Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 6/19/2009
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 10:15 am
Happy Father’s Day!
This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day in the US. That includes ME! I am looking forward to the kids coming in, along with my two four-year-old grandchildren, Rachel and Jonah. It is our day, so let’s celebrate it!
One of my favorite scriptures, Romans 8:15-17, concerns our Heavenly Father. The scripture says that we can boldly cry out, “Abba, Father.” I have preached many sermons around this passage; lifting up a Father who accepts His children as they are, assures them that He has a place for everyone of them, black or white, tall or short, male or female, in His kingdom; and, throughout our walk with Him, He will always be our loving Father.
But chaplains deal with individuals and families who do not always have a good image of “earthly fathers.” One writer said that the fathers of this generation have not only let their children down, but abused them by the millions and provided for them the most destructive materialistic resources ever in the history of mankind. This includes too much TV, too little time at the family table, pornography, and through liberal abortion laws, the elimination of millions of our future generations. So, in chaplain’s work, those hands of authority are not always looked at as “loving hands,” rather destructive ones. Some years ago, we had a three-year-old in our county that was terribly abused by his parents. In their drug-infested state, they put a lit cigarette to his body and threw him against a stucco wall. When he arrived at our hospital, the announcement was “dead on arrival.” Imagine with me, just for a moment, that this toddler had lived. How many years would it take to get those abusive images out of his heart? Would he not have trouble with this scripture, a Father who says that you are not only my child, but an heir to my entire kingdom? So there you go chaplains, your work is cut out for you. You will spend a lifetime helping individuals to let their defenses down again, realizing that this Heavenly Father, who sent His only begotten Son to bring us the most wonderful gifts of eternity, will not abuse us. He will indeed invite us to share with Him in all that He is, to include His heavenly glory. Happy Father’s Day. May you find a way to cleanse from your heart those images that would keep you at a distance from your Heavenly Father.
Chaplaincy News
· Chaplain Roger Daniel, our coordinator and author of our Law Enforcement Course, along with Dr. Doc Williams, are currently conducting chaplaincy courses in Jamaica. Sadly, Chaplain Daniel just received the news that his 87-year-old mom has passed away, thus forcing him to cut short the course and get back to the US for the funeral. I had the opportunity to talk to Roger about his mother. She was a powerful influence in his life, and her love and care of him and the rest of the family will be burned on his heart forever. I know that you will be praying for Chaplain Daniel. Send notes of prayerful support to rogerkd@gmail.com
· Army Chaplain (CPT) Thomas Lesh, deployed to Korea, writes: “The up-tempo of my job keeps me busy, even on Saturdays, and especially Sundays. God has provided an awesome worship leader for our chapel. This Saturday we will be having a concert, and I know that it will be great. I am planning eight retreats for our soldiers. This will give me time to develop a one-on-one relationship with each of them. On another note, Lora, who is back home in Virginia, discovered several huge, black snakes in our rented home. It was so bad that she had to move. Keep my family and our chaplaincy work in Korea in your prayers.”
· Our prayers go out to Russian National Overseer Vladimir Shestopalov and his family. We recently had a chaplaincy course/conference at the seminary sponsored by this dear brother. The family was involved in a head-on collision that took the life of their third daughter, Sabrina. The other two daughters in the vehicle were seriously injured; with the oldest, Christine, being in critical condition, and Diana in stable condition. I know that you will be praying for this dear family. If you would like to make a contribution to help with their medical needs, you can make a donation through World Missions, project number 132-4002.
· Our congratulations go to Army Chaplain (COL) David Smartt, and his wife, Merial, on the birth of two grandchildren. Their son and his wife gave birth to Jonah Smartt, and their daughter and her husband gave birth to Carla Minutolo. Send your notes of congratulations to “Granddad Smartt” at david.smartt@us.army.mil
· Community Service Chaplain Raymond Griffey, Theodore, Alabama, sent this note: “Our chaplaincy feeding program to the poor and needy is going great. During the month of May we gave away more than 500 bags of food. This is one of many of our chaplaincy outreaches.”
