The WHI Team

The Rt. Rev. David Bena, The Rev. Nigel Mumford, Lt. Col. Noel Dawes, Sandra Lester

The Rev. Nigel W. D. Mumford
Director of Healing Ministries at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center [click for bio]
Former Drill Instructor, Commando Training Center, UK Royal Marines

Lt. Col. Noel C. E. Dawes
Former Infantry Officer, British Army [click for bio]

The Rt. Rev. David J. Bena
Suffragan Bishop, Convocation of Anglicans in North America [click for bio]
Former U. S. Air Force Chaplain and U.S. Marine Corps Officer

Sandra Lester: Coordinator of program.

Lastest News:

 Healing Experiences Pastor helps veterans overcome trauma at Greenwich retreat Read more: http://poststar.com/lifestyles/pastor-helps-veterans-overcome-trauma-at-greenwich-retreat/article_d0fb90fc-0cd4-11e1-9f1b-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1dbrHdgOT Photos at: http://poststar.com/gallery/welcome-home-initiative/collection_53b109a4-0cb8-11e1-ad64-001cc4c03286.html Article: GREENWICH -- The 16 veterans entered the chapel of Christ the King Spiritual Life Center to fanfare.It was the closing ceremonies of the 11th Welcome Home Initiative, meant to help those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the former members of the armed forces who had experienced the horrors of battle, both on the field and at home, were receiving a standing ovation of support from uniformed school girls, the Greenwich Color Guard, members of the Patriot Riders and the community. As they made their way to their seats to the tune of Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA" and words of "Welcome Home! Thank you!" projected on three overhead screens, some of the veterans seemed overwhelmed, with a few wiping away tears while others were smiling broadly. For three days, these men and one woman - some with spouses - shared painful memories, prayed together and learned about resources that could help them survive their ordeals with PTSD and thrive. "Some of you came in very dejected, very broken, with obvious burdens upon your shoulders, and the joy of the Lord now is upon you as the Lord has healed you, redeemed, refreshed and set you free," the Rev. Nigel Mumford said to the veterans seated in the first two rows. Personal connections The ordained Episcopal priest, who also is the director of healing ministries at Christ the King and head of the Welcome Home Initiative team, understands the misery these veterans have experienced. In the 1970s, Mumford was a drill instructor for Britain's Royal Marines and watched a friend get shot and others blown apart by bombs. Then, after Mumford completed his year in combat, he received word that four recruits he believed he had led through basic training were killed.He said he always was fearful of losing soldiers who were his responsibility, and he blamed himself for the deaths, even though the men were killed as a result of terrorist activity. The death of the soldiers was the last straw for Mumford. He was so traumatized by the savages of war, he was hospitalized and couldn't utter a sound for a weekInitiative team, understands the misery these veterans have experienced. In the 1970s, Mumford was a drill instructor for Britain's Royal Marines and watched a friend get shot and others blown apart by bombs. Then, after Mumford completed his year in combat, he received word that four recruits he believed he had led through basic training were killed.He said he always was fearful of losing soldiers who were his responsibility, and he blamed himself for the deaths, even though the men were killed as a result of terrorist activity. The death of the soldiers was the last straw for Mumford. He was so traumatized by the savages of war, he was hospitalized and couldn't utter a sound for a week He stuttered badly for six months after.  "(PTSD) was called ‘shell shock' back then," Mumford said. "I was a mess, but God brought me through." Mumford has since learned the soldiers killed were someone else's recruits.Giving thanks Part of Mumford's healing stemmed from being thanked for his combat experience. "That had a profound effect. I realized that was the main problem with the Vietnam-era veterans. They were spat at, they were called ‘baby killers' and nobody said ‘thank you.' To say ‘thank you' to a veteran can change that person's life," he said. After 9/11, Mumford spent a day working at Ground Zero and said he realized God wanted him to help others who had experienced trauma. For the following three years, he counseled psychotherapists who had developed PTSD secondhand from dealing with 9/11 issues. During World War I in England, there were retreat houses designed for soldiers suffering from PTSD, and Mumford felt something similar was needed here.  