A Quarterly Newsletter
Fall 2009
A
midst marital dreams and theholy fire of patriotism, bonds areforged and refined in ways that defywords. It goes without saying thatsuch fervor rarely is led by humbleconfidence or restraint, that blindnationalism is a very dangerous thingindeed. But there are a few of us thatseek to follow the narrow path of considerate patriotism and genuine piety. Over a year ago three of uscame together to form a new type of kinship founded in our common vo-cation. One of us was active duty Navy, another was a former Air Force Cadet turned conscientiousobjector, and a third was an Armycombat veteran.A few months ago one of us de- ployed to Iraq, and we welcomedinto our ranks a Marine combat vet-eran of 8 years and an Ohio NationalGuardsman. However, we representonly the beginning of a movement of men and women who desire to servetheir country nonviolently, to abide by their convictions as people of faith. We remember the great faithof the Centurions who recognizedChrist’s healing power at Caper-naum, who approached the Baptizer in enemy territory at the River Jor-dan, and who bore witness to theCrucifixion and divinity of Jesus atGolgotha.Far from abandoning our posts, wefeel incredibly grateful by the oppor-tunities offered by our nation, suchas the freedoms of expression andreligious practice. We remain com-mitted to faith and service, conceptssignificant to both our national andspiritual identities. Centurion’sGuild hopes to be the community inwhich other airmen, marines, sailors,and soldiers will be able to discernwhere and when such identities may be mutually exclusive.In 2008 alone, we counseled over adozen service members and providednearly $5,000 in grants to fellowwarriors wounded by the scars of combat and spiritual fatigue. At the beginning of 2009, we began evalu-ating where our strengths and weak-nesses lay. We have found ourselvesinclined toward pastoral care andrelational support for other Centuri-ons, including offering our own ex- periences and insight coupled with aconsistent theology that does notcompromise our religious convic-tions for professional obligations.Every few months, we will be put-ting out a new issue of Change of Command ripe with stories, socialcommentary, and other resources for you and yours who might be strug-gling with how to reconcile their faith in God with their service to our nation.We welcome any comments or sug-gestions you may have, including books or movies to review, publicfigures to interrogate, or articles youhave written concerning issues rele-vant to issues central to our commu-nal story.Write us at info@centruionsguild.orgor call us at (215) 821-7882. WagePeace!
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