Donahue Remembers A Minister With Respect

Phil Donahue, the former television talk show host, had something of a reputation for giving clergy a hard time, and he has said the reason he's that way is that he has little respect for them. Most clergy will do anything for some media attention, he says. In his autobiography, however, he tells about an encounter with a minister who was different. It happened while Donahue was a young television reporter in Ohio, and one day he was sent to West Virginia in the bitter cold winter to cover a mine disaster. He went by himself in a battered little car, carrying a minicam to film the story.

It was so cold when he got there, however, the camera wouldn't work. So he put it inside his coat to warm it up enough to run. In the meantime, the families of the trapped miners were gathered around. They were just simple mining people--women, old men, and children. Several of the trapped men were fathers.

Then the local minister arrived. He was rough-hewn, and he didn't speak well at all. But he gathered all the families around in a circle, and they held one another in their arms while he prayed for them.

As this was going on, Donahue was still trying to get his camera to work, and he was incredibly frustrated because he couldn't film the poignant scene. Finally, after the prayer was over, Donahue managed to get his camera operating. So he told the minister he had his camera working now and asked if the minister would please do the prayer again so he could film it for the evening news.

This simple West Virginia preacher, however, told Donahue, "Young man, we don't pray for the news. I'm sorry, but we've already prayed, and I will not pose."

To this day, Donahue remembers that minister with respect. You don't forget that kind of character, no matter who you are or what you believe.