Church of God Chaplains Commission

Honoring Our Heroes 

For several years now, our nation has been engaged in a difficult and trying time of warfare in distant lands that have taken the heart, soul and very lives of our men and women who serve in the armed forces.  Time and time again television programs and network/cable news programs have referred to them as our heroes and named many documented programs about them, “Honoring Our Heroes”.  It is without question that they truly are heroes!  And, we must never forget them. 

However, there are other heroes that have served around the world for years often without even being noticed, namely our Church of God Chaplains.  Many times they serve in very dangerous settings for decades without one complaint.  I was reminded of this over the past few months while traveling and learning that some of the places I visited were extremely dangerous.  Then to learn that many of our Chaplains serve consistently in these same settings, areas I only visited for short periods, but they actually live in at all times.  Today I want to honor these heroes of ours; you who place your lives on the line every day around the world.  Your sacrifice is recorded, not in the books of man but rather in the pages of God’s book of remembrance.  I am honored to know you, visit with you and daily join you in prayer over the work whereunto God has called us all.  You are our CHAPLAINS and we are very proud of you!  May the grace of God keep you is my prayer.

Dr. Donnie W. Smith

Director

Full-Time Chaplaincy News

A significant snow storm shut down Cleveland the week of January 9-15. Thankfully, I traveled to the Washington DC area for a week of endorser conferences the day prior to everything coming to a grinding halt in the Southeast. The week of conferences kicked off with the Council on Ministry in Specialized Settings (COMISS) Conference that focused on ministry in healthcare and industry settings. The balance of the conference we primarily focused on was chaplaincy ministry in the military. A key topic, as expected, was the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell regulation. As you know, our Chaplains Commission is working on guidelines for our Church of God Chaplains to follow when the new regulation in implemented sometime in the next few months.

A highlight of the week in DC was the Church of God Chaplains dinner with those chaplains living in the DC area. The snow prevented some from attending. Those of us who were able to come enjoyed a great time of fellowship and delicious food.

The week was overshadowed by the death of Hospice Chaplain Charles T. (Tom) Phythian. Tom had battled cancer for several years and learned in December that it had returned. Brenda and I arranged to visit Tom and Cathy, his wife, in their home while in DC. We were saddened to learn upon arrival that Tom had gone to be with the Lord a few hours earlier that day. As we visited and ministered to Cathy, I observed that the strength of the Lord was evident in her life. I was privileged to participate in Tom’s funeral this past Friday as he was laid to rest in the Quantico National Cemetery. Please keep Cathy and her family in your prayers.

Clinical Chaplain Jose Cedillo conducted a counseling and pastoral care seminar for regional and national leadership in Guadalajara, Mex,ico in December. Additionally, he completed the fall quarter of supervision for resident CPE students.

Recently, the church called for prayer on behalf of Dr. Tim Hill’s father, who was hospitalized in Texas. The Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital staff chaplain who ministered to him was Church of God Chaplain Angelo Betancourt. Thank the Lord for our chaplains, who though they minister to people of all faiths, are also in key positions to minister to our Church of God members as well.

The news has been closely following the Tucson shooting, in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was one of the victims. As a member of the hospital staff, Clinical Chaplain Miguel Ramos has been involved in giving pastoral care to the victims, families, University Medical Center of Tucson staff, and police officers providing security. Every high profile event like this shooting has many behind the scene workers. Chaplain Ramos has been providing excellent pastoral care in support of this tragedy.

Chaplain Rudy Burroughs, Patrick Harris Psychiatric Hospital, will present a seminar on “The Family” at his local church. It is a great use of the skills of our full-time chaplains to be able to offer them to assist in our local churches.

Navy Chaplain, LCDR, James Mucha is participating in intense training with his Marine unit in Camp Pendleton, California, for an upcoming deployment. The extended time away from home has been both challenging and rewarding. During a recent field service, over half of the Marines from one company were in attendance.

Army Chaplain (LTC) Joe Melvin recently taught Suicide Prevention for the Family and MWR Command and the Army Environmental Command. He received an award commending him for his excellent ministry.

