Saint Martin's Cloak

One of the things that I’ve come to take for granted in the Army is that military chapels and religious activities tend to be more ethnically diverse than their civilian counterparts. The extent of that diversity varies from “a little” to “a lot,” but even the most homogenous military congregations are still more integrated than those you typically find off post. The last military congregation I served was racially integrated to a degree that I’ve never seen in my own “progressive” denomination. A recent Pew study on racial diversity shows that many of the denominations that talk most about racial equality continue to be some of the most segregated. The funny thing about the members of my highly integrated military congregation was this: they hardly ever talked about race. They were, however, die-hard evangelicals who would make most progressives squirm. The people of that congregation found their unity in the Gospel as they understood it. That’s one side of the coin. Now, the...

Army chaplains should always regard each other as colleagues, even if they do not always regard their colleagues as religious kindred or partners in ministry. So what do I mean? For my purposes, the infallible Wikipedia ’s definition of collegiality is a good place to start. Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and respecting each other's abilities to work toward that purpose. A colleague is an associate in a profession or in a civil or ecclesiastical office. Army chaplains should see themselves as colleagues united in a common purpose who respect each other’s abilities to work toward that purpose. The common purpose, however, is not advancing the practice of my own religion or religion in general, but providing for and supporting the free exercise of religion for all. That’s the reason the chaplaincy exists. As a part of the application process, every prospective Army chaplain signs a statement that affir...

The Book of Worship for US Forces was   published in 1974 under the supervision of the Armed Forces Chaplain Board, and printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office. A compendium of (mostly) Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish hymns, prayers, readings and other worship resources, it had largely fallen out of favor by the time I entered active duty during the first Gulf War era. The Catholics used their own missals and hymnals. Evangelicals, if they used hymnals at all, favored non-denominational hymnals that included more contemporary choruses and praise songs. Episcopalians used the Book of Common Prayer  (1979) and Lutherans (both ELCA and LCMS), the Lutheran Book of Worship , also known as "the Green Book" (1978). For deployments, everybody preferred lightweight booklets that might only contain a few hymns or songs, but which could be stowed in the cargo pocket of the combat uniform or transported in bulk in the chaplain's small "chapla...

Gracious God, Thank you for this day now coming to a close, for this food from your bounty that we are about to share, and for all the blessings of this life. As we gather tonight to honor [the retiree] and his family, I pray that they might find in this fellowship yet one more piece of evidence of how much they are appreciated for their service, and loved for who they are. Now bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and this fellowship to the nourishment of our souls. Surround our tables with the joy of your presence and keep us in your care. In your holy name I pray. Amen [Offered at a pre-retirement dinner, when a separate retirement ceremony would take place on the following day.]

Going through some old files, I found this short address I gave to a group of chaplains in Germany on July 29, 1998, the 223rd anniversary of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. It still seems relevant. I don’t remember much about the first sermon I heard in chapel when I was in college, but I vividly remember the text and the notion that our stories are part of what make us who we are. The text was this: Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. Isaiah 51:1-2. The people of Isaiah’s day were shaped by the stories of Abraham and Sarah and all the stories of ancient Israel. We chaplains, too, are the keepers and bearers of sacred stories from our respective sacred texts. And we are the keepers and bearers of our common tradition in the...

In the 1996 film, “The Ghost and the Darkness” , one of the characters is a Christian missionary to Africa, full of 19th century liberal Christian optimism. He’s helping to build a bridge, overcome disease, educate the people, and, oh yes, fight a pair of man-eating lions that have killed scores of people. The missionary is always optimistic, always has a smile, always looks on the bright side. His character is greatly respected and gets along with everybody, more or less. He thinks this is great adventure. His motto is, “This is marvelous. Just think what great things we’ll do once everyone’s heart is filled with the love of God.” One of the lions eats him.

Last Sunday I walked the battlefield near Manassas, Virginia where Union and Confederate troops fought for the second time, August 28-30, 1862. Second Manassas (or Second Bull Run) was another major defeat for the Union Army of Virginia, then under the command of Major General John Pope. The Union suffered nearly 14,000 killed, wounded, missing or captured over over the three days of the battle and its army was driven from the field in a hasty retreat. The turning point in the battle came on August 30 when five divisions under Confederate Major General James Longstreet counterattacked into flank of the Union V Corps then assaulting right flank of Stonewall Jackson’s line. Immediately after the defeat, Pope deflected blame onto the V Corps commander, Major General Fitz John Porter, even though 1) Porter had warned Pope of a large Confederate force on his left, and 2) Pope had ordered the fatal attack against Porter’s advice, and 3) Porter’s corps executed the attack on Jackson’s ...

Today is Purple Heart Day. George Washington established the medal "for military merit" on this day (August 7) in 1782. The Purple Heart became an award for those wounded in combat in 1917. Over 35,000 Purple Hearts have been awarded for wounds suffered in Iraq. Over 7,000 for wounds in Afghanistan. General Douglas MacArthur once said, "The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Lift up those who still suffer from the wounds of war, and remember that some wounds are invisible to the eye. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? - Psalm 6:2-3