Military Chaplain Association » Ministry

MCA Newsgram 12.30.11

Gary — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:38:31 +0000

Our second newsgram was sent on 30 December to all members and friends who have provided us with current emails. If you did not receive the newsgram, please check to see if your computer blocks emails sent via Constant Contact. Or please send a confirmation of your preferred email to chaplains@mca-usa.org.

Following are key announcements from the 12.30.11 edition:

We are grateful to those who have been able to send special year end donations totaling nearly $15,000. The Military Chaplain Winter 2011 issue lists the names of donors for gifts received through 12 December. More names will appear in the first 2012 issue.

For those who maintain annual membership status, the 2012 renewal form is now posted on our web page. For the fifth year in a row, the MCA National Executive Committee (NEC) has maintained dues at $50 per year. You can print the form and send with your check via surface mail. You are also able to renew via PayPal.

The MCA is seeking nominations for election of six new national leaders during our 2012 Annual Meeting. One election is for a vacated term in the NEC Class of 2013. We require four members to form a new NEC Class of 2015. We must also elect a new Trustee, Class of 2015. Please send nominations along with current contact information to our MCA email address C/O Chair, Nominating Committee.

Mark your calendar and plan to attend our 2012 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, 18 April. We are meeting in San Antonio, Texas at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk. Watch for more info on this meeting and other activities during that week.

As you pray for all of those wounded in war, please remember those who suffer moral injuries – which can be as profound in consequence as physical and mental injuries.

High Holy Days Reflection

Gary — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:48:08 +0000

A Spiritual Journey

Rabbi Paul Swerdlow, active Veterans Affairs chaplain, retired Army chaplain, and current MCA national officer provided the following spiritual reflection for the Jewish High Holy Days.

Rabbi Swerdlow has valuable insight for people of other religious traditions as well.

A Spiritual Journey, Rabbi Paul Swerdlow

DoD Policy Change for Chaplains

Gary — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:18:46 +0000

On 30 September 2011, Under Secretary of Defense Clifford L Stanley released a memo about chaplain participation in “private” ceremonies. This short memo did not mention same-sex rites. But he prefaced the guidance with reference to Section 654, Title 10 U. S. C. — which is the law concerning homosexual identity in the military that was repealed. So, there should be no surprise with various news headlines that say words to the effect that “chaplains can perform gay military weddings.”

Representative Todd Akin of Missouri immediately challenged the Pentagon guidance memo as a violation of federal law. He is referring to the Defense of Marriage Act of 21 September 1996. The MCA National Office can’t speculate about what might come next in this substantial struggle over conflicting interests.

As an Association, our position continues to emphasize rigorous accuracy of salient fact, fairness, and justice for all concerned as this policy change unfolds. We might not be able to eliminate or convincingly dispute distortions of fact [and even context] that are often present in controversial issues. But we certainly can pursue calm, patience, and graciousness in our own responses. Chaplain Gary Pollitt, Executive Director.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” season premiere on 25 September features former Navy chaplain

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:03:25 +0000

Former Navy chaplain Barbara Marshall will appear during the season premier of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on 25 September at 7:00 -9:00 pm EDT on the ABC Television Network. Barbara is committed to assistance for homeless Veterans. Using her own funds, she established The Steps-N-Stages Jubilee House in Fayetteville, NC.

Jubilee House offers shelter, support and services such as mentoring and life coaching to homeless female veterans. Jubilee House needed additional space and resources to continue its work with the women. With the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, a paratrooper team from the U.S. Army, other service members, and Ty Pennington from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a new Jubilee House will be unveiled on 25 September.

Mrs. Obama, Ty Pennington and the “EM: HE” team of designers Paul DiMeo, Tracy Hutson, John Littlefield, Sabrina Soto, local builder Blue Ridge Log Cabins and community volunteers helped build the new Jubilee House.

For more information on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” visit http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition

See the special Season Nine premiere of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” from 7-9 pm EDT on Sunday, 25 September.

Tenth Anniversary of 9-11-01

Gary — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:55:15 +0000

Around our Nation there are many special observances for the Tenth Anniversary of foreign terrorist attacks on our homeland. I will participate in a Service of Prayer, Healing, and Remembrance on Sunday evening 11 September at Chapel By The Sea, Naval Station Mayport, Florida. During the service, Captain D. F. Cochrane, Naval Station Mayport Commanding Officer and Captain Tim Lantz, Navy Region Southeast Chaplain will address the theme “Where I was on September 11, 2001.”

Likely most Americans could offer vivid recollections of their exact locations, thoughts, and feelings on that day. I was at Naval Hospital Portsmouth that morning for a series of pre-retirement X-rays. Shortly after the first airplane struck the World Trade Center North Tower, I came through the waiting area on the way to an appointment in the Radiology Department. Many people were fastened to the television.

By the time my appointment was finished, the second plane struck the World Trade Center South Tower and another plane struck the Pentagon. Coming back into the waiting area on the way to the parking garage, I encountered a room full of fellow patients in stunned silence. With them I watched the South Tower collapse. While driving back to Virginia Beach, I heard on the car radio about collapse of the North Tower and crash of the plane in Somerset County, PA.

During unimaginable events, the mind and heart is flooded with all sorts of things, many occurring simultaneously. While calling home to alert my wife, I wondered if the Hampton Roads area would be attacked. I also thought about the attack on USS Cole (DDG 67) nearly a year earlier on 12 October 2000. My official retirement ceremony was just a couple of weeks away. Although unlikely that any of these events would cause a stop in my orders, I wondered about all sorts of implications for our Navy and the other Armed Services.

Other thoughts over the next days following – at least ones I recall this week – would fill many pages. The one prevailing thought was about the nature of God and the nature of individual and corporate evil. Then and now I take consolation in belief that God is not the author of evil. Through every alarm, tragedy, and atrocity brought about by human hands, God will provide grace and strength.

The national MCA leaders join countless others to remember those who died on September 11, 2001 and the sacrifices of first responders and many others in days that followed. And, we particularly honor our Warriors and their families. For nearly a decade, our Warriors have been constantly engaged in fighting. In defense of our homeland, they and their loved ones have paid staggering prices with repeated deployments, combat trauma and injuries, and death. Thank you for answering the call to preserve our liberty. God bless you!

Chaplain Gary R. Pollitt / Captain, U. S. Navy, Ret. / MCA Executive Director