Photo By Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy | Kelsang Wangpo, a resident teacher of Tushita Kadampa Meditation Center, gets a...... read more read more
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FORT LEWIS, Wash. - The chaplains from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, invited fellow religious leaders from the Puget Sound region to attend the 2nd annual Clergy Day at the Four Chaplains Memorial Chapel, JBLM, May 18, for fellowship and to build a stronger partnership and discuss how each could better serve their military Service members and their families to make them more resilient.
Ready and resilient service members was one of the main topics of discussion and keeping service members connected to values, no matter what religion, was how each religious leader could help keep their members’ resilient.
“This was not about magnifying any one religion,” said Col. Robert Powers, garrison chaplain, JBLM. “This is about connecting Service members and their families to values that enhance readiness and resiliency.”
Maj. J.R. Lorenzen, family life chaplain, JBLM, spoke with the group about some of the different stressors placed on Service members that might be in their religious services and compared it to a day in history that many in the Puget Sound area still recall.
“On this day, 35 years ago, Mount Saint Helens erupted and more than more than one cubic mile of material was dislodged in a matter of seconds,” said Lorenzen. “This is the trial and travail that could take place on a similar scale in the life any one of your congregants. With the loss of spouse, the diagnosis to a child, there are some unique challenges that we are going to make you aware of.”
He spoke of post-traumatic stress and how faith and values is the anchor that keeps some service members strong during hard times. He said when the local leaders are not available to provide additional support, such as during a deployment, military chaplains take the lead and be that anchor.
“We are one body here,” said Lorenzen. “Ministering to this community.”
Another reason for the event was to create dialog between not only the local clergy and the military chaplains, but to give the local clergy a chance to meet and share with each other, and there was a lot of that going on.
“This is about building bridges with community,” said Powers.
One such example of bridge building was that between a Baptist, Paul Anderson, pastor for South Hill Baptist Church, and a Buddhist, Kelsang Wangpo, a resident teacher of Tushita Kadampa Meditation Center, Tacoma, who talked and shared some of their beliefs and how they enjoyed seeing how the military cares for their service members’ spirituality with several different religious affiliations.
“I am completely stoked that I came today,” said Anderson. “It’s been wonderful to see how many chaplains are helping serve our people and it’s also increased my understanding of how, as a community person, I can begin to integrate with the active duty people in our churches.”
Anderson said he used to see the installation as a guarded fortress with its fences and gates, but now views it quite differently.
“This was my first time on the installation,” said Anderson. “Our concern and care about people doesn’t stop at the gate.”
Anderson said he has family in the military and it was nice to see some of what those family members experience on a daily basis and the experience gave him a more realistic view of what life was like for them.
“This gives me a better glimpse and understanding of two really important men in my life.”
He said he is looking forward to spending more time working with the chaplains and the service men and women who attend his service. He also hopes to see many more events like this in the future and is glad to have met a new friend, Wangpo.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2015 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 164083 |
| Location: | FORT LEWIS, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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