Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 4/9/2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Choice Christian Greetings!
What is your first memory of Good Friday and Easter? Mine goes back to a farm in South Carolina in the 1930s. My family lived a couple of miles from a Southern Presbyterian Church. This church provided me with my first memory and encounter with a resurrected Lord. The church was so small that our boys’ class had to be taught in our teacher’s old Packard automobile. We met out under one of the large oaks in the church’s yard; in good weather, we sometimes would sit around the tree. My first memory of the Easter story came as I sat in the backseat of that old Packard and listened to an old farmer passionately tell of Christ’s triumph delivery from the grave. Many years later, while I was serving on active duty at Fort Benning, Georgia, as an Army Chaplain, I took my family, Jeanette and the three kids, back to my South Carolina home place and to that church that is still active, dating back to the early 1800s. I wanted my family to feel what I felt as a young boy; in that old, musty church including the many memories of the one-room school house, with eight different grades, which sat next door to the church. When we entered the church, they were getting the facility ready for the church’s 150th anniversary celebration. To my surprise, I ran into a couple of ladies, both long-term school teachers, who had been my classmates at the school and attendees at the Presbyterian Church. All of the sudden, memories began to flood my heart. And one of those, out under that oak tree, in the backseat of a Packard, was my first memory and excitement of Easter morn: the triumphant songs, the Easter gifts given to us farm boys who had very little during the Depression years, and those other details that make for one of the year’s most wonderful celebrations. I know that you have many of these memories; and, as you once again experience the re-enactment of that first Good Friday and Easter morn, you too will say with a joyful heart, “Thank God He came; thank God He died; thank God He is risen again and lives for all eternity in our hearts.”
Our Administrative Coordinator, Ashley, Heads to China
Ashley Shoemake, our Administrative Coordinator, will be making a missions trip to China to assist a family in their adoption of a two-year -ld, Chinese orphan girl, whom they have named Lola. She will be gone the next couple of weeks; so, I am asking you to pray for her and the family she will be assisting in this most meaningful task. A number of individuals will be filling in, so you who need us will be well covered.
News From Our Chaplaincy Family
· Correctional Chaplain Eugene Wigelsworth, State Director of Religious Programs, Jackson, Mississippi, recently coordinated for chaplains and wardens, a new Fatherhood Initiative Program at 12 prisons. This program teaches offenders about responsible manhood and quality relationships with spouses and children. Also, Chaplain Wigelsworth tells us that through another program, 14 student offenders will be receiving their BA degree in Christian Ministry from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Chaplain Wigelsworth is also working with the Mississippi Turning Point Commission to develop Church of God revivals in most, if not all, of the state’s institutions.
· Clinical Chaplain Keith Munford, Chattanooga, Tennessee, is transitioning from Siskin Hospital, where he served as the Director of Clinical Services for 17 years, to Hospice of Chattanooga, where he plans to develop a new Clinical Pastoral Education Program.
· Army Chaplain (CPT) Danny Claypoole, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, just returned from a deployment to Iraq. He notes: “Ministry in Iraq has been challenging, yet most rewarding. I had the privilege of traveling with my Commander to visit soldiers all over Iraq. I am reminded of the passage in John 15:13, where the writer says, ‘Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for a friend.’”
· Prison Chaplain Jessie May Newman-Munson, McDonough, Georgia, reports: “This past month, I had the privilege of preaching to 237 inmates in one county jail. Sixty gave their hearts to the Lord.”
· Chaplain Russell Lawley, Cordova, Alabama, reports: “Our Celebrate Recovery group is growing. In this ministry, we average 50 for each meeting; four were saved in our last meeting, and two baptized.
· Puerto Rican Chaplaincy Coordinator Ismael Ponce, along with Church of God Chaplain Diego Willmore, were recently honored at a State Police gathering. Chaplain Ponce was the keynote speaker. Chaplains Ponce and Willmore were cited for their ministry in the development of an inter-faith chaplaincy group responding to disasters and other critical incidents throughout Puerto Rico.
· Army Chaplain (MAJ) Terry Simmons, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, tells us that beginning this summer, all three of the military Chaplain schools, Army, Navy and Air Force, will be located at Fort Jackson, and these three schools will train their own chaplains but will share facilities and resources.
· Campus Chaplaincy Coordinator John Unthank, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, sent us a report that enthusiastically speaks of the expansion of our college and university chaplaincy programs. We now have 17 active college/university chaplaincy coordinators on-site; 36 local church chaplaincy outreach programs; and a network which keeps and supports all these chaplains and those they are serving. If you would like information concerning Alpha and Omega Church of God Campus Ministries, send a note to Chaplain Unthank at: revjeu@yahoo.com
· Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Larry Cripps, tells us that he just began a one-year assignment as the Force Chaplain for the US Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. He will be the Command Chaplain for the unified commands of Army, Air Force and Navy. He will be supervising all the Chaplains and programs within this command, which consists of over 138,000 personnel.
Finally
The power which chaplains receive comes from some of the most unusual places. It is normally not power/authority from noted, outside sources; but, from our patients, soldiers, inmates, and those individuals who support us even when our sermons are lousy and our visions are blurred. When I first entered the military, I will never forget an old, rustic sergeant saying to me, “Chaplain, if you are to succeed, remember three things: never get into the chow line until every soldier has been fed; never get your pay until the last one has received his; and, never go to bed until everyone of your men and women have a comfortable place to sleep.” Back in the old days, we called this “servant leadership.” We certainly have gotten away from that. We listen to everyone but those, who according to the Word of God, are given the gifts of ministry (the body of Christ). We consult the internet, listen to powerful TV preachers with their exaggerated claims, or read those “fix it fast and without any pain” books that crowd the bookstores. Good Friday and Easter were significant because the Word lifted up some of those “insignificant ones” who were so close to the reality of Christ’s events. There was Jesus’ mother, the one who loaned Him his tomb, some frightened fishermen, and, those that Jesus elevated to the highest, such as, the widow who gave her mite, or the good Samaritan who took the time to help a destitute individual. In this Easter drama, may our eyes feast again upon those common things that make this event such a transforming journey towards and through death, and finally Resurrection!
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
“And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen just as He said.”
Matthew 28:5, 6 (NAS)
Contacts
Director, Dr. Robert D. Crick, cricksot@att.net
Full-time Chaplaincy and Public Relations, Dr. Jerry McNabb, jmcnabb@cogchaplains.com
Community Service Chaplaincy and Training, Dr. Doc Williams, dwilliams@cogchaplains.com
Community Service Chaplaincy Administrative Information, wroberson@cogchaplains.com
Disaster and Compassionate Care, Reverend Tom Offutt, tomoffutt@att.net
Prayer and Family Care, Elaine Offutt, elaineoffutt@att.net
General Information, chapcm@cogchaplains.com
Web Site/Page: www.cogchaplains.com
RDC/als
Correspondence
Categories: Weekly Update
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.