Chaplain Prayer at Military Ceremonies
This essay reflects my personal thoughts on the issue of chaplain-led prayer at military ceremonies. I offer these thoughts in this forum solely as an explanation to the church that endorsed me of how I personally a pproach the task of offering prayers in public events, and not to inject myself into a debate on public policy. It's actually an expanded version of a letter that I wrote to my mother when she asked me about an email she had received. Someone had told her that the government is being mean to chaplains and "not letting them pray like they want." As always, this essay does not necessarily represent the position of the Army or the United Methodist Endorsing Agency. In the discussion that follows, I'll use the words "Army" and "he" for rhetorical convenience, but most of the discussion applies to all military services. Both men and women, of course, serve as chaplains, commanders and Soldiers. I regret that I cannot write more easily in a ...