A chaplain provides servant leadership to his or her unit—a servant who is loving and cares for his people. He or she is a reminder of the eternal and holy under the unholiest of circumstances. A human face in inhuman situations. A sanctuary and starting point far from the absurdity of war.
The most important role a chaplain can play is as a friend. From the commanding officer to the newest recruit, they can offer a listening ear and a friendly face in any circumstance.
As a chaplain, you work alongside your parishioners in everything. You eat with them and train with them and pray with them. and God can work among us in ways that are unimaginable to a civilian minister.
We have 238 chaplains today because we’re at war. We have to be operationally
relevant. If you go outside of Kandahar City, all the existential questions are being asked: Is this all there is? Is there life after death? Because if there’s no God, it’s just ‘life’s tough and then you die.’
—Brigadier General David Kettle, Chaplain General of the Canadian Armed Forces and a Presbyterian minister.
We’re there with them when they’re injured or hurt or dead. And we’re there for their buddies and we minister for both in very real ways. As chaplains, we bring the presence of God. And we don’t do it in a chapel; we do it by standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
—Captain Dwight Nelson, Presbyterian chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces.
