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By Susan Szalewski The Catholic Voice In a sense, residents of O'Neill have been experiencing Advent for weeks now. During Advent people await the dawning of Christ in ever new and profound ways. In O'Neill they're discovering the mercy, kindness and protection of Jesus, ever since a natural gas explosion on Oct. 7 wiped out the parish center at St. Patrick Parish and damaged nearby schools, homes and a hospital. Paula Atkeson – principal of St. Mary High School, which sustained damage in the blast – said she realized that day that God had shielded her students and staff from what could have happened if they had been in the building at the time. Atkeson talked about her experience at an interdenominational Thanksgiving service held at St. Patrick Church on Nov. 24. Like others in O'Neill and the surrounding area, Atkeson was awakened at 5:55 a.m. by the loud explosion, which knocked a picture off the principal's living room wall. Later that day, she walked through the connecting high school and grade school buildings and saw for herself the damage. “As I entered each room,” she said, “I couldn't help picturing what could have happened if that room had been filled with children like it would've been in less than two hours. “Even with all the damage I saw, my first feeling was gratitude that no one had been injured in the explosion. Buildings and things can be replaced. People cannot.” Atkeson said she saw the community's recovery and outpouring of generosity as a miraculous gift from God. “It was daunting to think about moving all of our students to different locations,” she said. Students from St. Mary grade school and junior and senior high were moved to temporary classrooms in three locations in town, all provided a no cost or minimal cost. At first, she said, “it seemed like too big a task to even contemplate, and we were overwhelmed. But slowly, with offers of help from so many directions, a plan materialized.” Just 10 days after the explosion, school was back in session, she said. “It seemed like a miracle, and it was.” “Any time we met with a snag or an obstacle, someone generously stepped up to help us find a way to keep going forward,” Atkeson said. “We didn't even have to ask for things. People just stepped up and offered them.” Doctor Brian Jundt, who practices family medicine and is a volunteer firefighter, was among the first on the scene on Oct. 7. Jundt, who also spoke at the service, said he woke up to the blast. His wife, who was already awake, looked out a window and saw a huge fireball. “I was already out the door before a fire pager went off,” Jundt said. When he arrived at the parish, debris was everywhere. His first thought, he said, was how many bodies are we going to have? Later that night, when he had a chance to reflect on what happened, he said his nightly prayers and was “just thankful, thankful that this wasn't worse than what it could have been.” John Kozyra, chief executive officer at Avera St. Anthony's Hospital in O'Neill and another speaker at the prayer service, said he arrived at the hospital minutes after the explosion and could see flames shooting high above the parish center. Hospital staff and patients had been evacuated into a parking lot. Not knowing what exactly they were facing and the possibilities of injuries or even deaths, he said he was reminded of God's words “Do not be afraid.” Take a deep breath, he told himself, and take everything a step at a time “and God will guide the process.” “We do drills every year to be ready for crisis events,” Kozyra said. “But no amount of training or drills can fully prepare you for an unprecedented event like we all experienced.” In the days following the explosion, the hospital “received a flood of offers” for support, encouragement and prayers. “This meant a lot to us,” he said, “and gave us strength to work through the hardest moments of the first few days.” Initial estimates said it would take three to six months to reopen the hospital. But as administrators began making plans, “many silver linings emerged,” Kozyra said. Much needed equipment had been spared from the blast and was able to pass inspections. Speedy delivery of other supplies and timely work allowed the hospital to re-open its doors in less than four weeks. Such silver linings were seen as “miracles that paved the way for us to restoring healthcare for our community.” “I truly believe that God was watching out for us,” the hospital administrator said, “and that He heard the prayers of our community.” In his visits to O'Neill after the explosion, Archbishop George J. Lucas recognized the presence of God there. He went to O'Neill the day after the blast and more recently, on the eve of Thanksgiving. “It seems to me, from what I've been hearing over these weeks, as people have recounted in your experiences here, that you have experienced the power of Jesus,” the archbishop said in a homily at Mass on Nov. 27. That power has been seen “in good works, in spontaneous generosity, in the appreciation that people have expressed to one another