Saint Martin's Cloak

When I tell people that I have been a pastor for nearly 30 years, years, I sometimes receive a strange look and a question. "What? I thought you were an Army chaplain." Public law says very little about the duties of Army chaplains. The basic legal framework in Title 10 (Section 3547) is over a century old. It specifies only two functions: leading worship and burying the dead. 10USC3547 (a) Each chaplain shall, when practicable, hold appropriate religious services at least once on each Sunday for the command to which he is assigned, and shall perform appropriate religious burial services for members of the Army who die while in that command. My church also has a definite understanding of what a pastor is and does. Pastors lead the congregation of God's people in their corporate life and in their service of God. They proclaim God's word and administer the sacraments. Within my ecclesiastical polity, pastors preach, lead worship, teach the scriptures, make disciples,...

Detail - Four Chaplains Window at Fort Leavenworth Photo by the author Today (February 3) is the anniversary of the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester in 1943 in the ongoing battle of the Atlantic. Four chaplains were on board: George Fox (Methodist), John Washington (Roman Catholic), Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed). All four were Army lieutenants. Torpedoes hit the Dorchester just after midnight on February 3, 1943 and the ship would sink 23 minutes later. The chaplains immediately began to pray with frightened Soldiers, offer words of encouragement, and provide leadership on deck to those abandoning ship. At one point, they began to assist with the distribution of life vests to those without them. When the supply of vests was exhausted, the chaplains removed their own vests and gave them to Soldiers in need. As the ship sank, survivors could see the four chaplains standing on the deck, their arms linked and their voices lifted in prayer. Of the 902...

Dr. King and Civil Religion On Monday we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King's birthday is a national holiday, not a religious one. It's important to note, however, how Dr. King integrated the best of what some people disparage as "civil religion" into his appeal to the American people. Dr. King's " I Have a Dream " speech delivered 28 August 1963 is one of the greatest pieces of rhetoric in the American experience and one of the most significant milestones in American history. I rank it with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address for its combination of rhetorical beauty and importance in defining us as a nation. It has brought me to tears as I listened to it. What I want to note today is how Dr. King called upon civil religion to make his points. He appealed to America based upon its reverence for both American democratic ideals and biblical religion. <!--more-->King's speech contains numerous religious references. He allu...

It was once said that only President Nixon could go to China. Perhaps only President Obama could accept the Nobel Peace Prize by defending the just use of force. Among the President's remarks: For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason. I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower. But the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought stability to a post-World War II world. ...

A prayer at the lighting of the community holiday lights. God of light and life, In the darkness of winter, you bring cheer to our hearts with the lighting of these trees. May your light shine within our hearts throughout these days, and fill us, I pray, with the hope of peace on Earth and good will to all. Let your blessing rest upon each one standing guard here on Freedom's Frontier, and bring comfort to all of those who are separated this holiday season from those they love. I also pray that your Spirit might strengthen and protect our brothers and sisters in arms who tonight are deployed to even more lonely and dangerous places throughout the world, sacrificing so much to achieve a measure of that peace we seek. Sustain them and their families through every difficult day. Make us all, I pray, instruments your more perfect peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where th...

Who Were the Pilgrims? In English history, the Protestant Reformation – if it can be called that in England – began with King Henry VIII's creation of a state church in which Catholic and Puritan influences remained in conflict for quite some time. The group we call Pilgrims wanted nothing to do with the Church of England regardless of which theology predominated. The Pilgrims were more radical in their vision of reform than the Puritan wing of the Anglican Church. During much of their life in England they faced legal obstacles to the practice of their faith. We call them "Pilgrims" because they made a journey of faith – multiple journeys, in fact. A better word for this group, however, is "Separatists," "Dissenters" or "Non-Conformists."  The Pilgrims were strict Calvinists who believed in predestination. They observed only two sacraments (baptism and communion). Their churches were simple, with no crosses, statues, stained glass windows or...

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. Veterans Day is primarily a civic observance, not a Christian liturgical one. Churches should not turn the entire service into a celebration of military service. We worship God, not the Soldier and not the nation. I worship in a military congregation on a military installation, and our service on Veterans Day weekend is not "all veterans, all the time." The city of Leavenworth, Kansas where I used to live annually holds what it claims is the "largest Veterans Day parade...