1. "What's the point?" 2. "Merry Everything!" by FCM member Conner Simms -Third in a Series....12/19/2018 For my final post I have two statements I want us to chew on;
1. "What's the point?" 2. "Merry Everything!" As we draw nearer to Christmas (less than a week!) I don't know about you but I naturally begin to think anew..."what's the point?" All of the planning, all of the shopping, all of the parties, all of the gathering around family and friends...what's the point?!? Obviously in the Christian tradition, Christmas is about marking the birth of Jesus, the Christ. It is about remembering a refugee family, hiding in a barn, believing their lives and story had a purpose, even if the power structures of the day disagreed. Sounds familiar… Jesus was bringing Shalom into the world, a peace that was available to all, not because of the absence of the storms of life, but a peace that would be present right in the middle of the storms. So when we ask; "What's the point?" I think the answer is Jesus...the answer is Shalom. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, peace is possible, if we'd only look to Jesus. That brings me to the second important statement; "Merry Everything!" My family dutifully sent out our holiday cards this year. Emblazoned across the front was the greeting; "Merry Everything!" I think that for the Shalom of Jesus to be truly good news, it must be an inclusive Peace, a Peace that is meant for all, not simply for those who believe one particular set of intellectual suppositions. This year, as we seek to give up control of our carefully choreographed lives, and begin to simply enjoy those lives with all we call family, may we do so knowing that the Shalom of Christ is present and available to all. Merry Everything! "In this second post in our holiday series encouraging us to pause and reflect on that which brings us life, I'd like to look at another ever-present stressor during the holidays; family. In our increasingly fractured society, "family" has come to mean much more than simply our nuclear parents, siblings, spouse, or children. For many who find themselves lonely this season, family can be a trusted friend or colleague at work. For those who have lost a loved one, family might mean a person who has supported and encouraged them through that dark season. Still for others, family may simply be the four-legged pup or kitten that roams about their apartment, patiently waiting for their owner to return home from work.
Jesus spoke often of family, but in different forms. He spoke of the family of believers, those that are united in their faith and trust in him. Jesus spoke of family as those who had cared for the least among them. He spoke of ethnic and biological family alike. Following in the footsteps of Jesus I would like to encourage all of us to expand our understanding of family this holiday season. May we live an inclusive, invitational life so that those around us who believe that they have no one, may actually find that they have a brother or sister standing beside them. My wife and I hold an impromptu Saturday morning breakfast every several weeks. We send out an open invitation and then wait to see who responds. Perhaps this is a practice you can put in place in your own life this season. Perhaps you have an even better idea. Let's hear them!" Eight years ago, there were continuous news stories about the high numbers of military men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Military Sexual Trauma. Military Chaplains themselves, considered a spiritual safety valve for our military and their families, were themselves being overwhelmed with requests for support. Rates of suicide among Veterans and even active duty military were surpassing those of their civilian counterparts. The National Guard Chief of Chaplains even publicly requested that faith-based communities, the original social service agencies, become engaged in supporting Veterans and families transitioning back to life in local communities.
Ministry of Compassion: Interfaith Volunteer Chaplains was conceived as a way of pulling priests, ministers, rabbis and imams together to collaborate around the well-being of military families. It was hoped that a humanitarian, inter-religious ministry could provide bridge-building opportunities for members of FCM, CORPUS, CITI Ministries, and Roman Catholic Women Priests to become actively engaged with peers of all religious traditions in a community service/ecumenical support program. The vision was that this extra-canonical service would provide a positive public witness to the myriad of services that transitioned priests and spouses have provided for over five decades. It could expand greater grass roots inter-religious dialogue. It might even serve as a positive invitation to those who had given up organized religion. With the backing of Michaelita and Tom Quinn, Bill Manseau and Tom Cusack, the FCM Circle of Directors unanimously supported the Ministry or Compassion’s petition to become a charitable program of FCM’s Interfaith Council in June 2010. Over the next couple of years, I learned very laboriously that implementation of the vision was more complex than projected, and particularly more difficult while working full time outside ministry circles. “Volunteer” support to military installation or Veterans Administration hospital chaplaincy teams was considered competition they could not accept. Without the formal organization backing of a religious Church or faith tradition, running a spiritual support program for active duty military families was also a non-starter. The vision needed to shift and expand. Reaching out to clergy groups to garner support, a young Reformed pastor, also a National Guard Chaplain, helped me understand that our totally volunteer armed forces make up only 1% of our population. Of that total, 51% of these men and women are citizen-soldiers … National Guard and Reserves … who could be our neighbors or co-workers. They live disconnected from an understanding and supportive base. At the margins of our consciousness, less than 10% of us have direct connectivity with any of them. Reaching them, however, would depend on directly engaging local pastors amenable to launching a military, Veterans and families outreach ministry in their faith community/parish. Without a team, things moved slowly. The mission got a boost when I connected with the Director of Pastoral Training for the Diocese of Metuchen in 2013. Together, with the blessings of the local bishop, we launched an Apostolate for Military and Veteran Families, the first for a Catholic diocese. Over the next two years a dozen parishes started their own local outreaches. In one of the deaneries, six parishes joined resources to support a homeless Veterans transitional housing program. They have provided residents with training in personal budgeting, resumes and job search, and support furnishing graduates’ first apartments. Mid-2015 I relocated from New Jersey to north-central North Carolina. It was around this time that the FCM Leadership Team made the decision to no longer provide 501(c)3 sponsorship to the ministry. Since then, I have been connecting with Veterans Administration, National Guard / Reserves Family Readiness Groups, government agencies, non-government organizations, and corporate business partners who are providing support to Veterans. After trying unsuccessfully to connect with the Diocese of Charlotte’s Catholic Charities program, six months ago we launched a small outreach program at a one of the parishes in High Point. The group is currently going through its growing pains connecting people with opportunities to make services tangible. What I’ve learned along the way is … As citizens we depend on the selfless service of our armed forces and their families. We owe them our support. Developing a strong "faith in action" program supporting the well-being of this important but not very visible segment of our society is valuable in its own right ... James 2:16 Most faith traditions have a long way to go in formally ensuring military families are supported and combat veterans are reintegrated into civilian life. There are few structured faith-based models to follow in launching a Military, Veterans and Families Outreach program. Some of the strongest members of a faith-based MVFO are Vietnam Era Veterans determined that current and future brothers and sisters in arms receive the transitioning support they didn’t have. About 20 veterans a day across the country take their own lives. In 2016, rates of suicide were highest among younger Veterans (ages 18–34), women Veterans’ suicides are twice as high as non-Veteran peers, and Veterans age 55 and older accounted for 58.1 percent of Veteran suicide deaths. Focusing on strengths rather than weakness is key in supporting well-being and resiliency in men and women in transitioning back into their local community. Developing a functioning core leadership team is a slow and elusive process. Finding a COO is even harder. In the months ahead I expect to provide you with some additional insights and resource links that might assist your involvement in this important ministry outreach. Please feel free to reach out to me at <crditzel@ministryofcompassion.org> |
AuthorBlogs are posted by FCM and written by FCM members. The contents are the sentiments of the author of the post and not necessarily the FCM Community. Archives
April 2024
Categories |