“Ministry can take many shapes. Some chaplains work in a chapel environment. Some chaplains never preach from behind a pulpit. They might serve communion from the tailgate of a Hummer or a truck….” ~ Military Ministry: Chaplains in the Twenty-First Century (page 187)
All of my pictures are currently packed up.
My pictures would take you back to Thanksgiving of 1988. It was our first Thanksgiving in Germany. I was the Battalion Chaplain for the 1/37th Armor in Ansbach (Katterbach) Germany (one of the best units I served).
My wife Pam and I decided to have a BIG Thanksgiving Dinner at our house. I printed up invitations on my dot-matrix printer and invited about 30 single soldiers to our house for an “Old Fashioned Virginia Thanksgiving.” I wrote the menu on the invitation. I told them country ham, turkey, beef, mashed potatoes, homemade buttermilk biscuits, green beans, and all the rest. Every soldier returned their invitation with a hardy thumbs up!
We ordered a country ham, a slab of country cured bacon from the Virginia Diner, a place outside of Petersburg, VA that still is in business. They sent the country ham and bacon in plenty of time through the APO system. It was a full country ham and the bacon was a big 5lb uncut slab.
We cooked the turkeys, and the fixins (probably 30 lbs of potatoes). Warmed the ham. Fried the bacon. We had a good time feast!!!
The feast wasn’t all we had!!! We had a special time away from the barracks and base with each of these young men. We had time to share God’s love with them in a special place and time. Our home became theirs. They remembered it as long as they were at that small tanker Kaserne in Katterbach Germany…and hopefully beyond!
I learned an important lesson during that time. I learned that ministry takes many different flavors and provides many different opportunities. It made bringing God to Soldiers and Soldiers to God easier!!!
~ Chaplain (Colonel) Keith Travis, Unites States Army (Ret.)
Read more about the shape of chaplain ministry and other stories of life as a chaplain in Military Ministry: Chaplains in the Twenty-First Century.
If you have questions or comments, please feel free to ask! Paul, Keith, and Chris absolutely LOVE talking about ministry in the military!
Military Chaplain Guide 