Helping Athletes Keep the Faith at Games

SALT LAKE CITY —  Olympic organizers have chosen 40 spiritual advisors to be on call during the 2002 Winter Games for competitors representing the world’s nations and religions--whether it’s a Buddhist bobsledder or a Catholic curler.

“Life continues on even though you’re at the games,” said Jan Saeed, chairwoman of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s Interfaith Roundtable and one of the newly appointed Olympic chaplains. “There are a lot of things that will be affecting these kids, so we’ll be there to help.”

The chaplains’ duties will range from hosting regular worship services at the Olympic village to celebrating with gold-medal competitors who want to give thanks for their achievements. Chaplains may even be called upon to counsel athletes who get bad news from home.

Either way, they’ll perform a crucial service for the 2,500 athletes and 1,000 supporters staying at the Olympic Village.

“It’s important to have someone you can confide in during competition,” said Josh Davis, an Olympic swimmer who won three gold medals at the Atlanta Games and two silvers in Sydney, Australia.

Davis hopes to serve as a chaplain when he’s finished competing. “Everything around you says your worth and value is based on your performance . . . and it helps to have someone who loves you for you.”

To give athletes that level of comfort, the chaplains were chosen by religious and lay leaders from the Salt Lake area who make up SLOC’s Interfaith Roundtable.

There are Catholic priests, a Jewish rabbi, an Islamic imam and Protestant ministers from several denominations. Also on the list are a Buddhist, a Christian Scientist, a Quaker, a Seventh-day Adventist and two Mormon bishops. Saeed represents the Baha’i faith.

“Everyone calls this the . . . Mormon Olympics,” said Bill Shaw, SLOC’s committee liaison. “But this group feels very strongly that they want to set the record straight and say that it’s not, it’s for everybody.”

The chaplains will work 8-hour shifts at an office in the Olympic Village that will be staffed around-the-clock. Others will be on call, as will religious leaders in the community, for specific and urgent requests.

In addition, renovations are under way at the Ft. Douglas Army Chapel, part of the 139-year-old military fort that will become a part of the Olympic Village. The chapel will be the site for specific services for athletes such as Islamic prayers and Roman Catholic Mass, as well as nondenominational worship.

Athletes and visitors outside the village will also have a plethora of places to pray.

The committee is compiling a list of worship services near the venues and will probably post it at hotels during the games. Park City’s interfaith council, which usually holds slope-side worship at the town’s three ski resorts each Sunday, plans to hold services every day.

And Park City Community United Methodist Church, which is at the foot of the Olympic ski jump, plans to offer worship in several languages.

Senior Pastor Scott Schiesswohl said, “I’ve traveled a lot and when you go to another country, it’s nice to be able to participate in services, especially in your own language.”

SLOC has also planned a nondenominational musical service to be held at the Cathedral of the Madeline before the games begin in February. And in an effort to involve the local community, the Roundtable is organizing a series of neighborhood parties this fall called Spiritual Opportunity for Unity and Peace--or SOUP--for the Soul.

“It’s about understanding each other, and I think this is probably one of the greatest things that can come out of this,” Shaw said.

Davis, a Christian who prefers to confide in his own spiritual advisor during competition, agreed. He remembered visiting the Olympic chapel in Atlanta immediately after winning gold.

“I was standing next to some 6-foot-4 guy from Africa and he’s wearing his colorful robes but we’re singing the same song to the same Jesus,” Davis said. “Sure, sport brings us together, but think how much religion does. We’re from all over the world, all over the map. The Olympic chaplaincy is a tiny glimpse of that.”