thedrifter
03-09-08, 09:43 AM
March 9, 2008
Beachside pastor serves as chaplain in Iraq
BY R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY
Sometimes the altar is a stack of boxes, a picnic bench or an old washing machine. Worshippers sit on cots, benches and camp chairs.
Welcome to Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Jay Bergstresser's makeshift church in the Iraqi desert.
Bergstresser, 44, of Cocoa Beach is one of dozens of chaplains serving with the military in Iraq. At least one is attached to each battalion. They represent Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jews. In the midst of war, these spiritual leaders bring the opportunity for worship and to counsel more than 150,000 troops.
But nearly every branch of the military is facing shortages. Certain denominations are particularly short of chaplains.
The Air Force, for example, needs Catholic priests. The Florida National Guard has fewer than half the 19 chaplains it needs.
James Fogle-Miller, state chaplain for the Florida National Guard, said there are hurdles to recruiting chaplains that aren't problems in attracting other soldiers. Chaplains must enter the military with a bachelor's degree in any field and a master's degree in theology. They also must be approved by their own religious organization.
Some join the military as 40-something chaplains in search of a second career, but they still must meet physical fitness requirements.
Bergstresser, a reservist, was a pastor for 11 years before he was commissioned as a Navy officer. When not on military duty, he is the pastor at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Cocoa Beach.
He serves about 1,000 Marines and sailors over a wide swath of Iraq, traveling to locations on a circuit that takes nearly a month.
"My role is to provide worship for Protestants, facilitate for other faiths and to care for all," Bergstresser said.
He and his assistant, a religious program specialist, distribute care packages from groups and individuals back home, including Bergstresser's church.
"I will usually visit one location per day and join in whatever activity they are doing," Bergstresser said.
He calls it a "ministry of presence."
"It's helpful for many just to know that the chaplain is there, even if they do not decide to attend worship or speak with me," Bergstresser said.
Nine months into his yearlong deployment with the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Bergstresser said that ministering in the desert is much more unpredictable than it is at home. A worship service can be set up anywhere there is space, with whatever material is on hand.
Sometimes, the service is held behind the walls of a dusty outpost. At other times, it is in or near an Iraqi community.
"Often when we gather for worship, we will hear the call to prayer being chanted from a nearby mosque," Bergstresser said.
Depending on the location in Iraq and on the events surrounding it, as few as two people and as many as 40 show up for services. Twelve is the average.
"We have a field kit, which includes very basic supplies to set up a temporary altar and to offer the Lord's supper," Bergstresser said.
The kit includes communion wine and hosts, chalices and basic altar cloths.
With the items spread out on a makeshift altar -- sometimes a stack of sandbags -- Bergstresser dons a camouflage stole, the closest thing he can get to vestments in the field.
He brings extra Bibles for those who don't have one.
Since 1775, about 25,000 Army chaplains have served as religious and spiritual leaders for 25 million soldiers and their families. The chaplains and chaplain assistants have served in 120 countries.
There now are Muslim and Buddhist chaplains, but little has changed since the early days. Women serve as chaplains in some faiths.
Regardless of their faiths, all chaplains wear the same uniform as other troops, but they are not combatants. Gil Gibson, a retired military chaplain and the warrior care project officer for the Military Chaplain Association of the United States, said, "The chaplain is the only (military) person who walks into the battlefield without a weapon."
Contact Moody at 242-3651 or nmoody@floridatoday.com.
Ellie
Beachside pastor serves as chaplain in Iraq
BY R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY
Sometimes the altar is a stack of boxes, a picnic bench or an old washing machine. Worshippers sit on cots, benches and camp chairs.
Welcome to Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Jay Bergstresser's makeshift church in the Iraqi desert.
Bergstresser, 44, of Cocoa Beach is one of dozens of chaplains serving with the military in Iraq. At least one is attached to each battalion. They represent Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jews. In the midst of war, these spiritual leaders bring the opportunity for worship and to counsel more than 150,000 troops.
But nearly every branch of the military is facing shortages. Certain denominations are particularly short of chaplains.
The Air Force, for example, needs Catholic priests. The Florida National Guard has fewer than half the 19 chaplains it needs.
James Fogle-Miller, state chaplain for the Florida National Guard, said there are hurdles to recruiting chaplains that aren't problems in attracting other soldiers. Chaplains must enter the military with a bachelor's degree in any field and a master's degree in theology. They also must be approved by their own religious organization.
Some join the military as 40-something chaplains in search of a second career, but they still must meet physical fitness requirements.
Bergstresser, a reservist, was a pastor for 11 years before he was commissioned as a Navy officer. When not on military duty, he is the pastor at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Cocoa Beach.
He serves about 1,000 Marines and sailors over a wide swath of Iraq, traveling to locations on a circuit that takes nearly a month.
"My role is to provide worship for Protestants, facilitate for other faiths and to care for all," Bergstresser said.
He and his assistant, a religious program specialist, distribute care packages from groups and individuals back home, including Bergstresser's church.
"I will usually visit one location per day and join in whatever activity they are doing," Bergstresser said.
He calls it a "ministry of presence."
"It's helpful for many just to know that the chaplain is there, even if they do not decide to attend worship or speak with me," Bergstresser said.
Nine months into his yearlong deployment with the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Bergstresser said that ministering in the desert is much more unpredictable than it is at home. A worship service can be set up anywhere there is space, with whatever material is on hand.
Sometimes, the service is held behind the walls of a dusty outpost. At other times, it is in or near an Iraqi community.
"Often when we gather for worship, we will hear the call to prayer being chanted from a nearby mosque," Bergstresser said.
Depending on the location in Iraq and on the events surrounding it, as few as two people and as many as 40 show up for services. Twelve is the average.
"We have a field kit, which includes very basic supplies to set up a temporary altar and to offer the Lord's supper," Bergstresser said.
The kit includes communion wine and hosts, chalices and basic altar cloths.
With the items spread out on a makeshift altar -- sometimes a stack of sandbags -- Bergstresser dons a camouflage stole, the closest thing he can get to vestments in the field.
He brings extra Bibles for those who don't have one.
Since 1775, about 25,000 Army chaplains have served as religious and spiritual leaders for 25 million soldiers and their families. The chaplains and chaplain assistants have served in 120 countries.
There now are Muslim and Buddhist chaplains, but little has changed since the early days. Women serve as chaplains in some faiths.
Regardless of their faiths, all chaplains wear the same uniform as other troops, but they are not combatants. Gil Gibson, a retired military chaplain and the warrior care project officer for the Military Chaplain Association of the United States, said, "The chaplain is the only (military) person who walks into the battlefield without a weapon."
Contact Moody at 242-3651 or nmoody@floridatoday.com.
Ellie