Free Republic

          A MESSAGE FROM MOM 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 advice, but I cannot accept it for you.I...

A friend of yours has recommended you visit http://injesusnameipray.org. This site gives you the ability to join Delegate Bill Carrico and voice your opposition to the decision by Colonel W. Steven Flaherty's to not allow State Trooper chaplains to pray in Jesus name and to reinstate the chaplains that resigned due to this request. Please forward this email to as many people as you wish.

Army chaplain who had served in Kuwait dies at Walter Reed Chaplain (Col.) Sidney J. Marceaux An Army chaplain who ministered to troops for decades died earlier this month after being medically evacuated from Kuwait to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Pentagon announced late Tuesday. Chaplain (Col.) Sidney J. Marceaux, a Catholic priest, died Sept. 14 at Walter Reed "from a noncombat related illness," according to a news release. He had been serving at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, before being transferred to the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed, officials said. A memorial service was held Wednesday in Kuwait, a...

RICHMOND Thou shalt not mention specific deities in public prayers. That command was handed down recently to Virginia State Police troopers who work as chaplains, prompting several to resign the religious part of their jobs because they are forbidden to mention a particular god by name. Republican legislators blasted the policy Wednesday, marking the latest flare-up in the debate over how much religion is appropriate in government. Del. Charles W. "Bill" Carrico Sr., R-Grayson, declared the decision an "attack on Christianity" and is leading a campaign to have it reversed. "Censoring what these chaplains can say is a violation of...

Contact: Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, 719-360-5132 cell, chaplaingate@yahoo.com RICHMOND, Virginia, Sept. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is defending why his administration forced the sudden resignation of five Virginia State Police Chaplains because they prayed publicly "in Jesus' name." Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty single-handedly created then enforced a strict "non-sectarian" prayer policy at all public gatherings, censoring and excluding Christian prayers, then accepted the resignation of five chaplains who refused to deny Jesus or violate their conscience by watering down their prayers. House Republican Leader Morgan Griffith and Delegate Charles W. Carrico, (R-Grayson) both issued public...

          PULLED IN TWO DIRECTIONS Our Daily Bread ~ July 29, 1998 Read: Philippians 1:19-26 "To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ... I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ. (Philippians 1:21,23) As Christians, we are pulled in two directions. We all want to go to heaven, but this life also holds great appeal. We are like the youngster in Sunday school who listened intently while the teacher told about the beauties of heaven. She concluded by saying, "Raise your hand if...

          THE POWER OF A TEACHER Yesterday, I related the story of a young man who had been labeled as "retarded," yet achieved remarkable success because of one teacher who convinced him that someone else's judgment need not become his reality. The account pointed out the importance of a healthy self-image, and the power of a vision. Today, I want to expand on that thought a bit. What was it that made the teacher in that story so different? Confidence? Experience? Expertise? No, I think it was something far more basic. Let me illustrate with...

          MOVING BEYOND CAPE BOJADOR The early Portuguese explorers believed that the oceans were impassable below Cape Bojador, a point on the West African coast. When sailors set aside their fears and moved past Cape Bojador, they found that their fears were groundless that their limitations were imaginary. We all have our own Cape Bojador. We fear things that we need not fear. We draw boundaries around areas of our lives and decide that we can't go past them. Since we believe these false paradigms, we will stay within their artificial boundaries and lose whatever...

          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...

          PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT Just a children's song remembered from a Sunday School class long ago: "Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in his sight; Jesus loves the little children of the world." But it expresses a profound truth. One that might change the world if we took it seriously. Sort of like the lesson in the poem a friend sent me yesterday. It's worth more than a second reading. It may reveal ... or remind you... of more truth than you expect! "We pray for the children who put chocolate...

          IN GENTLENESS THERE IS STRENGTH The parents were devastated. Their young adopted daughter had died in an unusual accident. She suffocated when the drawstring on the hood of her jacket became caught in a playground slide. It was later learned their child was not the first to die this way. Design flaws in both the hood and the slide made this an accident waiting to happen. Some people might have viewed this tragedy as an opportunity to sue the two major corporations for a lucrative settlement. The parents, however, refused. In an interview, the...

          DON'T GET NUKED The Navy and Marine Corps rightly spend much of their time on chemical, biological and radiological training. As bombs and triggering devices become more mobile and terrorists become more sophisticated, it is important to prepare ourselves for disaster while hoping that it will be avoided. Regarding chemical and biological warfare, it is especially difficult to believe that something so small and invisible can be so deadly and dangerous. Just a little toxin in the air . . . and the next thing you know you're doing the "funky chicken" on the...

Caracas, Jul 24, 2008 / 06:13 pm (CNA).- In statements on Union Radio, the vice president of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Roberto Luckert Leon, warned that the self-proclaimed “Reformed Catholic Church,” which is backed by the Hugo Chavez administration, is seeking to name military chaplains with government support. Archbishop Lückert reiterated that the small religious sect led by former Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican clergy members, is “financed by the government in an effort to put an end to the Catholic Church, which it has not and will not be able to do.” The “Reformed Catholic Church” announced this week...

PATROL BASE MEADE, Iraq, July 21, 2008 – Army Chaplain (Capt.) Eric Light gives a weekly sermon and is available for counseling whenever a soldier might need it. But he is not your ordinary chaplain. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Eric Light, chaplain for the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, stands outside his office on Patrol Base Meade, Iraq. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “When I was in college, money was kind of hard to come by, so I became a stunt guy to pay for college,” said Light, who serves...

          NEVER ENOUGH TIME While I have only been an occasional visitor to Washington, I was struck by one scene so strongly that it remains as somewhat of a reference. My first view "up close and personal" of the Pentagon was neither awe-inspiring nor intimidating. To be sure, I was impressed with the size of the building, but that was about it. What came upon me, and has stayed with me, is the image of an ant farm. An enormous one, surely, but an ant farm nonetheless. So may passageways with so many ants constantly...

RUTBAH — A man of faith gave blessings to more than 10 families without fathers recently. Navy Lt. Raymond Rivers, a chaplain with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, and Marines with Security Platoon, 2nd LAR packed up and delivered food and supplies to widows, July 16. “I’m very happy with this project and helping the widows of this city,” said Rivers, 43, from Anderson, S.C. “It’s an outstanding opportunity to help them establish themselves.” During the mission, the Marines loaded a group of Iraqi Police trucks with supplies for transportation to the city council building here....

A youth chaplain at a Gastonia church who mentored Boy Scouts in south Charlotte was arrested Monday. Charles Franklin Knight, 62, faces six counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor. He is in the Mecklenburg County Jail. No bond was available. On July 2, a woman told Charlotte-Mecklenburg police that Knight had material depicting sex acts with youths under 18, according to a police report. Investigators questioned Knight, who turned over some child pornography, which included “inappropriate Internet images,” the report said. Detectives also seized a laptop computer from his home on Harrowfield Drive in Charlotte. Knight told police he...

For those who are unaware, at a military theater, the National Anthem is played before every movie. From a Chaplain in Iraq : I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3,' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three quarters of the way through The National Anthem the music stopped. Now, what would happen if...

          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...

          COLIN POWELL'S TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAN G.I. Time Magazine prepared a list of the 10 most influential people of the century in each field to mark the end of the century. The 10 most influential scientists, politicians, entertainers, sports figures, musicians, artists, and industrialists. This month they published the 10 most influential people (overall) of the century. They named "the American GI" the most influential person of the century. It is the only one that is not a single individual. General Powell wrote the introduction to the award: As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...