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29 June 2001
(Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles)
Bishop's Notebook
Yesterday
and today we have had four chaplains visiting the Episcopal
Church Center: Dave Scheider, Sean Wead, Frank Wismer, and John
Weatherley. They represent the mix of Active Duty and Reserves/Guard
Episcopal chaplains who have deployed together recently, a prophecy
I have consistently made since before my Consecration. Now Active
and Reserves/Guard chaplains are here and it seems utterly natural
for them to be in the same snapshot. I think that can be deceptive,
though, since a great deal of joint training has been (and will
be) applied to this camaraderie. I hope we can have a full report
in the next issue of this "Notebook." I am very grateful to
them for making this trip and treating us to insights from their
times together. Thanks also to the Rev. Gerry Blackburn who
organized this event, no easy feat.
The Rev. Dr. Jackie Means reports that The Prison Ministry portion
of this Episcopacy continues to be wearied, even after the McVeigh
execution, with a continuing series of executions. It is Jackie's
intention to dedicate the entire Prison Conference in 2002 to
this issue. Jackie passes on a brighter spot, however, as highlighted
in the accompanying photo. Here, Molly Shaw, the Data Manager
for Ministry Development at 815, and also a member of the Prison
Task Force in her home diocese (NY), admires
a photo of our own CH
Betsy Walker, the new "Chaplain of the Year" as selected by
the Federal Bureau of Prisons. CH Walker works at the Alderson
facility in West Virginia. Congratulations Betsy, we are very
proud of you! +gep
15 June 2001
The Bishop's Notebook
I have just
returned from an extended trip out west: to Salt Lake City with
the Executive Council and then on to visit CH Bob Eldridge and
his wife Lee (Leona) at Fort Irwin, California.
The Executive Council acts as the "vestry" for our Church, if
the General Convention is thought of as the "congregational
meeting." That's a simplified but a helpful illustration. Recently
I have spent a lot of time in the "National Concerns Committee"
of the Council answering varied questions about the use of the
island of Vieques by the Navy, or the pastoral implications
of the "new genetics", or the execution of Timothy McVeigh and
capital punishment. Thankfully there are many persons who are
much better informed than I am to rely upon as timely resources.
Specifically, we are all grateful to Anne Williams of the Prison
Advisory Council for setting up a "conversational network" among
this leadership through Yahoo.com. We employed this means as
we created the document on the McVeigh execution and the death
penalty which I ultimately presented to the Executive Council.
That is the kind of creative effort which brings us together
as a community. The Executive Council resolution can be viewed
on this website under "News and Information".
Our staff is trying to make contact with this far-flung family
of Military, Healthcare, and Prisons whenever we have a stopover
in a connecting city. In my case I called up Mrs. Jamie O'Shea,
the Prison Ministry Coordinator and Christian Educator at St.Mark's
Cathedral in Salt Lake City. Over breakfast Jamie told me of
her years in this effort and how, oddly, in Utah she was prevented
from having contact with any former inmate she knew when parole
was granted. She is excited about the aftercare program "COPE".
"It can make a difference.", she said. She thought the fact
that a number of persons were assigned to a parolee, say, six
or so, lessened the possibility of burnout. As she went into
detail about how they could spell each other during those critical
months of re-entry, I recalled how my own Cursillio Fourth Day
Comminity could have benefited from such a substantive project.
After Salt Lake I flew to Las Vegas and then drove down to Fort
Irwin. The isolated beauty of this national training center
for the Army overwhelms you. Frankly the terrain of the 29 Palms
Marine Base about 150 miles to the south is nearly identical
but the remote location distinguishes Ft. Irwin. It is 34 miles
off the main road leading someone to observe that, "it is the
Army's longest cul-de-sac." The interplay of mountain, wadi,
and dune is spectacular. Ft. Irwin prides itself on the amount
of sophisticated electronic hardware that can be applied in
this natural wonder. To that point Bob Eldridge and I met with
BG J.D. Thurman, commander of the installation, where, mounted
on the wall of his office, were all the glowing lights of the
fictitious battlefield actually taking place some miles to the
north. In fact BG Thurman had just returned from the field where
this simulation was taking place. Pointing to the board, "See
this lighted square, it's a humvee and it's just been captured."
Sure enough the satellite system monitoring everything glowed
and indicated a demise of the vehicle.
Later
we sat around the General's coffee table and talked about Bob Eldridge's
favorite subject, the survivability of the chaplain. By that he means
the Army (and the Chaplaincy) should spend more time training chaplains
to function in the real world environments encountered by the military
and not re-do what should have been learned by a minister in seminary.
For Bob, loading upon any skills without the where-with-all to deliver
them to those in need is silly. I enjoyed this chat because with very
little prodding BG Thurman heartily contributed one story--which I
got him to re-tell with some Oklahoma embellishments--about how a
chaplain was "killed" on an exercise. You can imagine how startled
this embarrassed cleric was when from behind some boulders strides
the post commander. "Chaplain, how did you go and get yourself dead
up here on this ridgeline?", asked the General. "Sir, I lost my map,
so I followed the medics and we got ambushed!" This kind of conversation
moved naturally into "favorite chaplain" stories, persons who had
learned the relevant knack of being present at the right time. In
this case it was our own CH Bob Neske. Said the General, "Bob was
always checking on everybody, even me. Here was a guy who knew his
way around and brought his chaplaincy with him."
I ended the visit with a Confirmation service for four persons with
the St. Thomas' Episcopal Community. I admire CH Bob Eldridge for
all the things I've already stated--his forthrightness and energy
of purpose--but also as the busy staff chaplain he dedicated time
to develop and guide an Episcopal community. We are all grateful and
praise God for his ministry and all chaplains, "(who) bring their
chaplaincy with (them)."+gep
01 June 2001
The Bishop's Visual Notebook
Brook
Packard talks about military ministry
Connecticut Altar Guild, 21 April
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Some
of our prison chaplains,
5 May |
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Bishop-elect
Duque of Colombia, Jubilee Officer, The Rev. Carmen Guerrero
and Bishop Packard, Prison Conference, 5 May
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Dr.
Jackie Means addressing the Prison Conference,
Indianapolis, 4 May
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Ft.
Knox Episcopal Community Brunch,
6 May |
Bishop
Packard and
Chaplain Hutcheson discussing
the Order of Service,
Ft. Knox, 6 May |
Chaplain
Reese Hutcheson and his team (Reeses' Pieces) Ft. Knox, 7
May |
| The Rev.
David and Joan Barclay passing the peace, 12 May |
Confirmation,
Ft. Leavenworth, 13 May |
Confirmation,
Ft. Leavenworth, 13 May |
| Chaplain
Gerry Blackburn and Chaplain Gary Parker updating the SOP and
Customary, 6 June |
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