· Reverend Mark Kettle and his family have moved from England to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Mark is the son of our long-term prison chaplain in England, Chaplain Ellis Kettle. Mark is a graduate of our seminary and has been connected with our chaplaincy ministries for many years. He and his family are now permanent residents in Canada. He will be working for an agency that helps young people with addictions, abuse issues, and runaways. He states: “We have a fifth-wheel trailer that we take to downtown Calgary to offer shelter, water, food, counseling, and ministry to street kids. We focus on care and compassion with the hope that we will lead them to Christ.” Mark’s email address is mark.kettle@yfccanada.org
Special Reports
Ø Dr. Gerald Smith, Director of Pastoral Care, Parrish Medical Center, Titusville, Florida, informed us last week that one of their employees, a nursing assistant with four children ages 4 to 14, was killed in the hospital parking lot by her husband, whom she had recently left after experiencing years of abuse. You can imagine the pastoral care, reflection, and debriefing that was necessary and rendered by Chaplain Smith. And, as you would expect, Chaplain Smith had to deal with his own grief over this loss. He not only knew this employee, but he also took part in her memorial. Reflecting on these events, he sent a message to his staff of how he was processing the loss in his weekly correspondence entitled “Glimmers.” He tells of loading his kayak on top of his car early in the morning, swinging through McDonalds for a quick sausage and egg biscuit, headed for an exercise on the river for introspection and renewal. He headed downstream towards Hontoon Island, feeling all the emotions that one would imagine as one goes through the process of reflection, prayer and integration. Down the river he spotted a good-size alligator, leisurely swimming across the river. Heading back upstream, Chaplain Smith comments: “The air was filled with croaking frogs, grunting gators and singing birds, as it had been since I had set out three hours earlier. Then, behind me, off to the left and far out into the swamp beyond the river, came the deep call of an owl. Suddenly, the picture of Yolanda, the woman whose life was suddenly taken from her, with that million-dollar smile, flashed in my mind. Peace; like a river; at last! Amen.”
Ø Long-term Civil Air Patrol Chaplain, and Senior Pastor of the Virginia Avenue Church of God (Hagerstown, Maryland), Paul Harne, sent us this very touching story: “Recently, I have been thinking about those who serve our great nation. There is my son-in-law, Reverend Shawn Bushman, in a photo taken when he was in the First Gulf War as a young marine. These were innocent faces of young men, dressed for battle, amid burning tanks and oil wells, and my heart went out to them. That battle was 18 years ago, but, the battle still goes on inside their minds and souls. And recently, my wife’s brother, who served in Vietnam, passed away. He came home addicted to both drugs and alcohol. He lived the rest of his life in the mountains. He would go there every day. He left the battlefield, but it did not leave him. And then I reflect on my own experiences as an 18-year-old soldier, taking basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I was reared in the Church of God. I knew how to pray. I had given my life to Jesus as a young man. I remember that during basic training, one Sunday morning, I borrowed a car and went to a small church. I stood inside for minutes until someone took me to a classroom. I walked in, but no welcome. I sat down and after class I walked out into the hallway, and again, no welcome. I was homesick and needed someone to put their arms around me and just love me. I needed to get to an altar to pray. I opened a door, and it was the outside door, and I heard a voice say, ‘Keep going; they don’t want you here.’ And that is what I did. I went back to the Fort and never went back to that church. Now you know why, through my 34 years of pastoring the same church, I have never forgotten my responsibility to our military and our veterans. It is truly left up to the pastor to lead his church into the recognition, celebration and honoring of the active duty and the veteran.”
Chaplain Harne, senior pastor of an outstanding church, has proven true to his commitment those years ago when he felt so lonely as a young soldier. I do not know of any church more involved in outreach ministries to soldiers, veterans, and now special programs for a group of Ugandan security guards in Iraq. He sends to these security guards CDs of their weekly services at the church. As a Civil Air Patrol Chaplain, he is always on call for that plane that goes down or some other crisis that affects the military and civilians alike. He is a pastor who leads, teaches, and honors veterans and active duty military. This week, we want to honor Chaplain Harne as our “Chaplain of the Week;” exemplary in his support of military personnel, veterans, and their families.
Finally
Living on the “edge,” that is what chaplaincy is about. In the lives of the people that we serve, a day makes all the difference in the world. A simple x-ray comes back with an image of an abnormality that signals a deeper, life-threatening problem. For prison chaplains, every day is on the edge. Our prisons experience almost instant threat: the rape of a young inmate, the anticipation of an execution, death of an inmates’ family member and the reality that she/he will not be able to attend the funeral. But on the edge, there are also many positives. It takes our eyes off this materialistic, ego-maniac world and helps us to focus again on the anticipation of “His Coming.” The New Testament Christian expected it to happen at any moment. And when I came into Pentecost in 1948, that is exactly the way that we lived. We did not go to bed with any thoughts of greed or ought against our brother or sister, for He could come while we slept. With this economic meltdown, unemployment soaring to the highest it has been in years, many people without a job, and yes, many hungry, we are truly “on the edge.” Out near the end of things, let us hear Him tenderly and once again assure us that He has been there, and that He truly understands the tensions and the hope that we are to experience “on the edge.” May God continue to richly bless our chaplains, their family members, and all those that they are serving who feel like that they have now gone to the very edge of their strength. The good news is that now, having been emptied of our own self-sufficiency, we discover that this is where God lives, “on the edge.”
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
Hebrews 4:16
NLT
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
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