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Friday,
18 May 2001
This
observation could easily be missed, but tomorrow is "Armed Forces
Day." It was established in 1949 as a way to combine celebrations
by the distinct branches of the Armed Services to honor their members.
I'm
glad there is such a day. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are wonderful
but the focus is on those who have notably served, not those who
are serving now. And serve they do.
As I grow older, attending Memorial Day tributes year after year,
the token detail from the local military installation--usually an
honor guard--at first looked like they could have been a younger
brother or sister, a few years later my son or daughter, next, it
will be close to a grandchild! Indeed, that is what this day embraces:
young lives committed to service with certain discipline, simplicity
and dedication to a larger theme seemingly lost in the sponsoring
society. As you know I do a lot of travelling; invariably I visit
the post/base exchange during my visits where I meet young people,
particularly at the fast food courts. There are often families,
but for the most part they are men and women in their 20's; with
stories of serving along the DMZ in Korea, shipping out in the Mediterranean,
or warming themselves around a stove in Kosovo. I guess this is
not new for young Americans.
But
this generation is born in the Information Age, can't remember JFK,
and Vietnam was not their war. They know Desert Storm and that was
a high tech romp. They are good with computer games and expect their
training to be at least on a par with the visuals and graphics that
are available in the culture. The most dominant factor in their
lives? My independent poll came up with this result: MTV. But maybe
that shouldn't be such a surprise. All in all they are the "Armed
Forces", that we celebrate, not a collection of dated hardware on
parade.
George
Orwell observed at another time that we, in a democracy, should
make our peace with the fact that rough men stand ready in the night
to do violence to those who would do us harm. Gazing on these young
people no one doubts their grit but they seem far from any Orwellian
characterization. They are the cocky, self-assured, awkward, uncertain,
precious commodity that stands proudly in the shoes of the same
young patriots before them.
Armed
Forces Day is a reminder that we have a great responsibility to
support these young citizens as they profess, by their acts of service,
in doing for us. +gep
Almighty
God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men
and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them
day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their
trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which
best them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever
they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
07 May 2001
Dear Chaplains,
Hello! Bishop Packard is "on the road" for a prison ministries conference
and a visitation to one of our military installations so he asked
me to do the QwikNotes this time.
I too have been on the road recently to San Francisco for a deployment
conference and to San Diego for an area ECUSA chaplains meeting.
I want to briefly share a few lines on those two West Coast events.
San Francisco. In the "City by the Bay," I represented Bishop Packard's
staff at the Episcopal Church's triennial National Deployment Conference,
23-25 April. There were over 70 diocesan deployment officers and
other staff present so it afforded me an opportunity to meet many
of them and begin building relationships. I am particularly interested
in the ways EC chaplains who are about to retire or otherwise separate
from the military can best make the transition back into parish
ministry. "Fresh Start," one of the deployment officer workshops
I attended, has particular relevance. Fresh Start is a diocesan-led
program for clergy in new cures. Its goals include assisting with
transitional issues that affect both clergy and laity in congregations;
sharpening skills for congregational development; and strengthening
collegial relationships among diocesan clergy (particularly among
those who have just accepted cures in that diocese). Currently over
half of all dioceses in the ECUSA have an established Fresh Start
program and, based on the interest shown at the CDO conference in
San Francisco, I think most all dioceses will have it in the near
future. I think this could be an excellent program for chaplains
re-entering parish ministry.
San Diego. Chaplain Stephen Powers, currently our senior-most EC
military chaplain in the San Diego area, helped me put together
a visit there for Thursday 26 April. It began with a celebration
of Holy Eucharist at the Naval Air Station North Island Chapel followed
by dinner and discussion at a nearby Coronado Italian restaurant
with a great view of San Diego Bay and the city skyline. Several
issues emerged as we shared around the table. One was the growing
concern amongst ECUSA Navy chaplains about the increasing number
of EC chaplains failing to be selected for the next rank and their
desire for Bishop Packard to voice those concerns.
There was praise for Bishop Packard initiating the "Declaration
of the Episcopal Church's Understanding of Ministry to the Armed
Services" that was drafted in January 2001 by a working-group of
12 Army, Navy, Air Force EC chaplains chaired by the Bishop. (A
copy of the "Declaration" was mailed to each military chaplain in
February. In the attachment below I have provided an updated copy
that includes a couple of minor adjustments made after Bishop Packard
discussed the document with Bishop Keyser and Presiding Bishop Griswold.
Incidentally, both Bishops Griswold and Keyser had high praise for
the declaration as a tool for clarifying the role of ECUSA military
chaplains). Those attending the San Diego gathering on 26 April
were Chaplain Sean Cox, USNR-R; Ch. Dan Leatherman, Air Force Nat'l
Guard, and his wife, Charmaine; Mrs. Nancy Livingood, whose husband,
Ch. Randel Livingood, USN, is deployed aboard the USS Constellation;
Ch. Bill Mahedy, V.A. Hospital; Ch Mark Spalding, USN, Twenty-Nine
Palms, CA; Ch. Babs Meairs, V.A. Hospital, and her husband, the
Rev. Ed Meairs; and Ch. Stephen Powers, USN.
With prayers for continual Eastertide blessings. -Gerry+
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DECLARATION
OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH'S UNDERSTANDING
OF MINISTRY TO THE ARMED SERVICES
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Clergy of the Episcopal Church are ordained to fill the roles of
pastor, teacher and priest. The Episcopal Church expects its chaplains
to fulfill those roles in as broad and inclusive a manner as possible
while remaining faithful to the Church's historical, theological
and liturgical roots.
As pastors, Episcopal military chaplains love and serve all of the
people among whom we work. We preach and teach the faith of the
Church in Protestant and non-denominational services as opportunity
permits, remaining flexible in form yet consistent in upholding
the traditions of the Episcopal Church. Caring for all and committed
to the free exercise of religion by all we cooperate with chaplains
of all faith groups to ensure access for the free exercise of religion
and religious accommodation within the constraints of military service.
In this way, we try to feed those of God's people whose spirituality,
theology or liturgical practice diverges from ours.
For Episcopalians, the Eucharist is the central act of worship.
All baptized persons are welcome to join us in this sacred mystery.
We gather in community to be nourished in Word and Sacrament. The
Bible, reason and tradition inform and shape the Eucharist through
which we have communion with our Lord and by which we are invigorated
for mission.
Present divisions in the body of Christ cause us much pain. We look
for the day when all are one in Christ. Until then, we live with
those divisions and the unavoidable, resulting constraints. Sacramentally,
Episcopal chaplains can only function in accordance with the Book
of Common Prayer, the Canons of the Episcopal Church and the guidance
of the Episcopal Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Services. Only clergy
from Churches in communion with The Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.
can conduct Episcopal services on behalf of this Church.
We, the undersigned Priests and Bishop of the Episcopal Church who
minister to the Armed Services, are thankful for the ministry entrusted
to us and ever mindful of our need for God's grace and mercy for
ourselves and those to whom we minister in this challenging, pluralistic
environment.
Washington National Cathedral Feast of the Confession of St. Peter
the Apostle In the Year of our Lord, 2001
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(Bishop
George Packard, Chaplains S. Michael Bell, Robert W. Eldridge,
Malcolm Roberts III, Richard D. Oberheide, Dedra Ann Bell,
Gary L. Parker, Roger D. Kappel, Carl M. Andrews,
Gerald J. Blackburn, James B. Magness, George M. Clifford
III, Reese M. Hutcheson.)
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