Army Chaplain (MAJ) Steve Cantrell conducted a revival in December in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Steve is enjoying the fellowship of Church of God Chaplains (CPT) Raymond Pettitt and (CPT) Mike White. Keep all our deployed chaplains in your prayers.

Richard Pace

Endorser and Coordinator, Full-Time Chaplains 

Community Service Chaplaincy News

Greetings from CSC and Training.  Wow, January starts our year with rain, snow, sleet and blizzards across the mid-west and eastern part of our country.  Chaplains, however, are not detoured; they continue to do a great ministry outreach of care, service and presence.

Last week here in Cleveland, we completed our first CSC seminar of the year with 28 students.  And we are looking forward to the busiest year in our history in regard to training and qualifying.

Haiti – Because of recent unrest and upheaval in Haiti, I am asking special prayer for our Disaster Response Chaplains that continue to faithfully volunteer to go to this country in desperate need.

Recent reports bring us the following information from the field:

Community Service Chaplain Mark C. Schreiber, Dawson Springs, Kentucky, reports the shipment of 40 care packages to deployed troops in Afghanistan.

Community Service Chaplain Janice Blackman, Keller, Texas, reports receiving certification for her volunteer hours at Baylor Hospital.  Congratulations!

CS Chaplain Veronica Waddell, Oak Lawn, Illinois, notifies us that she will be appearing on TLC TV in the month of January.  – Fantastic, great exposure for your ministry – 

CS Chaplain Alejandro Ramirez, Fall River, Massachusetts, reports that he is actively involved in Chaplaincy and that God has given him new goals and direction.

Law Enforcement Chaplain Terry D. Wigley, Saraland, Alabama, reports that he was privileged to give the eulogy for Mayor William’s funeral.  Chaplain Wigley served as the PR and media person concerning the death and arrangements.

CS Chaplain Elizabeth J. Barber, Island, Kentucky, returns to Community Service ministry after an injury.  She is presently limited to phone and Facebook ministry.  Let’s continue to remember Elizabeth in our prayers.

Prison and Jail Chaplain Tim Ledford, Hamilton, Ohio, continues to do a great outreach in the correctional chaplaincy ministry.

Motor Speedway Chaplain Vernon Landreth, Barren Springs, Virginia, reports that he has been appointed to the Virginia State Chaplains Board.  Additionally, Chaplain Landreth assisted in a CSC Seminar recently in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Community Service Chaplain Anthony Clarkbanks, Semmes, Alabama, reports that he was privileged to serve on the State Defense Force Annual Banquet and was able to meet with State Senator Brooks at this meeting.

I continue to remain very grateful for our Community Service Chaplains that report to us on such a consistent basis.  This week’s reports came from Romania, USA, Canada, Philippines and South Africa.  My prayers continue before the Lord with regard to your overwhelmingly effective ministry.

Chaplain Jake Popejoy

Coordinator, Community Service Chaplains and Training

The Weekly Update 

Due to inclement weather the week of January 10th, the Chaplains Commission offices were closed, and we were therefore unable to deliver to you a Weekly Update.  The following week, the week of January 17th, Dr. Smith had to travel out of the country, while Chaplain Pace had to make an unexpected trip to Arlington, Virginia, to be a part of the memorial service of Hospice Chaplain Tom Phythian.  Due to these circumstances, we were again unable to get a Weekly Update to you.  We do apologize for the inconsistency the last few weeks, but hope to finally be back on schedule. 

After reviewing the statistics of past Weekly Updates that we have sent out, we have decided to begin sending out the Weekly Update mid-week instead of on Fridays.  We believe that a mid-week send-out of the Weekly Update will be more convenient and better serve our readers.     

If you are having trouble viewing the Weekly Update, or have not been receiving the Weekly Update at the correct email address, please feel free to contact me at chapcm@cogchaplains.com  Again, thank you for your patience with us as we try to best serve our chaplaincy family.   

Ashley Shoemake

Administration Coordinator