Free Republic

FROM: Reverend Kent L. Svendsen, Ordained Elder, United Methodist Church / Northern Illinois Conference Dear Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries United Methodist Church I understand that you are about to start a campaign relating to, among other things, human rights protections and the detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I can speak with some authority on the subject since I served as the chaplain to the Joint Detention Operation Group in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from May 2004 until March 2005. As a United Methodist I have a keen sense of world justice and while serving in Cuba sought...

(I got this received this forwarded e-mail, orginally it came my way from former Illinois state rep, Cal Skinner, R-Crystal Lake. Cal writes now for the online conservative publication, Illinois Leader.) FROM: Reverend Kent L. Svendsen, Ordained Elder, United Methodist Church / Northern Illinois Conference Dear Women's Division General Board of Global Ministries United Methodist Church I understand that you about to start a campaign relating to among other things human rights protections and the detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I can speak with some authority on the subject since I served as the chaplain to the Joint Detention...

      What Makes A Dad God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea, The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight, The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need, Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete, And so, He called it ......

Canadian military has performed its first same-sex "wedding" - chaplains must follow orders Daughter of Homosexual Dad Hopes to Share Her Saga with North AmericaBy Chad GroeningJune 15, 2005(AgapePress) - A Christian woman in Canada whose father was heavily involved in the homosexual lifestyle says she wants people on both sides of the border to understand how devastating homosexuality is on children. Meanwhile, the Canadian military has performed its first same-sex "wedding."Associated Press reports that two men -- a sergeant and a warrant officer -- exchanged vows last month in a small ceremony at the chapel of a Canadian Forces...

        GOD WILL NOT LET YOU FALL My family and I went camping this past summer. We took several hikes down the little river bed as it flowed through the Cuyamaca State Park near our home in San Diego. We topped for a picnic lunch, and ate with our feet in the cool running water. As I ate my sandwich, I started tracing a trail through the rocks that shot up into the air in front of us. It was an old habit from days gone by of rock scrambling: no ropes, no hardware, no helmet,...

        PRAYER FOR YOUR SHIPMATES Lord, the crew of this ship works hard. They work long hours, often in hot, dangerous, of difficult circumstances. They work whether tired or rested. For the life of our ship and the performance of our mission requires -- no, demands -- that we all put our shoulder to the wheel. But let us remember, Lord, why this ship exists, and what we are really about. For the labor we give is a labor for the defense of our land. We work for our families, for our friends, for our freedoms...

Greetings All, I'm posting this announcement to let everyone know that the VetsCoR Public Affairs Officer, Roy Arnold, will be doing a talk radio show on Sunday, June 3 at 1PM (Arizona time). Roy will be on KVOI radio in Tucson with Charles Heller. If anyone is interested in listening, there is a Live stream you can listen to. The live stream is up from 12-2pm (MST) and Roy will be on for 1/2 hour starting at 1pm. Also, VetsCoR needs a Chaplain. 1. We unanimously approved a measure to create a Chaplain position (Non-voting) on the VetsCor Board of...

Soon after noon chow on a June afternoon in 1967, a small convoy began forming outside the 41st Signal Battalion (Combat Area) headquarters in Qui Nhon, Vietnam. This voluntary civic action operation consisted of a few officers and 75 enlisted men riding in a couple of deuce-and-a-half trucks. The convoy moved out through Qui Nhon toward the isolated village of Phu Cat. The plan was to visit the families of wounded and KIA members of the irregular South Vietnamese forces in Phu Cat. Irregulars were the fellows who wore black pajamas and carried weapons. They lived at home with their...

        Chaplain’s Memorial Day Message – May 2005 Hello, hope you are doing well! Memorial Day is coming soon and it is a good time to pray and thank God for our freedom. Take some time to pray for our military service members and honor the Veterans who served in the past. Some paid all in service to our nation. I am grateful for those who protect our country. Recently, a group of wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center came to tour the Pentagon. We lined the halls and clapped for them as they...

He was a Vietnam legend, the priest. Ralph Oriscello first heard about him while treating injured soldiers at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in South Vietnam in the fall of 1967. One after another, the soldiers told the story of how the priest, unarmed except for a crucifix and a prayer, ran into the middle of a mortar firestorm and dragged wounded men to safety. As the battle escalated and the casualties mounted, so did the priest's momentum. With mortar shells exploding all around him, he brought back one injured man after another, saving lives and comforting souls. "Many of the...

