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Care for Returning Veterans Workshop
September 10, 2008
Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are preparing to create caring and welcoming places for returning veterans and their families. "Care for Returning Veterans" is a series of workshops being held through January across the United States. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary will host the workshops on November 14, in the Stavros Lecture Hall.
The workshop is designed to prepare pastors, caregivers and others interested in providing "care and hospitality for our brothers and sisters who have been impacted by the trauma and stress of war," said the Rev. Darrell D. Morton, assistant to the presiding bishop, ELCA Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries, Washington, D.C.
"A great cadre of seemingly familiar strangers has emerged, 'strangers' who may be our neighbors, our loved ones, our friends, but nevertheless strangers as a result of brokenness they have experienced through the hell of war," Morton wrote in an invitation to ELCA congregations.
"Although much of the emphasis on the problems of returning veterans has focused on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and psychological injuries, there are numerous other issues that affect their ability to reintegrate back into society," said the Rev. Edgar W. Hatcher, retired chaplain, U.S. Air Force, Chesterfield, Mo.
"The truth is that war permanently changes the people who fight it. It produces tremendous moral and spiritual residue which impacts the veterans and their families," Hatcher said.
"The church is a powerful force in helping veterans wrestle with and reconcile the love of God with the horrors they encounter and protect us from. Most pastors are woefully unprepared for ministry in these circumstances," he said.
"These conferences are intended to provide the understanding and resources to fill this gap and to team with others about welcoming and caring for the veterans when they return from the front," Hatcher said.
The workshop will deal with "the veteran's experience," psychological impacts, moral impacts, spiritual impacts, family impacts, and referrals and resources. "We are collecting information on different ministries already taking place within the church to share information on how they can be replicated by others who choose to engage in such ministries," Hatcher said.
The workshop series was prompted by a resolution of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August 2007. It urged Lutheran bishops "to partner with the ELCA Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries to explore means by which this church might effectively provide healing ministries to military veterans and their families."
The workshops are supported through grants from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis, a faith-based membership financial organization. The ELCA Bureau for Federal Chaplaincies is handling registration.
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Information about the Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries is at http://www.ELCA.org/federalchaplains/ on the ELCA Web site.
From Press Release by ELCA, Chicago, September 5, 2008
ELCA Congregations Prepare Care for Veterans Returning from War
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