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The Voice for Chaplaincy - Chartered by Congress - Serving Since 1925
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Weekly Newsgram - January 4th
, 2017
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For Everything There Is A Season
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Happy New Year to all. 2017 has arrived and with it endless potential for both good and for ill. The author of Ecclesiastes outlined it very well as he considered the range of alternatives we may experience in nearly any circumstance. May we as chaplains be prepared to walk with those we are called to serve in all these circumstances through the times ahead.
Many of you may have formed your first impressions of military chaplaincy based on the character of Father Mulcahy from M*A*S*H. The actor who portrayed him, William Christopher, passed away this past Saturday. Christopher was one of the cast members of the show to remain with it through the entire eleven-year production run. His wife of nearly 60 years, Barbara, was at his side as Christopher passed from this life. The couple devoted much of their lives to care of their autistic son, Ned, and championed care and support for the developmentally disabled using his fame to champion a worthy cause.
Though the fictional character was widely criticized for his milquetoast approach to our profession, Christopher's portrayal earned respect and brought a spiritual dimension to the program which affected multitudes as they considered the reality of conflict through the cast of characters brought to life before us each week. Perhaps Father Mulcahy was there for a time such as this.
In 2017 there are many challenges and opportunities facing us as the Military Chaplains Association. Below I seek your input on several decisions which will help guide our efforts in being a voice for chaplaincy wherever our chaplains may serve. We know there is a great need for professional chaplaincy in our uniformed services and throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs.
As chaplains, we are not fictional characters but flesh and blood men and women who are provided the privilege to walk with others through the range of alternatives each life presents. Our prayers are with all as you fulfill your calling in the year ahead.
Lyman Smith
Executive Director
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Life Members
Chaplain Donald S. Mikitta
Lt Col, CAP
Associated Baptist Churches
MCA member since 1988
Red Wing, MN
Chaplain Jonathan Panitz
CDR, USN, Retired
Jewish Rabbinical Assembly
MCA member since 1997
Catonsville, MD
Annual Members
Chaplain David Kahler
Captain, ANG
Reformed Church in America
Branchburg, NJ
Ensign Derek J. Martin
CCPO, USN
National Association of Congregational Churches
Mazeppa, MN
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Request for Chaplain Participation in Moral Injury Program Development Survey
Brett Litz, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the Boston VA Healthcare System are conducting a program development and evaluation survey of individuals who provide care to Veterans and/or Service Members who have been exposed to different types of
potentially morally injurious events. These are military or warzone experiences that transgressed or violated deeply held beliefs about right and wrong. Potentially morally injurious experiences may entail things that a Service Member did or failed to do (e.g., acts of perpetration of violence, mistakes, failing to stop unethical behavior, etc.) or they may entail transgressions of others that affected the service member (e.g., betrayal by trusted others, military sexual trauma, etc.).
Dr. Litz and colleagues are asking chaplains and other providers across disciplines to summarize their observations of the diverse ways that potentially morally injurious experiences are affecting Veterans and/or Service Members who seek care. The aim is to gather ideas about the unique mental, behavioral, social, psychological, and spiritual outcomes associated with military and warzone transgressions, or moral injury.
If you have experience working with veterans and/or service members in this context, and are willing to participate in this foundational survey, please complete the attached
survey form and return the completed form to Dr. Litz
[email protected]. The survey will take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete. The information you provide will be culled with others' responses and no individual responses to the survey will be connected to you.
This is a program development project, not a research study. Your participation is completely voluntary. These survey results will be used to generate ideas for honing the definition of moral injury as a multidimensional outcome and generating ideas for future research. Thank you very much in advance for your participation, and for sharing your expertise and knowledge.
If you are able and interested in participating, please complete and return this survey by 20 January 2017. Please contact Dr. Litz, or John Schultz, Chaplain-Fellow, NYHHS VA,
[email protected], with any questions.
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The Military Chaplain 2017
Your Comments Please
Last year we began a new approach to our quarterly magazine, The Military Chaplain. Each issue was formed around a theme which has an impact on our ministry. In 2016 we explored Moral Injury, Free Speech, Suicide Prevention, and Ethical Challenges to Service. As we now plan for 2017 several topics have been considered - among them Faith and Fear; Peer Support; The Chaplain's Role; The Language of Ministry; Spirituality versus Religion; and Civil Military Relations and the chaplaincy.
Please consider these and let me know your thoughts on what might be helpful to you in your personal and professional setting and if you have suggestions for content for any of these. You may send your comments to us at
[email protected]. Thank you.
And if you have not yet received it, please find attached the winter issue of the Military Chaplain.
Winter 2016 Military Chaplain
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MCA National Institute 2017
October 23 - 26, 2017
Newport News, Virginia
Please plan to join us!
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South Carolina Chapter Update
You are invited to the 10 January 2017 Luncheon of the chapter. It will take place at the NCO Club, Fort Jackson, SC. Lunch at 1145 - program starts 1200.
Guest speaker will be Colonel (Retired) Craig Currey, Chief Executive Officer of 'Transitions,' the Midlands Homeless Center in Columbia, SC.
Affirmative RSVP to Sam Boone at 803-751-7316
Craig Currey Biography
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If you missed the December 21st
edition of the Newsgram
click here
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SUPPORTING CHAPLAINCY IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM: Active, Retired and Former Chaplains of the
United States Army,
United States Navy,
United States Air Force, Department of
Veterans Affairs, and
Civil Air Patrol
AND THOSE THEY SERVE: military members, veterans, and their families
at home and around the world
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The Military Chaplains Association of the USA
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