Deacon Michael Van Dyke offers comfort, prayer to military members, flyers through Michigan Freedom Center at Detroit Metro
ROMULUS — As weary travelers make their way through Detroit Metro Airport, one never knows what baggage they might be carrying with them beyond their suitcase.
The airport, considered a major hub for both national and international travel, sees more than 1,100 flights per day, serving countless passengers, airline employees and service staff — and Deacon Michael Van Dyke wants to minister to as many of them as he can.
Before being ordained a deacon in 2019, Deacon Van Dyke began volunteering at the Michigan Freedom Center, an airport lounge for members of the U.S. military, veterans and their families, in addition to those serving in the military from allied countries. The center opened in 2011 in the McNamara Terminal, followed by three additional centers at other airports across Michigan.
Since his ordination, Deacon Van Dyke has served as the voluntary chaplain for the center, which sees countless travelers pass through its doors each month.
Amidst his busy schedule — Deacon Van Dyke is the only deacon currently serving the Renaissance 1 Family of Parishes that includes the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, St. Aloysius and Old St. Mary's parishes in Detroit — he tries to get to the center at least once a month, with hopes of going more frequently in the future.
As a nondenominational chaplain, he views his job as primarily a “ministry of presence.”
“It’s about being there; I sit there, typically at the front desk, along with a volunteer who is there to greet people and sign them in and then just available if somebody wants to talk,” Deacon Van Dyke explained to Detroit Catholic. “Sometimes it is a conversation with the volunteers themselves — most of the volunteers are former military or have some ties to the military and will strike up a conversation.”
Deacon Van Dyke stays out of the main part of the lounge unless asked to talk, deeply cognizant of the fact that the lounge is a place to get away from the hustle, noise and stress of the airport. He makes his presence known with a sign on the door, informing people that a chaplain is available.
“People are coming into the center to try and get away from things, but they see me at the entrance and on a number of occasions, people have started a conversation about what they are going through or why they are traveling and so forth,” Deacon Van Dyke explained.
Because of his asthma, Deacon Van Dyke said he was unable to serve in the military himself, but his great respect for the men and women who serve and lay down their lives for their country has compelled him to offer what he has to them in return — that is, spiritual support and a listening ear.
“It isn’t a matter of evangelization,” Deacon Van Dyke explained. “As a chaplain, you are nondenominational. I do wear clerics, so I am easily identified as ordained clergy, and many people will ask what denomination, but I am there to serve anyone from a spiritual care perspective. I will certainly answer questions related to the Catholic faith if people have questions, but it is more a matter of being there for them to listen, to pray with them, as may be the case.”
And many people do seek him out, Deacon Van Dyke said. He recalled how, earlier this year, he stepped away from the front desk, and when he returned, the volunteer told him that a man had seen the sign and expressed an urgent need to speak to the chaplain.
“I found the young man, and he was quite distraught, so we went to one of the reflection rooms in the airport, and we talked. He was on emergency leave from Germany going to his home in Louisiana, and his young wife had had a miscarriage,” Deacon Van Dyke said. “He was beside himself, and we spoke at great length, and I gave him some suggestions on how to deal with this, recognizing that everybody deals with something like that differently.”
While the young man wasn’t Catholic, he respected the ministry and reached out for help, Deacon Van Dyke said.
“We prayed together, and he went away maybe a little more comforted and a little better able to handle what he was facing when he got home. He had been awake for over 18 hours straight, and he was in one of those situations where he wanted to scream out loud,” Deacon Van Dyke said. “He was angry and hurt and confused, and I think we sat there for about 45 minutes letting him talk out things.”
Occasionally, Deacon Van Dyke — who has clearance to be in the airport without a booked flight — will leave the lounge to walk around the terminal and stretch his legs. While some people rush by on the way to their departing gate, others will stop him to chat.
“People seeing me in clerics will stop me. It is not about proselytizing — you have to be respectful of other people and their faith, and we don’t want to intrude — but if someone sees me and calls me and asks for a blessing, I will stop and chat and extend a blessing and continue on with my walk,” Deacon Van Dyke said.
The only other time Deacon Van Dyke takes his ministry outside of the lounge is every year on Ash Wednesday. For the last several years, he has stood in front of the Freedom Center, ashes in hand, wearing his alb and stole, waiting patiently for anyone who wants ashes to stop.
During a normal year, Deacon Van Dyke estimates he distributes ashes to 300 to 400 people over a couple of hours. During the height of COVID-19, even with a decrease in travel, he distributed them to around 100 travelers and airline employees using a cotton swab.
“During COVID, people would have a moment or two to talk, and I would ask why they were traveling. At the time, several people who came forward were traveling to attend to a loved one who was sick with COVID,” Deacon Van Dyke recalled. “I remember a gentleman who broke down in tears because he was headed out west, and his mother was dying from COVID. He hadn’t been able to make it to an Ash Wednesday service, and this was available to him; it was a timely reminder to him as to why he was going and important to him to reflect on his faith, especially at that moment.”
Deacon Van Dyke said airline employees, in particular, take advantage of the ashes, as they are often unable to go and receive them elsewhere due to their busy schedules.
“Many say, ‘You are an answer to my prayers,’” Deacon Van Dyke added.
A solemn ministry
In addition to his presence in the lounge, Deacon Van Dyke serves along with other volunteers for the more solemn duty of witnessing as fallen soldiers are carried from planes, either to be transferred to another or to stay in Detroit as their final resting place.
The group of volunteers, called “the care team,” stand alongside the plane as fellow servicemen carry the ashes of their fellow brothers and sisters in arms down the ramp. When Detroit is the final destination, the soldier's family members are often in attendance, Deacon Van Dyke said.
“We are there to be present with that family, and I am present as a chaplain — again, we aren’t forcing anything on anybody; we are just there to extend our condolences and to address any needs they might have, which as chaplain is from a spiritual side,” Deacon Van Dyke said. “It has been a matter of comforting, especially the mothers.”
Besides Deacon Van Dyke, there is currently only one other clergy member who ministers at the airport, specifically serving Wayne Country Airport Authority employees.
Detroit Metro Airport falls within the parish boundaries of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish in Romulus, which is just down the road from the terminals. While the parish doesn’t have a formal ministry to travelers and the airport, parish administrator Crystal Keller told Detroit Catholic it is not uncommon for travelers passing through to visit the parish for weekend confession or Masses with a small rolling bag in tow.
“We are a very small community, so we always notice new faces and enjoy greeting them and hearing about their travels,” Keller said. Parishioners frequently offer travelers advice about where to eat and stay and sometimes will offer rides, Keller added.
“We really enjoy making these connections and hope they will feel at home to return and worship with us as they travel in the future,” Keller said. “Romulus may be called the ‘Gateway to the World’ with the airport located here, but we are actually a very small, tight community.”
Deacon Van Dyke hopes he can partner with parishes like St. Aloyious, as well as other chaplains and the airport itself, to grow the options available to travelers through the airport ministry. He looks to other airports where thriving chaplaincies have been established, such as Dallas Fort Worth International Airport or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where a 24/7 adoration chapel has been established since 2023, as examples of what is possible.
“People are traveling for all sorts of reasons, and frequently, it is to attend or return from the funeral of a loved one or to visit a sick loved one,” Deacon Van Dyke said. “If a person needs to talk to someone, it would be nice to have a corps of chaplains there to have that ministry of presence available.”
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