In 2008, the priest and two other retired military men, Bishop David Bena and Lt. Col. Noel Dawes, created the Welcome Home Initiative retreats in Greenwich to address the needs and concerns of veterans dealing with PTSD. PTSD background The condition is not always obvious to the outside observer. Symptoms can include stuttering and/or the inability to speak, chronic insomnia, irritability and sudden outbursts of anger, repeated nightmares, depression, an exaggerated startled response and the "thousand yard stare," in which a soldier is trying to dissociate himself from his trauma. "Their brain is reliving part of the battle. The problem is you can't fight and you can't flight. You've been in combat, now you're thinking about it, and you can't run away from the memory and you can't fight because it's done. You get trapped," Mumford said. "I know people who are homeless because they can't work. I know people who, when they are triggered, get in the car and disappear for three to five days, and their wives don't know where they are." Healing ceremony An integral component of the event is when Mumford prays for each veteran individually on the final morning. He said he often anoints the trigger finger or thumbs with the sign of the cross. "It's more than therapeutic. The Bible says, ‘Thou shall not kill,' and a lot of veterans beat themselves up; they think they've broken one of the Ten Commandments. Also, in the Bible, it says, ‘There's a time to kill and a time to heal' - and we have to reconcile that, particularly with certain denominations that are so locked on to that. The burden and guilt takes so many lives," Mumford said. Vietnam veteran Joe Yeager traveled from Utica for the three-day retreat. He said he has been plagued for 30 years by gruesome images of a man who had the top of his head blown off and his eyes sucked out with an M79 grenade rifle. Yeager had participated in numerous counseling programs through the Marine Corps but said he either left in the same condition he started or had only "superficial" healing. "At the military, they told me how to cope, but they couldn't get to the root of the problem. Here they encouraged me to go back into that situation and ask where Jesus was. I saw him in the heavens. They said when you see (the images), see Christ. It takes the power (of the memory) away. I'm not dwelling on it, you know what I mean?" Yeager said. "I see tangible stuff I can use. I'll see how it pans out." Bryan Ashley-Selleck, 43, came to the retreat with his fiancée, Marcy Smith. The Middlebury, Vt., man is disfigured on one side of his face from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had not only been haunted by the Gulf War but by memories of abuse that began when he was a toddler. Ashley-Selleck said he managed to graduate from high school and enter the Marine Corps. He married and had two children, but then he "lost everything." "There was anger, all that anxiety, and the combat part of it just reared its ugly head. I was homeless, I was eating food out of a garbage can. I lost my job, I lost my wife," Ashley-Selleck said. He slowly started to get back on track, returning to church, and he met Smith a year ago. Smith said attending the retreat with her fiancé was "crucial" to their relationship. "I have no experience of abuse myself or in my family, and we've had things come up that have been difficult to deal with, like anger and frustration and learning what the source of that is. I've had to learn a whole new world I've never been exposed to. I've always known God is there helping us all the time, but even sometimes in that difficulty you can find yourself turning away from God, that this person is your enemy," Smith said. "This (retreat) helps tremendously." Shared experiences For Ashley-Selleck, the highlight of the Welcome Home Initiative was sitting in a circle with other combat veterans and discovering their common bonds. "They had the same PTSD issues. You just don't walk in the street and talk to someone about that and have them understand it right down to a ‘T'. I came to tears and let some things out, and I don't even know these guys," he said. "You don't get that from a counselor you're paying 120 bucks an hour to." "God tells us that those who have been comforted by him are then able to give that comfort to others and that's what happens between these men. They really were healing each other through a mixture of confession, what happened, of crying out for help and being open to receiving help," Smith said. Ashley-Selleck said that even though he has a religious foundation, it's not necessary to benefit from the retreat. "That's the thing about this place, they don't preach to you, they don't push (religion) on you, but I really believe when they leave here, it's stamped onto them," he said. Helping Veterans  It costs about $15,000 to put on a retreat, Mumford said, but veterans or their families are never charged for their participation. Private donations, however, are accepted. Mumford, who is also the author of "Hand to Hand from Combat to Healing" and "The Forgotten Touch," has just released a third book, "After the Trauma the Battle Begins," which is an outgrowth of his work with PTSD sufferers. He has appeared at the Pentagon to speak about his Welcome Home Initiatives, and the chief of staff of the British Army, who reports to the Queen of England, wrote the forward to his new book. Mumford cautioned that attending the retreat is just one ingredient to the healing puzzle; there are those who may also may need a therapist and prescribed medication "It's more than therapeutic. The Bible says, ‘Thou shall not kill,' and a lot of veterans beat themselves up; they think they've broken one of the Ten Commandments. Also, in the Bible, it says, ‘There's a time to kill and a time to heal' - and we have to reconcile that, particularly with certain