CLF Military Ministry

Church of the Larger Fellowship

Unitarian Universalist Military Ministry
The Church of the Larger Fellowship began during World War II, as a way for Unitarian Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines to stay connected to their faith while they were serving overseas. Though Unitarian Universalists may disagree on issues of war and peace, our faith does not disagree on our support of those who serve, those who have served, and their families. Welcome to the CLF Military Ministry Website!

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Veterans Day has slipped behind us and time marches on toward Thanksgiving and the December holidays. I am currently living in the States; I’m not deployed. Over the last few years, since I joined a Reserve unit, I have met people with loved ones who are deployed. It is a reminder to me of the first year after I left active duty. For the first time in my life, I was the one who remained behind. I watched my friends deploy. It was a complicated set of feelings. Now I had some insight about a mother or father’s feelings when their son or daughter deploys. It was interesting to see from both angles. I understood the worry and concern. And I understood the incredible trust and bonding that happens in a military unit. I understood the sense of purpose and focus that a young person in the military experiences. I understood the strange blend of courage and fear, of commitment and uncertainty that seep into our consciousness as we climb aboard the plane to a distant conflict. For those of us back home, our primary sense may be one of concern for our loved one. But for those of us who are deploying, we know we will need something additional from our families and friends back home. We will need someone who strives to understand our journey as we experience it. When we come home, we will need someone who is not surprised by how different we may seem. As the holidays approach, let us not have our sadness clouded by worry. If we are sad for a relative who is not present to enjoy the holidays with us, let us acknowledge that honestly. And, let us take a moment to celebrate the courage and sense of service in our loved ones who are deployed during the holidays. They set out with courage. Let us give thanks for their courage and sense of service. Happy Thanksgiving.

In Faith and Service,

Seanan

I’d like to let everyone know that last weekend I participated in a wonderful event at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham. David Pyle and I were invited to lead a program on how UU churches could become more invitational to military personnel and their families. This was a mutually rewarding event.

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I wanted to wish you all a happy Veterans Day. With the recent tragedy at Fort Hood, it is a complicated day. Our nation is at war. We may be deployed, or we may be missing loved ones who are deployed. Veterans Day points to something deep in the human spirit; it acknowledges that life contains struggle. Wherever we are, let us take a moment today to honor our service and to appreciate the friends and families who support us. We have answered the call, like many who have gone before us, to meet with conflict face to face and to stand by the highest values of our country. We know, as well as anyone, that this is not always easy. But the stories of our service will be important to who each of us is and to our country. We can take pride in answering the call to serve the larger whole, of which we are a part.

Keep up the good work – even if it’s difficult. Keep your head down, and look out for your buddy. And when you get a chance, take a moment to think with pride on who you are and the legacy of service men and women who have gone before you. Happy Veterans Day.

It’s been a few days since the disturbing violence at Fort Hood, Texas. The Web of Life writhes again in agony over this recent outburst of human brokenness. There is so much sadness for so many aspects of this unusual shooting. Our fellow patriots have died. And, however distinct he may have been, it was one of our own who killed, wounded, and traumatized them.

We are flooded with emotions, questions, and impulses. The sadness and grief of life cut short. Frustration and anger over this violation to our sense of security and civility. Despair in knowing that, as strange and unfathomable as this event seems, it is part of a pattern in our violent, crowded culture.

What shall we do? There are no easy answers.

A crime has been committed, and the shooter should be subject to a criminal investigation and prosecution. But we must never lose sight of either the victims’ or the shooter’s humanity. To do that would be to lose sight of our own. To do that would be to never know what really happened that day.

We have been cast into being, not as isolated individuals, but as members of communities. We must seek each other out and come together as a community of support – each of us helping the other in our particular needs. My heart goes out to the friends and families of the victims. I struggle to imagine the spiritual burden that the survivors will carry with them for the rest of their lives. I pray for all of the victims, the survivors and the slain – that they and their families be surrounded by a community of love with the courage to walk with them through this grief.

When I first heard the news, I found myself singing Spirit of Life over and over again. It was as if I was inviting… or imploring… some power of love back into this world – a power that seemed somehow absent on November 5th at Fort Hood, Texas. If love was what was needed in order to prevent that tragedy, what form would such love take? Let us all keenly feel the obligation to build a world capable of redeeming this tragedy.

In faith and service,

In sadness,

And yet still, in hope,

Seanan

	A Brief Reflection on Halloween by Seanan - Tuesday, 3 November 2009, 06:01 PM
	Last Saturday was Halloween. I watched the revelers pass by in costumes while I waited for friends from church to meet me for dinner. Afterward, we celebrated Halloween by seeing a stage re-enactment of Orson Wells’ War of the Worlds radio drama. It was a great program – very entertaining. Read the rest of this topic (324 words)... Discuss this topic (2 replies so far)

Greetings to everyone on the UU military ministry website – an affiliate site of the Church of the Larger Fellowship.

First, I would like to acknowledge all the energy and commitment of the people who made this site and our connections possible – Cynthia, David, Jane, Lorraine, and many others.

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UU World has posted an article on Chaplain Rebekah Montgomery being selected for "Military Chaplain of the year"!

http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/145527.shtml

Yours in faith,

David

Unitarian Universalist Minister and Military Chaplain Rev. Rebekah Montgomery has been named "Chaplain of the Year" by the Military Chaplain's Association! Congrats Rebekah!

Here is the Press Release / Article from the National Guard Bureau:

Army Guardsman named ‘Chaplain of the Year’

By Staff Sgt.

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UPDATE: We also now have a "Facebook Page" to go with the Group...

http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/CLF-Unitarian-Universalist-Military-Ministries/100028824441

In order to increase the exposure of CLF UU Military Ministries, we now have a Facebook Group! The purpose is not to compete with this site, but simply to use Facebook to advertise the community we are working to build here at CLF Military Ministries.