Observing Veterans Day

[Revised & bumped from October 2006]

Veterans Day is observed on November 11 each year on the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. Traditionally, a moment of silence is observed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And while the nations of the British Commonwealth remember their war dead on November 11 (Remembrance Day in the UK, Canada and Australia), we Americans do that on Memorial Day in May. In the United States, Veterans Day is an occasion to thank the living more than it is a day to remember the dead.

The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship has some suggestions about the observance of Veterans Day in churches. It emphasizes the fact that Veterans Day is primarily a civic observance, not a Christian liturgical one. It suggests participation in community-wide ceremonies or interfaith services as the primary venue for elaborate celebrations. The article suggests: “If churches are going to honor and give thanks for veterans, their observances should be in a context of prayer and in the concerns and prayers. Churches should not turn the entire service into a rehearsal of our national concerns.” All of this is good advice.

I serve a military congregation on a military installation, and OUR worship on Veterans Day weekend will not be “all veterans, all the time.” The city of Leavenworth, Kansas - home of the Army’s Fort Leavenworth - annually holds what it claims is the “largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi.” Old soldiers stuff themselves into the uniforms of another era and parade next to bands, floats, funny cars, fire engines and assorted militaria.  It is not, obviously, a religious event. The focus is on thanking all veterans for their service, and the whole county turns out. When I served at Fort Leavenworth, I would see many of the same soldiers and family members at the parade that I would see at chapel on Sunday. At the parade, we waved the flag and thanked the veteran. At chapel, God - and not the veteran - was the focus of our worship. There is a time and place for waving the flag, and a time and place for kneeling at the cross.

That’s not to say that we don’t mention veterans and their service on the Sunday nearest Veterans Day. As a military chapel community, we pretty much spend EVERY week helping military service members and their families live out their faith at least partly within the context of military life. Most congregations, however, don’t live immersed in military culture. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few moments on one Sunday out of the year to say “thanks” and pray for your members who have worn the uniform.

Some thoughts to help you do that are here in my article,  The Veterans Gift of Love.

Also, Mark Roberts published A Prayer for Veterans Day adapted from a PCUSA prayer “crafted by the Presbyterian Peacemaking program.” Mark has added language that expresses gratitude for the positive role that military service members make in a fallen world and tweaked the eschatological framework of the prayer. Both edits are spot on, and Mark’s prayer is highly recommended.

God of the ages, We thank You for all who have served in the armed forces of this country. We thank You for the freedom their sacrifice has earned and guarded for us. Help us to prize this freedom and use it well. We ask You to bless all living veterans in a special way today, as well as the families of all veterans. Comfort those who grieve for those who gave the last full measure of devotion. Strengthen those who bear physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. Stand with those who provide care to them. Move us to reach out to sisters and brothers who are veterans, or relatives of veterans, or who currently serve in the military. We pray for the day when no one needs to serve in the military. Help us to live now in anticipation of that day, as people who long for peace, who pray for peace, and who seek to be peacemakers in this world. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Finally, in June 2006, Christianity Today carried several articles on ministry to veterans. One article suggested that churches become “military friendly.” To do this, a church need not (and should not) become a cheerleader for (or against) any political party or military strategy. War is serious business - too serious to trivialize it with naive exuberance in worship. Military service members have volunteered to put themselves (and their families) in very difficult situations for the sake of others. Christian service members know the tension that exists between the demands of temporal justice in a fallen world and the promise of God’s reign of peace. Churches can pray not only for the well-being of soldiers, but for their families to remain strong, their leaders to be wise and selfless, and for their actions to to produce the peace for which they sacrifice their time, comfort and safety. Churches can help with the practical matters of life: assisting the non-deployed spouse with child care or fixing a leaky faucet, for example. Christians can express humble, quiet appreciation to service members for their sacrifice. They can accept service members as “real Christians,” not denigrating their vocation, and not expecting them to be more broken than the rest of God’s people.

The Christianity Today articles, I think, overstate the brokenness of those who have seen combat. For some, it is true, combat is a debilitating experience. A number will need intensive care for the soul. Their situation calls for an interdisciplinary approach that includes medical help. For all combat veterans, however, war is a painful experience that calls for immersion in God’s grace. Allow them the same space, freedom and time to work through the meaning of God’s grace in their lives that you would any other member of the congregation. Soldiers sometimes have scary or ugly stuff to work through, but so do many other members of the household of God. God works by the same “means of grace” whether one is civilian or a Soldier.

When I returned from Iraq, it was the singing of hymns that most brought healing to my experience of war. The Eucharist, preaching the Gospel, prayer, pastoral conversation, communal fellowship, caring acts, opportunities for service: these are all ordinary means by which God works in the veteran’s life.

I commend these Christianity Today articles to your consideration, even though I have a few minor (and a few not-so-minor) quibbles with some of the ideas.

Beyond Yellow Ribbons
Veteran Ministry
Where Atrocity is Normal

By all means, recognize and pray for your veterans on Veterans Day weekend in the most grace-filled way that you can imagine. Do not, however, make veterans the focus of your worship. That honor belongs to God alone. Your veterans would probably be embarrassed by all the attention, anyway. The most important thing that you can do for your veterans is to honestly and reverently worship the God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Soldiers need to connect their lives with God more even more than they need a pat on the back or a ticker-tape parade.