Free Republic

As I sat in the hearing room, I felt a cold chill – like the chilling effect this court-martial will have on our free speech. For this analogy to be accurate, however, I would need to be sitting in a freezer. At issue in the court-martial of Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt, chaplain for the United States Navy, is a name and the freedom to speak it. That name is Jesus. And, according to this week's ruling, the freedom to speak it depends on the context. Before I could go through the metal detectors to get to the courtroom, a Navy...

    Pentagon Chaplain’s Corner The Following Testimony is from Mr. Paul Brady: He is one of our 9-11 Survivors! I would be honored to bear witness to God's Mercy and Love as an entry on the Pentagon Chaplain's Web Site per your offer. Respectfully, Paul I feel like the "Ancient Mariner" in Coleridge's poem but I want to share my account of God's mercy, love and providence on that second "Day of Infamy" in our country's history. I have been describing the situation surrounding my escape from death from 9-11-01 and believe that my witness of Faith in...

    AN ODD WAY TO PRAY Over the years I have heard a multitude of spoken prayers. Some flowed poetically from the speaker's tongue, some had the overtones of a sermon, and others resembled conversation. I have also heard another type of prayer, though never in a church or chapel. Its usage is universal in the English language, even being used on occasion by atheists. The prayer is most often spoken during times of anger, frustration, or used to display extreme displeasure with a given situation or individual. The vast majority of the English-speaking population would not recognize...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 30, 2006) -- In the midst of a combat zone it may be hard for one to find beauty, but with the help of one Naval petty officer, service members deployed to Al Asad, Iraq, will get a little taste of heaven when visiting the base chapel. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald J. Hodory, builder, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25, 9th Naval Construction Regiment, saw a need and took the necessary steps to make the newly constructed chapel more like a religious sanctuary in the States. "The idea for stained-glass windows came more as a...

FORT HOOD – The soldiers for whom Capt. Rodney Thomas cared as a chaplain had a good reason for lovingly referring to him as "Holy Roller," his assistant said Tuesday. Not only was he a model for what Christians are supposed to be, he was relied upon for tactical information as well, said Spc. Heath Alexander. Thomas insisted on being with soldiers, which required him to travel throughout Iraq in convoys. He was assigned to the 180th Transportation Battalion, 13th Sustainment Command and had just returned Aug. 15 from a yearlong deployment to Kuwait. He collapsed and died after a...

Georgetown University has banned outside Protestant ministries from holding on-campus events and using the school's name, prompting group leaders to question whether the prestigious Catholic school is restricting religious choice. "All we're wanting is diversity," said Kevin Offner, a staff leader for InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship. "We're simply saying, 'Can't we worship and conduct our meetings in a way appropriate to our tradition?' And it feels like [Georgetown is] saying 'no.' " In a letter last week to leaders of the campus's Affiliated Ministries, the Rev. Constance C. Wheeler, a Georgetown Protestant chaplain, said that "as a result of our...

    Jumping to Conclusions A newspaper article told of a man who was walking toward an open New York subway car when he felt a body brush by him. Instinctively, he reached for his pocket and discovered he didn't have his wallet. Shouting and running, he grabbed the person who had bumped against him. He tugged wildly at the stranger's sleeve, trying to stop him from escaping into the departing subway. The subway door slammed shut, but not before he had ripped off the suspected pick-pocket's coat sleeve. Later that night at home the man discovered his "stolen"...

OK Catholics, here's a question of dogma/doctrine for you. We took my daughter up to Davidson College last week, and of course we hit the College Fair and the religious life table. Had a nice chat with a couple of rabbis on the chaplains' staff. Saw a lady who was manning the Catholic table . . . much to my surprise she had a little plastic tag IDing her as a chaplain. And she (self-described) runs the Catholic program at the school. We had a little chat, I avoided (out of politeness) asking her straight up how a woman could...

    ARE YOU TOO BUSY FOR GOD? We know sea service life can be a continuous stream of movement and activity. Sometimes it seems as if it will never slow down long enough for us to catch our breath. Although we think that all of our activities are crucial, we need to honestly ask ourselves, "Are these things really important?" A prophetic messenger said, "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever." (Isaiah 32:17). This means we must commit ourselves to hearing the Lord's voice. How else can we...

FORT HUACHUCA — Perhaps the saddest moment Roger Rodriquez remembers from his year tour with an infantry unit in Afghanistan is leading a memorial service for two soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device. “It was hardest for the (soldiers’) platoon. You know soldiers form friendships and when one of their group dies it’s emotional,” the captain chaplain said. Doing a memorial service around incidents in which soldiers are killed in action “is the most difficult thing to do,” the Baptist minister said. During his year in Afghanistan serving with soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii, five...

