Chaplain Welcomes Back Artemis

American flag on the USS John P. Murtha

by Courtney Ellis

On April 1, four astronauts left earth’s atmosphere in the Orion spacecraft on a mission called Artemis II. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen would spend the next eleven days traveling to the moon and back. The Artemis II flight was the first crewed flight beyond low-earth orbit since 1972.

When the astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean southwest of San Diego just after midnight on April 11 Universal Coordinated Time (approximately 5pm Pacific Daylight Time on April 10), the USS John P. Murtha, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, was there to receive them.

Aboard that ship was Chaplain Eliseo Morales Jr. Morales grew up in a Christian home in California. His father, Rev. Eliseo (aka Eliceo) Morales Sr, is an ordained minister in the PCUSA and serves in our presbytery as the pioneer pastor at Esperanza Viva (NWC). His mother, RE Leticia (Letty) Morales, serves on the Strategic Coordinating Team and is instrumental in the ministry at Esperanza Viva.

“Ever since I can remember, my family and I would spend several days a week at church,” he wrote. “I distinctly remember being 7-8 [years old] and…giving my life to Christ. I remember praying with my older brother in our parents’ bedroom, and ever since that moment, the Holy Spirit has been illuminating my path.”

After graduating from Biola University, Morales attended Princeton Theological Seminary beginning in 2012. While studying there, he saw a pamphlet advertising military chaplaincy.

“I never knew there were such things as military chaplains, so I reached out to all branches for more information,” he wrote. When the Navy was the only branch to respond to his query, he became all in with them. Morales applied for the Chaplain Candidate Program Officers (CCPO) and began his journey toward Navy Chaplaincy while finishing his M.Div. at Princeton.

Chaplain Eliseo Morales (right) and a friend aboard the Murtha

In 2016, Morales moved back home to California where he served two churches in the Los Ranchos Presbytery in youth and young adult ministries before becoming ordained as Pastor and Head of Staff at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Fullerton. As he served as a pastor, he gained the experience necessary “to transition from CCPO to active duty” by 2021.

By August of that year, Morales found himself at the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego. “There, I saw young men and women transform from civilians to Marines and Drill Instructors do amazing work. I had the privilege of being part of that transformation process while tending to the Spiritual Readiness of those young men and women,” he wrote. “I prayed for and ministered to thousands of God’s people for three years, and in that time, God continually reminded me that my purpose was to bring the…love of Christ to his children.”

Three years later, Morales checked into the USS John P. Murtha while it was in the yards in San Diego. “Since then, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of ministering to this crew during the major transition from shipyard to underway,” wrote Morales, “eventually leading to the Artemis II mission.”

Aboard the Murtha, Morales had been leading a brief evening prayer for the crew each night around 5pm over the ship’s intercom system, but on the night of splashdown, he felt convicted to wait until the astronauts had been taken safely on board. When they arrived, he prayed the following prayer:

“Mighty one, we thank you for the success of today. Though the evening is young and the night will be long, we are witnessing your guiding hand through science, math, physics, and the human will.

We thank you for protecting Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, and for bringing them home. We thank you for the divers, medics, pilots, NASA personnel, and the greatest waterfront crew that are making this event possible. We thank you for Cap Kenny and the leadership on all fronts.

Be with us as we celebrate, and though there is still much to do, we take these quick minutes to reflect and to thank you.

Finally, may we remember the words of the palmist when he asked, “Where can we go from your spirit? Where can we flee from your presence? If we go up to the heavens, you are there.”

Tonight, we declare that you were with them and you are with us now. We ask that you remain with us. In your name we pray, amen.”

Fifteen minutes later, Morales was summoned by the ship’s senior medical officer.

Astronauts welcomed back on the flight deck of the Murtha

“What followed still feels like a dream,” wrote Morales. “I would not believe it if were not for the now viral video of Reid Wiseman describing our interaction.” In a press conference soon after the mission, Wiseman spoke of his interaction with Morales.

“I’m not really a religious person,” said Wiseman, “but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything, so I just asked for the Chaplain on the Navy Ship to come visit us for a minute. When that man walked in—I’d never met him before in my life, but I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears.”

Morales elaborated on their encounter, writing that he greeted Wiseman by saying, “Praise God, we have been praying for you all every night this week.” Morales, too, broke down in tears and the two embraced. He also spoke with the mission’s pilot, Victor Glover, for a few seconds.

“I walked out speechless,” wrote Morales. “It was less than three minutes, but it felt like time stood still.”

As he has continued to reflect upon his experience welcoming the astronauts back to earth, Morales noted that it was “a reminder of God’s purpose for my calling as a chaplain.” Earlier on the ship as he walked its decks and halls encouraging crew members and offering regular evening prayer, Morales had questioned his role there.

“There was a brief moment when I felt like an outsider,” he wrote. He was not part of the capsule recovery team, the staff focused on daily flight operations, or even the onboard food specialists who were serving meals to 700+ people on board (more than double the number they usually served while underway!). “All were busy, with a clear purpose and function during this mission,” noted Morales. “I found myself in a position where…my presence felt almost intrusive because everyone was focused on their work. And rightly so, this was a no-fail mission and the world was watching. But at 6pm I was reminded of my purpose for being on that ship.”

The opportunity to encourage the astronauts after their moon mission will stick with Morales. He has used it to reflect further on the role spiritual care plays in missions of this kind and beyond.

“In the armed forces, spirituality and religion are not merely a ‘right’ that everyone has,” he wrote. “They are essential components of military doctrine, what we call Spiritual Readiness.” He elaborated: “When someone is connected to higher forces and connected with a community of like-[minde]d believers, they are more likely to overcome adversity, have lower levels of depression and suicidal tendencies, among other benefits.”

Morales expressed gratitude to Los Ranchos for our support over the years, noting that this Presbytery has “already given me much throughout my life. It fanned the flame of curiosity and trusted me in my ministry.” In terms of future support, Morales asked that the Presbytery would continue to trust him as he did his best “to follow God’s calling. Also, prayers help.”

For those interested in following Morales’s path to chaplaincy, he encouraged them to reach out to a recruiter.

“There is a deep, abiding spiritual curiosity among today’s young adults,” he noted. “Out here on the ship, worship services and Bible studies are completely voluntary. Yet week after week, they keep returning to a small, unassuming classroom. We may lack the elaborate production of a modern church, but their worship is genuine and powerful. The people are hungry for meaning, and the Presbytery can continue its legacy of feeding that hunger.”

Courtney Ellis, Associate Pastor at Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, is an author and storyteller. She is an eNews special correspondent.

Courtney’s latest book Weathering Change is available directly from the publisher, InterVarsity Press, or at your favorite bookseller.