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The Voice for Chaplaincy - Chartered by Congress - Serving Since 1925
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Weekly Newsgram - April 5th
, 2017
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Chaplain Maurice Peel |
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
As Christians approach Holy Week and Easter and Jews prepare for Passover, we are all reminded of the demands of faith in our lives. The stories of our holy writings bring to us the courage of individuals who put themselves in peril to hold true to their faith and the God they serve. We are admonished to learn from their examples and follow where they have lead.
This week I was reminded of how this plays out in the lives of chaplains - specifically in the life of a WW1 Army chaplain from Great Britain.
The Reverand Honourable Maurice Peel was the son of a political family. His grandfather had served as Prime Minister of England and his father as speaker of the House of Commons. Peel became Vicar of St. Paul's Church in Beckenham, England in 1909 shortly becoming a husband. He and his wife looked forward to a life of service together. Their time together was interrupted after war broke out a short five years later, Peel enlisted as a chaplain and was assigned to the seventh division. His desire was to serve with his men and be with them wherever they had need.
At the Battle of Festubert on May 15, 1915, Peel sought permission from his General to go "over the top" with his men when the fighting began. He went with the Royal Welch Fusiliers carrying a walking stick and his bible. He was shot several times by enemy machine gun fire as he advanced with the first wave to the battle.
Returning home, Peel recovered from his injuries and rejoined his unit in France in 1917. On May 14, 1917, at the Battle of Bullecourt, he was carrying an injured soldier when he was shot in the abdomen by a German sniper and died of his wounds.
Peel was not alone. He and 178 of his fellow chaplains from Britain gave their lives during the war.
Not all chaplains go "over the top" literally. And yet, nearly all chaplain go over the top spiritually as they give of themselves in caring for the men and women of their commands. During these holy days fast approaching, our thoughts and prayers are with all the chaplains who go over the top by journeying, visiting, and extending themselves to all our men and women who serve.
Whether you are a Rabbi, Priest, Minister, or Imam, your presence, service, and example help others respond to the demands of faith in their lives. Thank you.
Lyman Smith
Executive Director
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TAPS
Major, USAF, Re
tired
Roman Catholic
Deceased March 11, 2017
Sun City, AZ
LT, USN, Retired
Roman Catholic
Joined MCA and Life Member 2015
Deceased March 17, 2017
Naches, WA
Lt Col, USAF, Retired
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Joined MCA 1968
Deceased February 10, 2017
Osage Beach, MO
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We Welcome
Our Newest Members
Chaplain Samuel L. Tanner
Department of Veterans Affairs
Jewish
Brooklyn, NY
Chaplain Larry Sharp
MAJ, USA, Retired
Southern Baptist
Tazewell, TN
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Confidential Research Survey on Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention
Are you currently working as clergy either full time or part time? If yes, please complete this 10- to 15-minute confidential survey.
To complete the clergy survey, please click on this link or copy/paste it into a browser:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RDBDPGQ
We know your time is valuable. Three reasons to take the confidential survey are:
(1) Faith communities play an important role in suicide prevention.
(2) Results of the study will be used to develop suicide prevention resources for clergy and faith communities.
(3) At the end of the survey, you will be re-directed to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center to access suicide prevention resources for faith communities and other settings.
Your responses are CONFIDENTIAL and will be reported ONLY in summary form.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact one of the researchers:
Karen Mason
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 978.646.4042 or
Esther Kim
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 978.347.0024
Address: Box 278-B, 130 Essex St., South Hamilton, MA 01982, or
Blake Martin
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 313.473.0807
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This course will be an intensive immersion in the archetypal, psycho-spiritual and communal dimensions of warriorhood and trauma. It will offer profound and extensive teachings and practices in how to transform trauma from a shattering to a deepening and enriching experience of the liminal, to embrace it as a rite of passage and experience it as a sacred initiation. The course will welcome and be relevant to all warriors - our first responders as well as veterans - all who walk forward into danger to preserve and protect the rest of us.
Details
May 11-14 & July 13-16, 2017
Thursday 9:00am - Sunday 4:00pm
at Pacifica's Ladera Lane Campus
60 CE Credits available
Registration Fee: $1,460
CE fee: $40
Registration fee includes meals
(Meals included: Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch)
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Case Western Reserve University invites applications to its Military Ethics Program-the first graduate degree program of its kind. Classes for the inaugural cohort begin in Fall 2017.
* Students can complete the academic program in one intense year or at their own pace.
* Graduates earn a specialized degree that stands alone, pairs with a law degree or serves as a stepping-stone to a PhD program.
* The degree prepares students for career advancement or teaching in military ethics, law,
policy, foreign affairs and other fields.
* The program faculty includes international experts in military ethics, international relations, public policy.
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Religion and Spirituality:
The Impact on Chaplains
MCA National Institute 2017
October 23 - 26, 2017
Newport News, Virginia
or call
866-329-1758
ask for Military Chaplains
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If you missed the March 29th
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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