It is my pleasure to finally be able to share something with you that has been on my mind for many years, and in this past year, been an active part of my daily life. Ever since seminary I have been wrestling with a call to serve my country as a reservist chaplain in a military service. Reservist chaplaincy would allow me to serve, both as a pastor in a congregation AND as a source of religious aid to young men and women who have entered into military service, for one reason or another.
Pr. Sara and I have been in conversation about my call to chaplaincy for a few years now, and we both feel that this is the best opportunity to explore this calling - we serve together in a wonderful, healthy congregation and are supported by a great staff, so my occasional absences should not be an impact for the community.
I have not spoken about this openly until now because until very recently it was doubtful that I would pass the physical evaluations, given my age. However, I am proud to say that I passed with flying colors and have also excelled at all steps along the way in the process. I do take this as confirmation that my calling to chaplaincy work is being echoed by the services who are evaluating me.
With all that said, the evaluation process is not over. I still have interviews to complete and I know nothing concrete about next steps or howand when my work with the Naval Reserves will affect my roles at Prince of Peace. I should know more within the next two months, and I will share information with everyone as I learn more.
This chaplaincy call is a big part of my life I need to explore, and because I love you all, I wanted to let you know as it became reasonable to believe it might happen.
