Mitch Lewis

U.S. Army Chaplain Mitchell Lewis, in a 2003 file photo, visits a memorial at Fort Stewart, Ga., for soldiers of the Third Infantry Division who were killed in Iraq. Mitchell, a United Methodist, was among more than 15,000 men and women from the division to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

The United Methodist Reporter has chosen "the military chaplain" as the United Methodist of the Year.

Managing Editor Robin Russell writes:

For being the symbol of the courageous and steady support offered to members of the U.S. Armed Forces—in a year that saw a deadly assault at an Army base—the military chaplain is our 2009 United Methodist of the Year.

This composite of the many ordained United Methodist clergy who work tirelessly and even sacrificially to bring spiritual comfort to our military personnel is exemplified most recently by those who counseled wounded soldiers and victims’ families near Fort Hood Army Post in Killeen, Texas, following the Nov. 5 mass shootings on the base by an Army psychiatrist.

Russell continues:

In light of the heroic men and women they serve, being a military chaplain can be a thankless job, and their critical contributions can often go unrecognized, says retired Bishop Woodie White, the denomination’s Endorsing Agent for Chaplain Ministries.

“Military chaplains for the most part are unseen by the general public,” Bishop White said. “Even in the church, they are often unheralded, and even criticized by a few. Yet the importance of their ministry has grown as the military itself has changed.”

It’s true that much of the routine life on a military base today resembles that of civilian communities, with spouses, children and school activities. In that regard, the role of a chaplain is not unlike that of a pastor at a local church.

But when the heat is on, their task can be like pastoral ministry on steroids. Beyond their regular responsibilities is the ever-present reality of war—with the inevitability of casualties and deaths—and the possibility of being deployed with the troops they serve.

“Chaplains themselves must be prepared to accompany troops in harm’s way,” Bishop White said. “For the chaplain, the responsibility is great, burden often heavy and the opportunity for pastoral care constant.”

So in a year when the pressures experienced by increased numbers of troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq was compounded by the sense of betrayal here on U.S. soil, the military chaplain stands out as an indispensable person who truly made a difference. Regardless of anyone’s political persuasion on the war against terrorism, United Methodists can join in commending the unwavering service of those who support our military personnel on a day-to-day basis.

And while the recognition goes to all military chaplains, they sure did pick a handsome fellow to feature in the rather old photograph accompanying the article.

UPDATE: Oh, and I guess this is now "the official website of the United Methodist of the Year."

There are not enough military chapels or chaplains to provide separate, distinctive worship opportunities for every member of every Protestant denomination in existence. By one count, there are over 8000 Protestant denominations.

In general, most military installations offer a number of non-denominational Christian services - sometimes called General Protestant or Collective Protestant - in a variety of worship styles.  By non-denominational, I don't mean "independent non-denominational," which itself describes one particular stream within Christianity. Ecumenical or multi-denominational might be a better way of describing them. Baptists, Pentecostals, independents and so-called "Mainline" Christians worship side-by-side. Individual Protestant congregations usually get tagged with labels like "traditional," "gospel," "contemporary," "multicultural"  or "liturgical." The distinctions are more stylistic than strictly theological, although there is some correlation between the participants' theology and the services they choose to attend. Some smaller installations might only be able to offer one or two styles of Protestant services; larger installations can offer more choices. Larger installations may also have a Lutheran congregation (mabye LCMS, maybe ELCA), an Episcopalian congregation and a lay-led LDS group. In general, all the other non-Catholic and non-Orthodox Christians attend one of the "Protestant" congregations (if, that is, they attend worship on post).

Anyway, that's all background for sharing with you the mission statement of one Protestant congregation that I served as senior pastor:

The mission of the Soldier Memorial Chapel Protestant Congregation is to be the church of Jesus Christ. Our congregation serves as the temporary spiritual home for a wide variety of Christians brought together in this place by military service. We welcome the diverse gifts that our constituents bring to our congregation from their various Christian traditions.

