Wednesday, April 11, 2007

PC(USA) News: As the war goes on, so does the work of military Chaplains

PC(USA) News: As the war goes on, so does the work of military Chaplains:
by Marcia Z. Nelson
Religion News Service

"CHICAGO — Once you’ve seen the brutal face of evil, says the Rev. Robert Barry, you start looking for the tender face of God.

Barry is an Air National Guard chaplain who spends his summers working with injured soldiers at Landstuhl military hospital in southern Germany, where American military personnel are taken after they are wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s also where Barry gets frequent prayer requests from patients and staff. No one at Landstuhl, he said, has ever turned down a prayer. “Nobody has said, ‘That’s not necessary,’” said Barry, who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 183rd Fighter Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard. ..."

Even though Christians are divided on the war on terror, the work that chaplains do is a true ministry of compassion, and I suspect that the support among Presbyterians in their congregations closely approaches 100%.

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