Photo By Jennifer McCarthy | Commander of ASA-Dix, Col. Patrick Slowey, left, presents Brig. Gen. Eugene (Ray)...... read more read more
Breakfast was served up with a helping of prayer for more than 150 members of the Army Support Activity-Dix and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as they joined together during the ASA-Dix National Prayer Breakfast at Club Dix Feb. 4.
A bountiful breakfast was served followed by spiritual singing, prayer and a short message delivered by the guest speaker, Chap. (Brig. Gen.) Eugene (Ray) Woolridge, assistant chief of chaplains for Mobilization and Readiness, U.S. Army Reserve.
Woolridge told those in attendance, "We depend upon a connection with God. Today our Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines are deploying at rates that we had never seen during the Cold War. The question we ask ourselves is, 'Is the American Soldier, is the American Airman, is the American Marine welcome when they arrive on foreign land?'"
He said he hoped they are feared by those who would threaten our way of life, but hoped they would be welcomed by the people of the lands who have been victims of oppressors and extremists. He said most people around the world see the United States as being a great nation that represents hope to a hurting world.
"America is great, because America is good,." Woolridge said,
The general shared the story of the Four Chaplains. This story comes from the events on Feb. 2, 1943, when a German submarine torpedoed the United States Army Transport ship, the Dorchester, and sunk her in the North Atlantic waters between Newfoundland, Canada and Greenland.
When the Dorchester was sinking, four chaplains, Lt. Alexander Goode, Lt. George Fox, Lt. Clark Poling, and Lt. John Washington, helped the survivors put on life vests and get off the ship. When the lockers were empty of life vests, the chaplains took off their own vests and gave them to four Soldiers. The chaplains were last seen standing on the deck, joined arm-in-arm, praying as the ship slipped beneath the waves.
Woolridge asked, "What is it that made these men good?"
He then answered his own question by saying it was their relationships with God. He said they learned to build their relationships with God when attending Sunday School and other services in their churches, synagogues and temples.
Referring to Revelation 2:4, the general said, "Many people in our communities and in our nation struggle in their daily lives and spiritual walks because they have departed from their first love, that of having a close and meaningful relationship with God. That first love can't be found on Wall Street or on Main Street. It can only be found in the churches, synagogues, and places of worship throughout the country. People need to return to the basics of their faith and return to their first love."
One of the basics of any faith is prayer. Woolridge referred this time to Luke 11:5-13 when he said people need to pray shamelessly, or boldly, when petitioning God to intercede on behalf of themselves or others. He said God is listening for those who are persistent and serious about their relationships and requests.
Reiterating the responsibility for everyone to be involved he said, "Our Soldiers will be good when they have a spiritual connection. Our Soldiers and Airmen will be good when we provide spiritual guidance. The job of making good Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen is the responsibility of all of us, not just the chaplains."
Chap. (Col.) Thomas Brouillard, ASA-Dix command chaplain, thanked the leaders in the room for their spiritual commitment and the way they influence their men and women by setting the example.
The ASA-Dix commander, Col. Patrick Slowey, closed the breakfast by saying to the assemblage, "It is important to spend every day as a day of prayer, not just the National Day of Prayer. In all seriousness, it is important to remember our first love and that fits into our Soldiers' Total Fitness Program, the most important aspect of which is the faith of our Soldiers."
The gathering enjoyed another treat with their breakfast, which was the singing of two spiritual standards - "God is My Shepherd" and "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho," by internationally acclaimed bass-baritone Kevin Deas. Deas is a product of the U.S. Army, as his father, the late Command Sgt. Maj. David Deas and his mother Eloise Deas of Browns Mills, a member of the ASA-Dix Chapel Protestant congregation, raised him in the chapel system.
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2010 11:28 |
| Story ID: | 45266 |
| Location: | FORT DIX, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 120 |
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