Bob Ossler

Bob Ossler, Pastor of Visitation at the Cumberland County Community Church in Millville, N.J., served as volunteer chaplain at Ground Zero after 9/11. An experienced paramedic, firefighter, funeral director, and ordained chaplain, Ossler used his unique skills to bring comfort and hope to the brokenhearted at the site. Ossler served as a volunteer chaplain after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and after the Yarnell, Arizona wildfires in 2013. He now volunteers as chaplain with the Millville, NJ Police and Fire Departments.

Volunteering as a chaplain at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 ripped Bob Ossler out of a comfortable world of calmness and routine into a world of chaos, despair, and suffering. His experience as paramedic and firefighter enabled him to assist in the rescue and recovery process, but his training as chaplain helped him meet the emotional and spiritual needs of people who lost family members or who worked on the gruesome site clean-up.  Bob’s personal understanding of suffering deepened his faith and commitment to compassionate care ministry.