denominations that are so locked on to that. The burden and guilt takes so many lives," Mumford said. Vietnam veteran Joe Yeager traveled from Utica for the three-day retreat. He said he has been plagued for 30 years by gruesome images of a man who had the top of his head blown off and his eyes sucked out with an M79 grenade rifle. Yeager had participated in numerous counseling programs through the Marine Corps but said he either left in the same condition he started or had only "superficial" healing. "At the military, they told me how to cope, but they couldn't get to the root of the problem. Here they encouraged me to go back into that situation and ask where Jesus was. I saw him in the heavens. They said when you see (the images), see Christ. It takes the power (of the memory) away. I'm not dwelling on it, you know what I mean?" Yeager said. "I see tangible stuff I can use. I'll see how it pans out." Bryan Ashley-Selleck, 43, came to the retreat with his fiancée, Marcy Smith. The Middlebury, Vt., man is disfigured on one side of his face from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had not only been haunted by the Gulf War but by memories of abuse that began when he was a toddler. Ashley-Selleck said he managed to graduate from high school and enter the Marine Corps. He married and had two children, but then he "lost everything." "There was anger, all that anxiety, and the combat part of it just reared its ugly head. I was homeless, I was eating food out of a garbage can. I lost my job, I lost my wife," Ashley-Selleck said. He slowly started to get back on track, returning to church, and he met Smith a year ago. Smith said attending the retreat with her fiancé was "crucial" to their relationship. "I have no experience of abuse myself or in my family, and we've had things come up that have been difficult to deal with, like anger and frustration and learning what the source of that is. I've had to learn a whole new world I've never been exposed to. I've always known God is there helping us all the time, but even sometimes in that difficulty you can find yourself turning away from God, that this person is your enemy," Smith said. "This (retreat) helps tremendously." Shared experiences For Ashley-Selleck, the highlight of the Welcome Home Initiative was sitting in a circle with other combat veterans and discovering their common bonds. "They had the same PTSD issues. You just don't walk in the street and talk to someone about that and have them understand it right down to a ‘T'. I came to tears and let some things out, and I don't even know these guys," he said. "You don't get that from a counselor you're paying 120 bucks an hour to." "God tells us that those who have been comforted by him are then able to give that comfort to others and that's what happens between these men. They really were healing each other through a mixture of confession, what happened, of crying out for help and being open to receiving help," Smith said. Ashley-Selleck said that even though he has a religious foundation, it's not necessary to benefit from the retreat. "That's the thing about this place, they don't preach to you, they don't push (religion) on you, but I really believe when they leave here, it's stamped onto them," he said. Helping Veterans  It costs about $15,000 to put on a retreat, Mumford said, but veterans or their families are never charged for their participation. Private donations, however, are accepted. Mumford, who is also the author of "Hand to Hand from Combat to Healing" and "The Forgotten Touch," has just released a third book, "After the Trauma the Battle Begins," which is an outgrowth of his work with PTSD sufferers. He has appeared at the Pentagon to speak about his Welcome Home Initiatives, and the chief of staff of the British Army, who reports to the Queen of England, wrote the forward to his new book. Mumford cautioned that attending the retreat is just one ingredient to the healing puzzle; there are those who may also may need a therapist and prescribed medication He also suggests PTSD sufferers read his book. The Welcome Home Initiatives have drawn veterans to Greenwich from as far away as Hawaii and Japan, and the program has been duplicated in England and Australia. Mumford hopes to make a documentary video other churches can use to hold such retreats in their own communities. "We really need to pay attention so that we don't pass on PTSD to our children. There could be a new generation of traumatized children because their mummies and daddies have gone off to war," Mumford said. "We need to be very compassionate and acknowledge these men and women. If we can love and thank them, it can change someone's life."The Welcome Home Initiatives have drawn veterans to Greenwich from as far away as Hawaii and Japan, and the program has been duplicated in England and Australia. Mumford hopes to make a documentary video other churches can use to hold such retreats in their own communities. "We really need to pay attention so that we don't pass on PTSD to our children. There could be a new generation of traumatized children because their mummies and daddies have gone off to war," Mumford said. "We need to be very compassionate and acknowledge these men and women. If we can love and thank them, it can change someone's life."OFF SITE TEACHING.....