        Chaplain Links U.S. Army Office of the Chief of Chaplains  Army Chaplain Center and School Army Chaplain Recruiting Pentagon Chaplain Fort Belvoir Chapels Fort Myer Memorial Chapel U.S. Air Force Air Force Chaplain Service Air Force Chaplain Service Recruiting Chaplain Assistance Apprentice Course Air Force Pastoral Care Links U.S. Marine Corps The Chaplain of The U.S. Marine Corps CREDO Main Page Marine Corps Family Team Building U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard Headquarters Chaplain Coast Guard Prayers and Hymns Coast Guard Yard Chaplain's Home Page U.S. Navy Navy Chaplain Corps Navy Chaplain Recruiting Chaplain Care Naval...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (May 20, 2005) -- Marine volunteers and the Headquarters and Service Battalion chaplain devoted their afternoons to sort and package food for senior citizens and the needy May 12 at the San Diego Food Bank. "This is the second time that we have done this project," said Navy Cmdr. Randal B. Craft, H&S Bn. chaplain. The Marine volunteers, usually from around the depot and Naval Medical Center San Diego, volunteered at the food bank last holiday season. "All of the work that is done by the food bank is volunteer work," said Craft....

        RESPONSES TO LIFE'S PROBLEMS "Times are tough." "Man is born crying, and, when he has cried enough, he dies." "Life is hard, and then you die." You've heard the complaints. Probably even felt that way from time to time. But focusing on the negative and the unpleasant is a tough way to live. P.J. O'Rourke wrote a few years ago that, whenever he heard people begin to complain that times were bad, he thought of his grandfather: Born into a pretty awful world back in 1877. When the average wage was little more than a...

Here’s a story that will throw you for a loop: a "chaplain” at the U.S. Air Force Academy is complaining that the school’s administration has a "systemic and pervasive” problem of promoting religious religious values with a Christian bent. The chaplain, Capt. Melinda Morton, a "Lutheran minister” spoke out publicly on Tuesday as an Air Force task force arrived at the academy to investigate charges that officers and staff members pushed their religious beliefs on cadets. And she claimed that a tolerance program developed at the academy, called Respecting the Spiritual Values of all People (R.S.V.P.), was watered down after...

        A MESSAGE FROM MOM The message reads: I gave you life, but cannot live it for you. I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn. I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you. I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it. I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe. I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you. I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside. I can offer you...

Navy Probes Religious Discrimination Associated Press May 2, 2005 WASHINGTON - The Navy is investigating a chaplain's allegations he was punished for theological disagreements with superior officers, including his objections to requiring sailors to participate in services at a church that accepts homosexuality. Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt says he was transferred ashore and given a negative job recommendation because of the religious disagreements. Other actions cited in Klingenschmitt's personnel records include his advocacy for a Jewish sailor who wanted kosher meals and his preaching of sermons that some sailors viewed as proselytizing and intolerant. "I'm shocked that senior chaplains would force...

        ASPIRE TO A VISION A scene in the movie Karate Kid was quite striking. Daniel went to see Mr. Miyagi and found him trimming a delicate bonsai tree. Daniel was fascinated and wanted to try it, but he had no idea how it was done. Miyagi told him to close his eyes and picture in his mind the way he wanted the tree to look. After Daniel found that vision in his mind, Miyagi told him to open his eyes and start trimming the tree. Daniel's every move was deliberate and focused. Then he stopped....

FORT RUCKER, Ala. — An Army chaplain testified Tuesday that a former National Guard soldier from New Jersey who accused a fellow officer of raping her was viewed as "untruthful" by military colleagues. Maj. William Cruz also said he counseled the soldier charged with rape, 1st Lt. Mike Hall, and found him trustworthy. "He was truthful to a fault," said Cruz. The testimony by Cruz came in the court-martial of Hall, 35, of Nashville, Tenn. Former 1st Lt. Jennifer Dyer, 26, has alleged that Hall raped her twice in her barracks room after an evening at the officers club at...

        SPIRITUAL OR PHYSICAL? A popular television commercial for an on-line stock trading company really captures one's attention. It begins with a motley group of executives in a meditation/relaxation class. The first participant is asked where he is: "On a sandy beach." The second participant: "In a beautiful garden." The third: "Trading stock in front of my computer for $8.00 a trade." "It's soooo relaxing!" he croons. At this, participant #1 is off the sandy beach; participant #2 is out of the garden, and the whole class is abuzz with the prospect of getting rich quick....

<p>October 15, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - Pentagon investigators will question a Muslim chaplain who arranged a trip to Mecca for Islamic U.S. servicemen that was paid for by a Saudi charity linked to al Qaeda, a top Defense Department official said yesterday. In March 2001, Capt. Rasheed Muhammad led a "Haj tour" for about 60 Muslim service people that was paid for by the Muslim World League, which is dedicated to the spread of an extreme form of Islam embraced by Osama bin Laden.</p>