Thank-you!
Thanks to all of you who were able to attend our first Military Ministry Planning Retreat. It was a wonderful day and we are grateful for your insight and enthusiasm for military ministry. For those of you who were unable to attend, we missed you and look forward to hearing what is happening in your churches and communities and finding out how we can support you.
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Moving Forward
Action Ideas & Outreach Interest
The retreat offered time for discussion and provided lots of action ideas for moving forward. Activities also helped us identify and connect with others who had similar outreach interests.
Action Items
:
Veterans Stories- Gather stories from veterans in your church and/or community. Highlight in church newsletter, facebook or other ways. Share stories so we can include in Military Ministry Newsletter and other diocesan publications (Send to
[email protected]). Think of the gift to everyone involved in helping "tell" a veteran's story. If you have a youth presence, perhaps connect your youth with a veteran. If you have a school connected with your church or one you work with in your community, consider cards or other ways to reach out to veterans.
Visual Displays- Consider a bulletin board or other visual displays to identify and honor veterans and their families in your church and those on your prayer list. It was also suggested that military branch graphics could be used on church name tags. Download military
branch emblems here.
Buddy Poppies- are a way to honor and support veterans on Memorial Day. Susan Brown, MMCP at St. Matthew's, San Antonio, partnered with the VFW Post 4676's "Buddy Poppy" distribution program in 2017. Funds raised were discreetly provided to a veteran or a veteran family in need in the Randolph Area.
Get to Know Veterans- Invite a veteran to speak at your church, and/or invite a diocesan committee member to speak (contact
Karen Brandon or
Susan Douglas).
Partnering with other Diocesan Ministries- Military Ministry will explore opportunities to work with other diocesan ministries, including Recovery Ministry and the Commission for Women's Ministries.
Outreach Interest:
Several areas of outreach interest with gleaned from our Passion Worksheet activity. We are working to find ways to connect those with common outreach interests to current outreach and the opportunity to develop new outreach opportunities.
- Outreach to veterans in hospitals and other care facilities
- Planning retreats for veterans and their families
- Grant-writing and fundraising
- Building outdoor spaces for reflection
- Supporting families during deployment
- Adopt a troop/care packages
- Peer and other support groups for veterans and families(consider specific conflicts (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or other needs (PTSD, caregivers, sexual assault, POWs, children of veterans..) substance abuse, caregivers, sexual assault
- Quilts of Valor- Aleta Barlett, MMCP- Grace Llano, is very involved in this organization.
- Prayer Shawls
- Outreach to veterans who are homeless
- Open Table (see below)
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Military Resources
Here are a few Military Ministry resources that were discussed and new ones we learned about at the July retreat.
We are Veterans and Service Providers in Your Community Who Provide Proven and Innovative Methods, such as EFT, Therapeutic Massage, Energy Techniques, Acupuncture and Chiropractic Adjustments to Relieve Stress and Chronic Pain.
We are Committed to Honor and Empower Veterans, Service Members, Their Families and Service Providers Living with Post-Traumatic Stress, Chronic Pain and Related Symptoms.
The Armed Forces Vacation Club (AFVC) offers all eligible members of the U.S. military vacations at an affordable price. Explore all of our rental options in destinations around the world, including our popular $349 weeklong Space-A stays. Free membership is one small way we thank you for your service.
ACP American Corporate Partners (ACP) is a national non-profit dedicated to helping our returning veterans build meaningful careers. Working with volunteers nationwide, ACP offers veterans tools for long-term career development through mentoring, career counseling and networking opportunities
VETNET - Transitioning from military to civilian life presents unique challenges. To make things easier and provide structure, a few of the leading organizations in veteran career development have combined forces to create one, easy place to start.
Hire Heroes - Headquartered in Georgia - with six additional offices throughout the United States - Hire Heroes USA provides free, expert career coaching and job sourcing to more than a thousand transitioning U.S. military members, veterans and military spouses each week.
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Retreat Videos
During the Military Ministry retreat in July, attendees watched two videos. The first video was shown at Council this past February and highlighted outreach from St. Paul's, San Antonio to the Morales Family as well as diocesan outreach at Mustang Island Conference Center to veterans and staff from Haven for Hope. The second video, highlighted outreach at Camp Capers to breast cancer survivors through the organization Casting for Recovery-Texas.
St. Paul's, San Antonio supports the Morales family & Veterans and staff from Haven for Hope Find Respite at Mustang Island Conference Center
St. Paul's parishioners reached out to to support Lando and Kelly and their two sons, during Kelly's deployment to Afghanistan. Kelly was deployed just six months after the birth of their second child.
In December of 2016, staff and 12 veterans from Haven for Hope spent time at Mustang Island Conference Center.
Casting for Recovery-Texas annual spring retreat was held at Camp Capers and offered respite to breast cancer survivors. Attendees fished the Guadalupe River for bass, sunfish and trout. While this retreat was not targeted to veterans, it offers us the opportunity to see the amazing resources we are able to share with others through our Diocesan Camping Program. Other programs for veterans and their families are ongoing at Camp Capers, Mustang Island Conference Center and Duncan Park.
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Open Table
The diocesan Military Ministry program is working with Open Table in San Antonio on a pilot to connect veterans with Tables sponsored by current and future licensed Open Table churches.
Open Table trains congregations and their members, through the Open Table Model, to form communities- called Tables- that transform the vocational and life experiences of members into tools that can help others develop and implement plans that create change and transform lives.
Tables are composed of a group of volunteers that make a year-long commitment to act-through relationship-as a team of life specialists, encouragers, and advocates. Over the course of a year, the Table works together to set goals, foster accountability, and implement a plan to create change.
Veterans who join a table will be referred from the Bexar County Veterans Services Office and the Bexar County Reentry Program Manager, once we finalize agreements with these agencies.
The model we develop will ultimately be shared with other communities across the country by Open Table. Since every Texas county has a Veterans Services Office, all of our churches should be able to connect with veterans who need support. If you are interested in forming tables for veterans in your community in any town in the diocese, and/or would like more information on how to become a licensed Open Table congregation, contact
Catherine Lillibridge.
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September/October Military
Observance Dates
October
Thursday, 26 -
National Day of the Deployed
Patriot Day also referred to as 9/11 or September 11, is a holiday observed annually on September 11. It is a day dedicated to remembering and paying tribute to the 2,977 people killed and numerous people who were injured during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York, Washington DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This holiday should not be confused with Patriots' Day: the anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution and the holiday celebrated in Massachusetts, Maine, and other states.
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Moral Injury, PTSD and PTG: Military Ministry and the Church
For those of you who missed the Abide in Me IX Conference in June, Chaplain (Major) Mark C. Lee led a workshop on Moral Injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). The workshop offered insight into veterans suffering with PTSD and moral injury and explained the differences between the two. Lee emphasized that the Church can and should play an important role in the healing of moral injury and help lead people to Post Traumatic Growth. View Lee's PowerPoint presentation here.
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Stay Connected
Diocesan Military Ministry Facebook Page
Th e Episcopal Diocese of West Texas Military Ministry Facebook page
is now public. Facebook is just one of the tools Military Ministry uses to connect MMCPs with each other and share resources, news and events happening throughout the diocese. If you have not connected with our Facebook page, we hope you will soon. If you are connected please share with others who might be interested in Military Ministry in the Diocese of West Texas.
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Exploring Outreach Opportunities & Setting Goals
