Tag Archives: Chaplain

US Chaplain Serves from Faith in Afghanistan

US military personnel celebrate Purim in Afghanistan (US Army photo).

A religious studies student inspired by the role of the military in Israeli culture would eventually become a rabbi in the US military. US Army Chaplain (Capt) Heather Borshof appreciates the fact she can bring her faith to her profession, and to her interactions with others:

“One of the things I love about the military is that it’s not your typical congregation where you mostly work with people of your same faith,” Read more

“Chaplains Share Christ Where Local Church Can’t”

Baptist Press highlights a story from the Southern Baptist’s North American Mission Board, which notes it sends chaplains around the world to reach where the church cannot — including through the US military:

From foreign battlefields to American corporate board rooms to hospital bedsides to the front seats of police cars and more, Southern Baptists minister through their chaplains in some of the most hard-to-reach locations…

A current military chaplain noted the reach of military ministry:

“When chaplains preach during our worship services here on post at our Protestant services, they have the freedom to preach a powerful evangelistic message,” said Col. Jeff Houston, the installation chaplain at Fort Campbell, Ky. “We regularly baptize folks who have come to trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.”

Notably, Read more

Bishop Holds Confirmation at Fort Hood Chapel

A local US Army article notes that Bishop Neal Buckon from the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services recently attended the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel to hold a confirmation:

The sacrament of Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments revered by members of the Catholic community to retain their relationship with God: Baptism, Eucharist (or Communion), Reconciliation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick.

The article goes through each of the sacraments and explains their significance to the Catholic faith — including, notably, the specifics of how Catholics view marriage:  Read more

Chaplain Jonathan Fisher Claims Unique Service to All

US Army Chaplain Jonathan Fisher recently made a splash with his peers by blogging on the topic of “inclusiveness,” in which he laid down the law saying he was going to be inclusive, even if it seems like other chaplains don’t want to be.

His made substantial use of an implied strawman:

I am a chaplain for ALL my Soldiers. All of them. The gay ones. The straight ones. The fat ones. The skinny ones. The conservative ones. The liberal ones. The religious ones. The non religious ones. The connected to church and the far away. The reason driven and the faith-based. The agnostic and the Christian. The pagan, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, Read more

General Welsh: No Religious Persecution in US Air Force

Update: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council released the following statement in response to General Welsh’s testimony [italics original]:

“The perception is that Mikey Weinstein is setting the policy for religious expression in the U.S. Air Force, as evidenced by the growing number of incidents of religious hostility toward Christians.  Instead of denying reality, General Welsh should have taken the opportunity in Friday’s hearing to discuss how he would bring the Air Force into compliance with the new DOD instructions protecting religious expression…

“Family Research Council and the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition will not stand by while the Air Force Chief tries to evade the reality of these attacks on religious expression.  We will continue to do all we can to protect the rights of the men and women serving in the Air Force and in all the uniformed services.”

A visibly frustrated General Mark Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, fielded questions about religious liberty during what was supposed to be a congressional committee meeting on the Fiscal Year 2015 Air Force budget:

The single biggest frustration I’ve had in this job is the perception that somehow there is religious persecution inside the United States Air Force. It is not true.

Interestingly, the words “religious persecution” were General Welsh’s characterization, not the Congressman’s.

To be fair, that statement may be technically accurate in Read more

Congressmen Criticize US Military Religious Liberty Implementation

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congressman John Fleming (R-La) recently wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that was critical of the way the Department of Defense has implemented the religious liberty provisions of the 2014 NDAA — legislation they authored.

In short, the two say the military has focused on accommodation of religious clothing and failed to specifically address religious expression [emphasis added]:  Read more

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