    DOING WELL WHAT OTHERS MAY NOT SEE In the New Testament scriptures, the Apostle Paul talks about the importance of striving for excellence. He writes, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8) Allow me to share with you a story about striving for excellence. On one of the arches of a magnificent cathedral in Europe is sculptured a face of great beauty. Yet it can be seen only...

    A GREAT MARINE Several years ago as the H & S Battalion Chaplain at MCB, Camp Lejeune, I visited the people in the different work spaces, including the rather large main post office. One day a little conversation took place with young Marine Lance Corporal. This unplanned encounter has remained with me, and it seems worth passing on... The Lance Corporal was standing by a very large sack of mail. His job, every day, six days a week for many hours was to sort the mail from that large sack and place the letters into smaller sacks,...

    Why God Blesses And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel. 1 Chronicles 14:2 King David learned an important lesson every leader must learn if he is to ensure God's continual blessing. He knew why God blessed him. It wasn't because he deserved it, though he was a man who sought God with his whole heart. It wasn't because of his great skill, though he was a great military strategist. It wasn't because he was perfect, for...

7/18/2006 - BALAD AIR FORCE BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- When Airmen deploy to combat, they expect a mission-focused environment. Without the daily demands of home life and the distractions of fast-paced America, many use their limited spare time to develop themselves in new ways. "Some people get in shape at the gym," said Chaplain (Capt.) Jose Tate, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Chaplain Services. "Some say they want to get in shape spiritually." For people seeking this kind of growth, chaplains provide the services, counseling and sometimes just a friendly ear for those who want to talk. "First and foremost, we...

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2006 – What started out as a hobby for Daniel Hoebeke in January 2005 has led to more than 1,000 care packages being sent to military chaplains serving overseas. Volunteers and passersby gather around an Adopt-A-Chaplain booth at the Los Gatos, Calif., Fourth of July celebration. Adopt-a-Chaplain, a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, provides care packages for chaplains and servicemembers deployed overseas. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "Our goal is to provide support to the people who provide support to our troops. It gives us an opportunity to give...

    Office of the Pentagon Chaplain Support The Office of the Pentagon Chaplain supports the spiritual well-being of Pentagon Military and civilian personnel through worship services, religious education opportunities, and pastoral care programs and activities including:    Programs for the spiritual, moral, and ethical needs of the Pentagon  personnel   Pastoral Care during times of crisis, grief, stress, or anxiety   Spiritual relationships to all personnel of the Pentagon for worship, religious   education, and pastoral care support sustaining spiritual well-being   Providing invocations, benedictions, blessings, and prayers at military ceremonies, social events, and other activities related to the...

    Your Mental Attitude - Cornerstone Waste of time is one of the most costly ex­penses on life’s ledger . . . it can never be reimbursed. Thousands of people would never have expe­rienced the bitterness and helplessness of want if they had not first been guilty of WASTE. There is a constant dissipation of thought and feeling, just as there is of physical energies. Each in turn exacts its heavy toll from us. Dissipation of thought and feeling proves wasteful and ruinous to the mind and heart the same process is equally as destructive to health and...

A Navy review has concluded that a complaint from a ship chaplain was "without merit" when he charged that his commanding officer harassed him by discouraging the use of certain Bible quotations. But Navy Lt. Gordon J. Klingenschmitt said the report actually backs up his complaint, even though the chief investigator sided with the commander. Lt. Klingenschmitt has waged a national campaign to fight military restrictions on what chaplains preach. He also has turned to Congress, which is debating legislation to ensure religious freedom for chaplains. Lt. Klingenschmitt's complaint stems from a memorial sermon he delivered for a deceased petty...

    How should I pray? Here are some thoughts on how we should pray. A story is told about George Washington and how he prayed. In the early days of our republic, a stranger once asked at Congress how he could distinguish President Washington. Kneeling is a sign of respect. It reminds us that there is someone bigger and greater than ourselves who cares for us. Psalm 95 tells us, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,...

Catholic News Service CHICAGO (CNS) -- Mary Zilligan Becker, a Chicago-area Catholic, does not view her chance encounter with a military chaplain stationed in Iraq as a mere coincidence. In January, Becker was asked by a friend without a computer to send an e-mail for her to a priest friend, Father John Hannigan, a chaplain with the U.S. Marine Corps. Father Hannigan, who was ordained in the Chicago Archdiocese in 1976, now has a 30,000-square-mile "parish" that reaches west from Baghdad and Fallujah to the borders of Syria and Jordan. He lives with soldiers, sailors, Marines and Seabees. At every...