and the miraculous fact that no lives were lost in this awful disaster,” he said. “Jesus has been revealing His presence in so many ways.” Father Bernard Starman, pastor of St. Patrick and three other rural parishes, said he was saddened by the loss of the parish center and the property inside. But mostly he was grateful that there were no casualties. He continues to be thankful after witnessing the tremendous support from people near and far, including the emergency crews who responded to the explosion and fire, those who immediately jumped in to provide food and drinks to the first responders, those who packed St. Patrick Church to pray a rosary on Oct. 7, those who offered free or nearly free temporary spaces for the schools and parish staff, the surrounding schools that held fundraisers, and numerous volunteers and donors. So many people wanted to do something to help, Father Starman said. On Oct. 8, the day after the explosion, Archbishop Lucas walked through the damaged school buildings with Father Starman. They carefully made their way into rooms filled with broken glass and hanging ceiling tiles. They used their cell phone flashlights to see in areas that had broken windows boarded up. The archbishop reminded Father Starman at the time that even through the destruction, God has a plan. Even if they didn't see that plan at the time, it would eventually be revealed, and the parish could be rebuilt and restored into something better and stronger. Father Starman said God's plan is still being unfolded, but immediately he saw how tragedy can bring people together, especially in rural communities like O'Neill. The calls, letters and emails from people wanting to help have been overwhelming, he said. The task of recovery and rebuilding has fallen on the entire community, but on Father Starman in a particular way, Archbishop Lucas told St. Patrick Parish staff members. He thanked them for supporting their pastor in those efforts. Progress in O'Neill continues rapidly. By Dec. 3, all the elementary school students at St. Mary had returned to their classrooms. Some work remained for an art room and a resource room. Construction at the junior and senior high school was on track for students to be back in their classrooms in early January, after Christmas break. Most of the units at the hospital have re-opened, with restoration work soon to be completed in the emergency room and dialysis center. Valerie Wecker, director of mission services at St. Anthony's Hospital, said she's prayed fervently for all those impacted by the explosion. She also spoke at the November prayer service. Wecker – who also is a St. Patrick parishioner, a St. Mary graduate and grandmother of current students there – said she has seen many blessings unfold after the explosion and is proud and amazed at the O'Neill community's response. “Weren't we all in awe of how many worked together to assist in the school, parish and hospital?” she asked those at the prayer service. In meetings with hospital and parish staff members, Archbishop Lucas thanked and congratulated them for their efforts. In gathering with parish staff, he said “It's good to be with you all and just admire your faith and determination to work together because the parish, like the hospital, is so essential for the life of the community in so many ways that you don't even realize or take stock until something dramatic happens.” Atkeson, the high school principal, said art teacher Renell Otte, summed up the sentiments of many by asking “How could an explosion lead to so many blessings?” “Our recovery from the explosion has shown us the generosity and goodwill of people in our own community and beyond,” the principal said. “There are so many people who stepped up in big and small ways that I cannot possibly list them all. But never have I been more grateful to live in a community where people take such good care of each other.” The archbishop said the explosion revealed a “beautiful spirit of cooperation and generosity” in O'Neill and beyond as the community continues to move forward and rebuild. That sense of community is lacking in many places, but not in O'Neill, he said. “That's a blessing you have here,” Archbishop Lucas said in his homily. “It's a real strength in your community that's been visible because it was already here. But then I think it's been strengthened by prayer, by sacrifice, by generosity, in so many ways.” “I just extend my thanks and appreciation to all of you,” Archbishop Lucas said. “It's a beautiful thing to see, and I thank you for your witness.” Because of the gift of the Eucharist, “Jesus Christ, our Savior, is really present here in the life of this parish,” he reminded worshipers at Mass. “That's why this parish is so important, why it's been so important for generations, why it is for us now, and why we want to see that it will remain such a powerful force in this community for generations to come – because this is the place where Jesus is empowered and the place from which Jesus is proclaimed to others in the community.”
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