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Bishop Packard Announces the Hiring of Chaplain Babs Meairs

Bishop Packard's Sermon
Alice Humphrey’s Memorial Service in Germany
St. Alban's May 2007


Insurgent Snipers Sent After Troops: Key targets include doctors, chaplains; risk highest in cities


 

Bishop Packard's Sermon
Alice Humphrey’s Memorial Service in Germany
St. Alban's May 2007

I think the emphasis is on the word “celebrate”, today. “Thanksgiving” is the record of who Alice was, what she did, and what she was like. And that it is now a matter of record.

But “celebrate” is something different altogether. Celebrate has a future aspect to it. What was it about Alice’s life that reflected a grace given by Jesus Christ? How does her memory – and in this sense – memory means “presence” convert (and convict) the moments we are currently living?

This happened to the disciples. Their lives were so changed after the Resurrection that they realized they were fundamentally “in on it”. Jesus’ death and resurrection was essential to the way they lived their lives. You see, we are all partakers of this holy communion.

Alice’s life is so well documented by Bill that we might miss the effect of what her memory is yet to do.

Alice is the best guide for this reflection on “life after death” because in her living she was most truly alive. By the animation in which she lived her life it is easier to infer there is something more to it.

We have only to go to the lessons of this Easter Season to see what I mean. Even casual bystanders – unbelievers – noticed that Peter and the other disciples were quickened somehow by their faith in Jesus Christ. They fully expected to see him again and they planned on living their lives accordingly.

Their time in the Upper Room before the Resurrection – shuttered, isolated and closed off – was a world apart from their embrace of their mission after Pentecost. Indeed, we may be in a similar place now. I say that because we may be attending this service, dutifully, to pay our respects to Alice – nothing wrong with that – but really have no practical expectation that we will meet her again. Yet that is the promise! This may be a little uncomfortable to think of – sort of séance-like but this was the same accusation leveled at the disciples after the Resurrection.

It was Jesus keeping his word – and returning – which changed everything. It was that faith that the saints counted on and it is that same faith we count on with Alice Phillips Humphreys and all our loved ones who have died, and, for now, we see no longer.

We might say that they are guardians of certain aspects of life until the Kingdom comes. Because they were finite their embrace is not expansive, God leaves that for the saints, but theirs has enough scope to catch our attention again and makes us thankful that they came our way in life. This is not some warm, nostalgic remembrance only, because from God’s perspective this is a full blown interaction with a living remembrance. It is so hard for us to accomplish this. Oh, we can do it briefly after someone has died because their memory is still fresh but over time these interactive moments step into the background for us. But it is not that way for God. An Alice moment will always be an Alice moment.

In some generations there has been an insistence to this “perpetualizing” of memory. The land is full of monuments to such moments. Indeed, some personalities were so grand in life their reverberations still reach us today. Think of Abraham Lincoln. The noblest have programs of education or scholarship which reach across the years to other generations saying, “this is a person who lived and loved is someone we want to share with you.” That is an important thing to do and it might be important to do for Alice.

It is God’s practical project for the frail living. It keeps us occupied until that great day when all the dead are joined with the living. Its goal is the incomplete task of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. In our small ways all of our journeys – even for Alice when she was among us – was to bring the Kingdom of God that much closer. I don’t mean to sound jaded when I said that God had given us something to keep us occupied in these temporary days until he brings the Kingdom to earth. You see it is a matter of time and for Almighty God it is a matter of perspective. The blink of an eye!

There are certain things Alice did we might pass on and who knows what kind of longevity it might have and I don’t mean shopping! One might be the Alice greeting -- a sort of wide eyed welcome. Another might be to make crooked all (or one) of the straight pictures you see. This playfulness with uniformity might – just might – put in jeopardy our serious insistence on having things our way. As one theologian once wrote, “making sacred means enabling these human symbols to become effective signs of the presence and of that living Christ.” Tilting a picture or two might be what we need.

You might say to yourself, “Well we are taking about our Alice, here, aren’t we? The Alice I knew was just delightfully, well, whacky!” And that she was, but with a twinkle in her eye. I always got the impression that she fully knew what she was doing – did it anyway – and did it with gusto. I don’t know if you are aware of it but there are shelves and shelves of books dedicated to the theology of play at Union Theological Seminary in New York. A professor there wrote his dissertation on it. I know what you’re thinking – this man needs to get out more. Maybe he does but listen to this, “Sheer whimsy in life counterbalances all those human insistences and at best has greater wisdom because it exposes its underlying uncertainty. What we intend we can never truly match in our action.”

The person who plays with life waits in expectation for the final answer which only comes with grace. By the way, does this sound like anyone familiar to you? What a charming way for this pilgrim to spend her life of whimsy than to be the serious life partner of Bill, the proud mother of Mandy and prouder still grandmother of Tyler, Caitlin and Mason. She could even be a serious mother-in-law of Patrick. I thought it was revealing when Alice’s brother Marty once said he hadn’t realized something about his sister to which the listener said, “Strange, she’s told me everything possible about you!” Whimsy, yes, but serious, serous, serous about the things that count.

My wife and I tried to find the origin of Alice’s favorite hymn, “The Snow Lay on the
Ground”. Couldn’t do it. We came up with: not traceable – just “bubbled up” in history and became part of worship organically and naturally.

