Hearing the Call Afresh: A Guide for Military Chaplains Facing Retirement (original) (raw)
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This thesis project is a generative study developing a paradigm of spiritual leadership to be utilized by senior Christian chaplains in preparing deliberate programs of spiritual enhancement for Christian chaplains who are anticipating accompanying U.S. Marines into a combat environment. Utilizing a paradigm of (1) knowledge of vocation, (2) assent, (3) trust expressed in prayer, and (4) community, this study lays the practical theological foundation to provide leadership to enhance the spirituality of clergy called to this unique ministry, identified in this study as Paracletic Military Ministry. Theological research centered on an understanding of vocation considering Jonah as a case study for vocation, a doctrinal review of vocation, and a Biblical word study on paraclesis to inform the specifics of the chaplain’s role in a combat setting. Literary research interacted with the literature of pastoral care, the social sciences, military leadership, and spiritual disciplines. Data collection for this study focused on interviewing Marines and chaplains who had served in combat to flesh out the vocational particulars of Paracletic Military Ministry. Research also gathered the chaplains’ experience in following spiritual disciplines while serving in a combat environment. Out of this research, principles for leading and preparing chaplains in Paracletic Military Ministry emerged that could be applied in retreats and workshops, as well as one-on-one mentoring by senior chaplains.
Military Chaplaincy in the USA: An Unfolding of Roles and Functions 1
Sun Media, 2021
Book chapter in _Care, Healing and Human Wellbeing Within the Interreligious Discourse_. Society for Intercultural Pastoral Care and Counseling (Gesellschaft für interkulturelle Seelsorge und Beratung e.V.) Sun Media, South Africa, Forthcoming, 2021. (Solicited).
The military chaplain: a study in ambiguity
International journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 2015
This article looks at the ambiguities in the role of the military chaplain from three points of view. The first considers the nature of the constituency within which the chaplain ministers, paying particular attention to the degree-or otherwise-of secularisation and the reasons for this. The second examines the role of the chaplain in relation to the two institutions which he or she serves (i.e. church and state) and the tensions that emerge as a result. These are articulated in terms of 'an angle of eschatological tension'. The third is concerned with 'the roles within the role'-that is the variety of tasks that make up the role of chaplaincy and the degree to which these are compatible with each other. The significance of theology in the resolution of the ensuing issues is set against diminishing societal resources in terms of religious literacy.
The Chaplaincy in the Armed Forces -Introductory Report
The chaplaincy situation in the armed forces seems to be best regulated in the countries presented here at national level and at the same time, it seems to be the oldest one in comparison with the other sectors of the social sphere. One commonality across the countries presented here is that their armed forces dispose of military chaplaincy. Religious freedom for soldiers who have enlisted or are drafted into an organization that is not always capable of providing sufficient private sphere for such religious exercise is the main argument made in state-church regimes. In the military, religious freedom is mostly defined as a set of rights to practice one's religion including the right to access spiritual care. History After reading the national reports it is clear that the institution of military chaplaincy is a venerable one which has very deep roots placed in the history of each state and especially of each nation. In this way, a Romanian bishop said at the end of the 19 th century that we have a nation, because we had an Altar. In one form or another, depending on the national situation of each country, the military chaplaincy has existed in a recognizable form for more than 1600 years1. In fact, it is easy to observe this fact by reading the national reports where the army chaplaincy is founded very early in the national history of each European country. Actually the presence of the religious element extra murros ecclesiae, as chaplaincy in the armed forces is present all over Europe in different forms. The history of army chaplaincy goes back far in the history, and we can identify special army priests in 742 when the first German council2 took place in 1424, in Romania, in XVII century in Poland; the firstEnglishmilitary-oriented chaplains, for instance, were priests on board proto-naval vessels during the eighth century A.D. Land based chaplains appeared during the reign ofKing Edward I etc. As term, chaplaincy may not be found per seeven nowadays in some European societies, as is the case of the Balkan countries, but the spirit of this word is present in the institution of the military priest.
Chaplaincy : life in the hush and the hurry
2018
Hospital chaplaincy is currently and has been historically a vocation that avoids being put into a neat box that describes what chaplaincy is and what chaplains do. Chaplains live in-between the worlds of the secular and the sacred while performing services for others similar to what both counselors and pastors perform. It is in these in-betweens and uncertainties that the chaplain ministers to patients and loved ones in the most vulnerable times of their lives. Through my chaplaincy internship at Ball Memorial Hospital, I was able to experience firsthand how to be present with those in spiritual and emotional need, patients, family members, and staff. I learned about myself, how I interact with others, and most importantly found a vocation that I feel called to pursue. My decision to attend seminary and pursue pastoral ministry in the near future was a direct result of my internship experiences. This paper is an account of my chaplaincy internship experience and an illumination int...