On Aug. 22 , 2011  The WHI Team will be traveling to Ohio, to lead a Veterans retreat there. for details:  contact Sandra, at welcomehomeinitiative@gmail.com 

Article in The Military Chaplain

To all our Welcome Home Initiative Intercessors:

I want to give you all a praise report from the visit with the Chief of Chaplains for the Army and to thank you so much for your prayer coverage.

This past weekend was a mountain top experience for me personally.  I flew to Washington DC and was picked up by an Army Chaplain and driven to an auxiliary office of the Pentagon.  (The offices for the Army Chaplains are being refurbished at the Pentagon proper.)

 I met with Major General Douglas Carver, the Chief of Army Chaplains, a 4-star General, and with 15 other Army chaplains.  The briefing and prayer before we met in the conference room was interesting.  As I was listening to the Colonel briefing me. I noticed that the sun was casting a shadow from his neck rest on the wall beside him.  I told him not to move his chair but to turn his head.  It looked like a helmet placed on a reversed rifle? the symbol of respect for a deceased veteran!  God was at work already.  

I spent an hour and a half presenting the 'Welcome Home Initiative," hosting questions, and praying.

As an example I offered prayer for the healing of memories for one of the chaplains.  While this was happening I was given a word of knowledge that was backed up by the General who, at the same moment, had the same vision.  The power of the Holy Spirit was at work!
 
I ended the session by offering an anointing of the hands of the chaplains.  The 4-star General was the first up.  All followed and presented their palms for anointing and commissioning for offering healing prayer.  I have been asked back to the Pentagon and was told that the next time I would get the tour of the building.  

As a former corporal drill instructor in the British Royal Marine Commandos, to present to these high ranking U.S. Army Chaplains was at first rather intimidating, but we had some good banter in regard to a Marine presenting to the Army.  I was able to invite these men, either individually or as a corporate group, to come to the SLC for a retreat or for them to join the WHI retreats next year. 

That evening I had a phone call from the McNutts at Christian Healing Ministries in Jacksonville, FL,  who told me that they had been praying for the visit at the Pentagon office.  When they had told their Level Three Healing School that we were doing this? the class applauded?  Both Francis and Judith were on the phone and they wanted to hear all the details of the Chaplains visit.  They we re thrilled. 

The immediate fruit of this visit is that one of the Colonels wants to do a healing service once a month at the Pentagon.  Thanks be to God!   I will keep you updated with any further fruits of this visit.

THANK YOU so much for your prayers.... we must not limit God in any way....

I have to say that this visit was such a privilege to offer help in anyway we can to returning combat veterans of all wars....

I pray for peace this Christmas... "Peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind."

Be well, do good works and for the sake of God love one another...

Fr. Nigel+

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