Wake Forest Magazine June 2003 - Past Issues - Wake Forest ...

The Chaplain leaves Wait Chapel after his final sermon on April 24.
I
have many fond memories of Chaplain Christman
(at the preschool conference, at Thursday Chapel, etc.), but one
in particular stands out and demonstrates what an incredibly thoughtful and caring
person he is. For three of my four years at Wake Forest, I worked as the student
assistant to Dr. Don Schoonmaker, a professor in the politics department. Dr.
Schoonmaker was—along with Chaplain Christman, Ed Wilson, Bynum Shaw,
and so many others—one of the truly special people at Wake Forest, and he became
my mentor and a good friend. Then, in the spring of my senior year, he became
very ill, and about a week after my graduation, he passed away.
Unfortunately, at that point I was traveling across country on my way back to my
home in North Dakota, and by the time the message of his passing reached me, his
funeral had come and gone. I was very upset to have missed this opportunity to say
good-bye to Dr. Schoonmaker, but there was obviously nothing that could be done
about it. A few weeks later, a package came in the mail from Chaplain Christman.
Inside was an audiotape of Dr. Schoonmaker’s funeral. I had no idea that Christman
even knew I worked for Dr. Schoonmaker, much less that he would realize how devastated
I would be to miss his funeral. I doubt Ed even remembers this because it’s the
kind of thoughtful act he does every single day. But that tape helped to make me at
peace and get some closure, and I will always be grateful to Chaplain Christman for
his kindness.
In the spring of my junior year, I left
Wake Forest for a semester and went
to work with a Palestinian organization
trying to do reconciliation work between
Arabs and Jews. The house I lived in had
no phone, but if necessary, family and
friends in the U.S. could leave messages
for me at the director’s home.
One day, the director’s youngest
son came to my door with an urgent
message: “There is a Christian on the
phone and he needs to talk to you now!”
As I prepared for the five-minute run to
the other side of town, I wondered who
could be calling me. Being the son of a
minister and from the Bible Belt, I knew a
lot of Christians. However, nobody in my
circle seemed the type to call Israel and
say, “Hello, I am Christian, can I speak
with Mark?” I was perplexed.
I finally made it to the phone and the
voice on the other line began, “Mark, this
is Ed Christman, how’s life in the Holy
Land?” Ed was putting together another
theme house for students interested in
the intersection between faith and the
liberal arts, and he invited me to be a
part of it. How do you say “no” to Ed
“the Christian” who tracks you down
half way around the world? Of course,
whether in the Middle East or across
campus, I would say “yes” to something
Ed was dreaming up. For a man with
bad eyesight, he has wonderful vision. I
feel fortunate to have been caught in
some of those glances.
Mark Siler (’89)
Asheville, North Carolina
Steph Mohl (’93)
Washington, D.C.
24 W ake Forest Magazine