We proclaim the good news of Christ crucified and risen for the salvation of the world. We expect to experience the grace and power of God in our common life. We challenge each other to live lives of deeply committed discipleship. We humbly covenant together to hear God’s word in Holy Scripture. We seek to grow in faith - and in Christian love for each other and for the community in which we live.

The USS New York (LPD-21) was commissioned today (7 November 2009) in New York City. The vessel contains about 7 tons of World Trade Center steel in its bow. It also has World Trade Center steel in its chapel. United Methodist pastor (and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander) Laura Bender serves as the ship's chaplain. According to the United Methodist New Service, Chaplain Bender arranged for a Christian cross, a Jewish Star of David and an Islamic crescent to be made for the chapel from the wreckage of the Twin Towers.

The USS New York belongs to the San Antonio class of amphibious warfare ships. Its crew of 360 supports an embarked landing force of 699 Marines. It can launch landing operations by sea or air. In addition to conducting combat operations, ships like the New York are well suited to conduct humanitarian assistance operations and non-combatant evacuation operations as well.

It was with great sadness that I learned today Chaplain Tim Vakoc had died on Saturday, June 20, 2009. Chaplain Vakoc was a Catholic priest severely wounded by an IED in May 2004. He was returning from conducting mass for Soldiers at a remote location when he was wounded. Due to the relative scarcity of Catholic chaplains, they spend many hours traveling from location to location to minister to Catholic Soldiers. Chaplain Vakoc's convoy was attacked during one of these trips and he suffered a devastating brain injury and the loss of an eye. During the next few years, Father Vakoc underwent many surgeries and fought multiple life-threatening infections. It was not until the fall of 2006 that he was able to speak his first words after the injury. His mobility and speech continued to be significantly impaired, and he resided in a nursing home in his home state of Minnesota.

Father Vakoc ultimately gave his life serving God's people in the some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. His example of courage and selfless service is a shining light for all of us in the military chaplaincy. May he rest in God's peace, and may our Lord bring comfort and hope to all those who loved him.

Thousands have followed Father Vakoc's struggles on the Caring Bridge site established for him. The site is still open to receive condolences.

More on Tim Vakoc's life and death at:

TheCatholicSpirit.com
The Olympian
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Pioneer Press
Stars and Stripes

In 18 years of serving as an Army chaplain, I've had many occasions to lead marriage enrichment events of various sorts for members of my unit. We've talked about about some pretty basic things like improving communications, working through conflict, understanding your spouse and so forth. I've used and adapted material from a number of sources over the years. I went to seminary and entered the ministry during the heyday of the "pastoral counselor" model of ministry, so this kind of thing has been part of my pastoral identity from the beginning. The Army built on that and provided me with some additional training in a variety of family life models and marriage enrichment approaches. The Army's current "Strong Bonds" programs are built on a number of research-validated approaches to marriage education and skill building.

I'm still something of a one-trick pony, however. When I'm not conducting a Strong Bonds event, I tend to fall back on Willard Harley's approach in His Needs, Her Needs and Love Busters. You can find Harley's description of his basic concepts at Marriage Builders. Harley's "Love Bank" is so simple, even a cave man like me can understand it.

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Congratulations to Chaplain (Major) Jim Higgins, U.S. Army Reserve, recently named the 2008 Chaplain (Lieutenant) Vincent Robert Capodanno National Chaplain of the Year by the Reserve Officers Association. Jim is currently the pastor of McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church in the North Georgia Conference. You can still read about Jim's deployment to Iraq in Letters from the Desert, the blog he wrote from August 2006 to September 2007?.

The award is named for Father Vincent Capodanno, a Navy chaplain who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam conflict, and who is now being considered for canonization by the Catholic Church. That's some company to keep.

Joseph at MethodistThinker has the story of Jim's award and a video of Jim delivering the invocation before the House of Representatives on 4 February 2009. A great prayer - and under one minute. The Army Times has a few words about Jim as well. Good job, chaplain!

Pro Deo et Patria.