The following email recently took a turn around the “religious complaint” circuit:
From: [ ] LtCol USAF AETC 58 OG/CD
To: 58 SOW All PersonnelSubject: 58 SOW Bible Study: Every Wed, 1200-1300 in the TRS Auditorium
You are invited to a weekly 58 SOW Bible Study on Wednesdays, from 1200-1300, in the 58 TRS Auditorium-a Chaplain-sponsored event. If you are interested, read below for more details: Read more
The previously-covered bronze statue of a Chaplain comforting a Soldier has now taken its place in a memorial at Fort Jackson. Fort Jackson is the relatively new location of the US military’s combined Chaplain school. The memorial also includes a wall naming the 294 fallen Chaplains and Chaplain assistants since the Revolutionary War.
A Chaplain candidate recently explained what motivated her to join the US military Chaplaincy:
[Doretta] Fortenberry spent quite a bit of time visiting with battle-weary, solace-seeking soldiers [during a deployment to Iraq].
“They knew I was a Christian and would come ask me spiritual questions,” Fortenberry said. “We ended up losing six soldiers while we were there. Soldiers started to come to me trying to understand, questioning the deeper meaning of life, why does this happen, what happens when you die? Death was a real reality, and still is, for soldiers.”
It became obvious to Fortenberry that she could combine military with ministry.
“All of a sudden, there it was,” Fortenberry said. “This is what God Read more
Similar to the prior story from Afghanistan, US troops in Haiti also found a local religious leader with whom to worship.
Father Glenn Meaux, originally of Abbeville, La., was able to minister to Louisiana National Guardsmen and other troops deployed in Task Force Bon Voizen in Haiti. Father Meaux moved to Haiti in the late 1980s, and the senior enlisted leader of the Task Force knew he was there. The unit’s Chaplain was able to find Father Meaux on the internet and arrange for him to minister to the American forces there: Read more
Many have now heard of the Texas High School graduation that received a court-ordered ban on prayer, including the specific words “amen, invocation,” and the like. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery had ruled against the Medina Valley Independent School District in a lawsuit brought by the Schultz family. Biery had determined they would “suffer irreparable harm” if they heard to a prayer at the ceremony. The ruling was appealed, overturned, and the graduation went on as a celebration of freedom of speech and religion.
That wasn’t the first controversial ruling on prayer in Texas.
In a ruling that was largely under the radar, Texas Judge Lynn N. Hughes said the Department of Veteran’s Affairs could not control the content of an invited Pastor’s prayer. The Reverend Scott Rainey, pastor at Living Word Church of the Nazerene, had been invited to give an invocation at a Memorial Day event, and was asked to provide Read more
In an unusual display of public candor (given the current environment on opposition to DADT repeal), a US Marine directly asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates if those with moral opposition to homosexuality could resign:
“Sir, we joined the Marine Corps because the Marine Corps has a set of standards and values that is better than that of the civilian sector. And we have gone and changed those values and repealed the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy,” the sergeant told Gates during the question and answer session.
“We have not given the Marines a chance to decide whether they wish to continue serving under that. Is there going to be an option for those Marines that no longer wish to serve due to the fact their moral values have not changed?” he asked.
Despite Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen’s prior statements that those who disagreed could vote with their feet, Gates had a fairly blunt answer to the enlisted Marine: Read more
A Stars and Stripes article indicates US Army Chaplain (Capt) Pratima Dharm has become the first US military Hindu Chaplain. Dharm is a Chaplain at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Dharm did not enter as a Hindu Chaplain — she has simply changed endorsers. She was originally endorsed by the Pentecostal Church of God, but is now sent by Chinmaya Mission West. (In 2007 an Army Chaplain previously tried to convert to Wicca, but was discharged after he lost his endorsement and was unable to find an approved Wiccan endorsing agency.)
The article is unofficial, and doesn’t indicate what insignia Dharm now wears (only that she wore the Christian cross “until this year”). There is no official Hindu Chaplain emblem (at least not publicly), and public images still show Dharm wearing the cross.
Think someone will spin this as evidence of a Christian takeover of the military?
Atheists at Fort Bragg are crying foul at the military chapel congregations hosting Vacation Bible School.
Because apparently military Christians and their families can’t attend VBS.
Ironically, the atheists apparently don’t know what VBS actually is, claiming the US government is “funding a religious summer camp.” Though understandable for those who don’t share a faith system, its generally advisable to at least figure out what something is before mocking it and calling it improper.
In the same vein, they took issue with the Chaplains office advertising VBS through Fort Bragg’s Public Affairs and email, despite the fact such a message was entirely consistent with the role of the Chaplaincy. They just didn’t like it. The offensive message:
Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School will be held at Gordon Elementary Read more