The tune just bubbled up from God’s great storehouse of whimsy. And so did Alice. She is the reminder of God’s grace to know that this life will never be quite what it ought to be until the Kingdom comes. Her life lives on in all the captured moments of tilted pictures, tousled heads of grandchildren, and uncompromising welcomes. You wait and see where God will remind you of her next because he will never forget and beckons us all to a service with her and all the saints.        +gep

 

Andrew Gary's Farewell Party at 815

Bishop George and Brook Packard, Bishop Katharine and Andrew gather at the party
(left to right)
 
Fellow 815 staffers gather to enjoy the food and toast Andrew
 
Bishop Packard expresses the appreciation and good will from the chaplain family to Andrew




Bishop Packard Announces the Hiring of Chaplain Babs Meairs

I am happy to announce the employment of The Rev. Babs M. Meairs as the Field Coordinator for this episcopacy.

Babs comes to this part-time position as a uniquely and amply qualified priest, chaplain, pastor and counselor. When she assumes her duties in May she will have just completed five years as the Director of Pastoral Care at the VA San Diego Healthcare System in California and before that she held staff chaplain positions there and at the VA North Texas Healthcare System and the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. She is a nationally known expert on pastoral care to spinal cord injury patients and she was one of the select chaplains I asked to come to New York to assist us in September 11th response. She is married to the Rev. Ed Busch and they have four children and three grandchildren.

Chaplain Meairs will be the first person to fill this strategic position and I'm glad she is the one to bring a model of commitment, compassion and professionalism to the post. It is a two year assignment meant to rotate among our recently retired and qualified chaplains; duties include visitation to chaplains at their locations and representing this office at various conferences and meetings. We ask that the Coordinator remain in the field - and thereby work from their home as a base - in this case, for Babs, San Diego.

Please join me in a hearty welcome to our sister and fellow chaplain in this work on behalf of us all.

Bishop George E. Packard


 


Insurgent Snipers Sent After Troops: Key targets include doctors, chaplains; risk highest in cities
By John Diamond, USA Today
July 28, 2006


WASHINGTON - Iraqi insurgents are teaching recruits sophisticated sniper techniques for targeting U.S. troops that include singling out engineers, medics and chaplains, according to training material obtained by U.S. military intelligence.

The insurgent sniper training manual was posted on the Internet. Among its tips: "Killing doctors and chaplains is suggested as a means of psychological warfare."

Army Capt. Matt Hasson of Central Command confirmed the manual's authenticity but wouldn't talk about specifics.

The threat of sniper fire is greatest in urban areas because shooters have more hiding places. That's a concern for U.S. forces as more troops enter Baghdad to combat escalating violence.

In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, Army Col. Sean MacFarland disclosed plans this month to level a dozen buildings used as hiding places by snipers and bombers.

Combat troops don't always report sniper deaths as such to prevent insurgents from learning that an attack succeeded, says Army Maj. John Morgan, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad. Through November 2005, when the Pentagon last reported a sniper fatality, the Army had attributed 28 of 2,100 U.S. deaths to snipers.

This year, snipers have killed at least 16 U.S. troops, according to news accounts or information posted on blogs by troops' family members. None of these fatalities was blamed on sniper fire in official reports; the deaths were attributed to "small arms fire" or "combat operations."

The insurgent manual says snipers should target U.S. officers because they are hard to replace, tank drivers because their deaths could immobilize tank crews, and communications officers because their deaths could delay calls for reinforcements.

Translated into English by U.S. intelligence, the manual advises snipers to avoid large groups of soldiers "unless you are sure of your ability to kill them and escape." It ranks Iraqi government forces as lower-priority targets who can be attacked by less well-trained combat brigades.

U.S. intelligence discovered the training manual in May 2005 on a website that appears to be no longer functioning.
The Army's intelligence branch at the Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas studied the sniper problem last year out of concern that it wasn't getting enough attention. Three reports were distributed to officers in charge of training troops for duty in Iraq.

"Snipers were - in our estimation - a threat that was not being robustly portrayed in mission rehearsal exercises," command spokesman Harvey Perritt said in an e-mail response to questions.

The Army's sniper study and a follow-up last November observed that insurgent snipers are "well-trained," often work in two-man teams, can shoot around troops' body armor and have easy access to weapons from stockpiles left by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.


 

Resolution D019
Title: Pastoral Concern for Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and their Families


Topic: Pastoral Care
Committee: Ministry
House of Initial Action: Bishops
Proposer: The Rev. Robert Windsor (Massachusetts)


Resolved, That the 75th General Convention pray for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and for all those who are working to bring peace to those lands, particularly United States military personnel and their families, relief forces from allied nations, and all civilian aid workers from the United States and other countries; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention express its particular concern and support for all personnel serving in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention urge all Episcopalians and all congregations of The Episcopal Church to join in such prayer and support; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention offer its thanks and gratitude to all Episcopal chaplains serving in the military for their pastoral ministries, particularly those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention direct the Office of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies to communicate to all Episcopal military chaplains and to the Episcopal service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan these commitments of prayer, concern, support, and thanksgiving.

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