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Message from Tom....
The Feast Day of St. Valentine seems like one of those Hallmark Holidays that is more commercial than truly meaningful.
Valentine's Day may or may not celebrate the life and ministry of an actual historical individual and in any case has largely lost connection to whatever religious roots it may have had in history. I still remember taking Valentine's cards to share with my elementary school classmates and I still do something special with and for my wife to mark this day each year. I heard a news report this week stating that many Americans no longer observe Valentine's Day but that for those who do - they are spending more money than ever! That I don't do.
Scripture certainly calls us to focus on love - for God, neighbor, and ourselves. Paul calls love the "greatest" of the big three - Faith, Hope, and Love, and even boldly states that Love never ends. Without preaching a sermon here or conducting an exegesis of I Corinthians 13, suffice to say that I truly love each of you and love the ministry that you have with and for God's people in all the various settings where you do your chaplain work and live out your calling. So, Happy Valentine's Day!
Love,
Tom
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Tom's Travels....
Chaplain, LT, George Schmidt is assigned to Arlington with the US Navy Ceremonial Guard where he conducts funerals and memorial ceremonies for Navy veterans being buried at the National Cemetery. Disciples Chaplain Endorser, Rev. Tom Yates, visited George during a recent trip to Washington, DC. 
Chaplain, Lt. Col, John Von Almen and Rev. Tom Yates, Disciples Chaplain Endorser at National Endorsers Conference in Washington, DC.
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Chaplains Spotlight...
Butch Phillips, Enid, OK
When first responders need to work through the effects of trauma they've experienced on the job, their first help often comes from one of their own - a fellow first responder who also serves as a chaplain.
Butch Phillips, a chaplain with Garfield County Sheriff's Office, learned firsthand the need for department chaplains who understand first responders.
Read More....
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2019 General Assembly...
Come and see us in Des Moines, IA for the 2019 General Assembly....Chaplains have the opportunity to attend a Chaplains focused workshop on Sunday!
Workshop Details...
Sunday, July 22nd from 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Federal Chaplains are invited to attend a presentation given by Chaplains Alexis Waggoner and Tiann Morgner which will focus on serving as a progressive person of faith in a military context. There will also be a Q & A session with Chaplains Paul Fritts, Tiann Morgner, Jose Martinez and Owen Chandler. For more information on Waggoner and Morgner click here. For details about the workshop, please click here.
Institutional Chaplains are invited to attend a presentation given by Chaplain Sherry Shanks which will focus on the effectiveness of different spiritual and other interventions on oncology staff resilience. Chaplain Ana Wilson will also provide us with a presentation. There will also be a Q & A session with Chaplains Annie Grogan, Mark Hall and Jonathan Fisher.
You can register for these workshops when you register for GA 2019. Early bird registration ends March 31st.
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Disciples Chaplains Association is planning an informal gathering of Chaplains on Tuesday afternoon, July 23rd, click
here for details and to RSVP.
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Please consider spending an hour in the Disciples Home Missions exhibit space where you have the opportunity to talk with other endorsed chaplains and meet new ones! Click
here for more...
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Please send in a photo of yourself while in ministry. We want to use these during General Assembly. Please e-mail your photo to
Anne Marie Moyars.
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Are you currently serving as a federal chaplain and need notification of General Assembly 2019 to obtain leave...please click
here.
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Updates....
Chaplain Bill Kilgore will graduate this month from the US Air Force Chaplain Corps College Basic Course at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Bill is a USAR Chaplain assigned to NAS Joint Base Fort Worth, Texas.
Congratulations to Chaplain Christopher Schilling on his recent promotion to Captain in the US Air Force Reserve. He is also keeping busy as a solo hospital chaplain and reports that he will soon begin a part-time transitional pastorate in Ohio.
Navy Chaplain Kevin Mooney is beginning an extended deployment to Okinawa with a unit of the US Marine Corps. We keep Kevin, his family, and the unit in our prayers.
Keep Chaplain John Von Almen
and his family are in our prayers as he moves from Washington D.C. to Washington State this month to begin duty as the senior Air Force Chaplain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma.
Chaplain Ansley Irene Albritton has retired from Palmetto Health in Columbia, SC.
Chaplain Grant Eubanks and wife are expecting their third child this month.
Army
Chaplain Mark Nikont
will be attending the University of Pennsylvania to study Bioethics.
Army
Chaplain Paul Fritts is enjoying watching the chapel in Fort Greely, AK grow from 4 to 40.
Navy
Chaplain David Tambur
shares that in March 2019, he will be transferring to Naval Submarine Support Center in Bangor, WA!
Chaplain Stephen K Goss was elected to a two-year term as a Certificate Commissioner for ACPE!
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Christine Isham, La Crosse, WI
Nicole McRaney, Irving, TX
William Ryan Sanford, Columbia, MO
Orlando Scott, Norcross, GA
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Retired
Chaplain Karl McBride
was hospitalized this past Monday with a heart attack & pneumonia.
Chaplain Raymond McDonald has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Kidney Disease.
Chaplain David Rozanek is recovering from a broken toe, torn rotator cuff,
tendinitis
, herniated disc between his C5 - C6 vertabrae.
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Chaplain, Brigadier General
J. Steven Chisolm
is the Air National Guard Assistant to the United States Air Force Chief of Chaplains, retired January 31, 2019. Rev. Thomas A. Yates, Chaplains Endorsing Officer, Rev. Sotello V. Long,
President
, Disciples Home Missions and Rev.W. Kyle Fauntleroy, Area Director, Pension Fund were in attendance. Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, General Minister and President, sent this
letter
.
(L to R) Rev. Thomas A. Yates, Rev. W Kyle Fauntleroy and Rev. J Steve Chisolm
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February 3 is Four Chaplains Day in the USA
This day commemorates the events of February 3, 1943, when the troop ship USAT Dorchester sank. Dorchester left New York on January 23, 1943, carrying 4 chaplains and about 900 others as a part of convoy of three ships.
It was torpedoed by German submarine U-223 off Newfoundland at 12:55 a.m. When Dorchester began to sink, four chaplains of different religions, George L. Fox (Methodist), Alexander D. Goode (rabbi), Clark V. Poling (Baptist) and John P. Washington (Catholic) were helping to calm down the passengers and organized an orderly evacuation. The life vests were passed out to men, but the supply ran out before each man had one.
The four chaplains gave their own life vests to others and helped as many men as they could into the boats, then they linked their arms together, saying prayers and singing hymns, went down with the ship. Four chaplains were posthumously awarded by the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross on December 19, 1944. In 2006 chaplains were awarded by the Medal of Honor.
The Four Chaplains' Medal was introduced by Congress on
July
 14, 1960. These medals were presented posthumously to the next of kin of each of the four chaplains of Dorchester on January 18, 1961.
Congress established February 3 as Four Chaplains Day in 1988. This day is observed with official proclamations and, sometimes, flags flying at half-mast.
We hope that over the weekend or month you would take the opportunity to share the story of the Four Chaplains as well as possibly dedicating a collection from your home congregation or faith gathering in their honor to NCMAF and our work in helping today's chaplains. If you would like to do this you can mail the collected offering to: NCMAF Designated Offering, P. O. Box 7572, Arlington, Virginia 22207. National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF) tax identification number is 54-1188519.
NCMAF Leadership Team
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From the Chaplains Office...
If you need a Disciples Chaplains Pin (we hope everyone will wear this pin during General Assembly) please send your name
 and mailing address to
Anne Marie Moyars. There is no cost for this pin or shipping.
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