still in control and His purpose is in this.”
Jared Weiberg and Will Hancock, two victims of the crash, were members of the First United Methodist Church.
The congregation focused on the tragedy during last Sunday’s service, Senior Pastor Stan Warfield said.
“We encourage people to be present, to be a listening ear — what I call a ministry of presence,” he said. “We’re just making ourselves available for different groups that want to meet with us.”
Warfield, who led a group from the Delta Tau Delta house in a time of remembrance and reflection Monday, said he is handling this tragedy from the standpoint that it was not God’s will, but an accident.
“It’s not the will of God that any should perish,” he said.
Carlie Cagle, leisure studies freshman, practices Judaism. Jews do not believe in an afterlife — rather, they focus on the good that comes from the life the victims led, she said.
“This tragedy was very sad,” she said. “From what I’ve heard, these 10 people led a good life.”
Eads said though she does not understand why the crash happened, she believes everything happens for a reason.
“It’s one of those things I don’t understand,” she said. “But ultimately, God will get more glory out of it.”
Because he relies on his faith for comfort, Haan said he does not understand how people survive tragedies without it.
“I really feel sorry for people that lack faith,” he said. “I don’t know what they pull on.”
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