Holiday Mail

For anyone who is planning to send mail to someone who is serving overseas, Marylin asked us to post this link with the shipping deadlines for the holidays...

http://www.usps.com/holiday/mailing-holiday-deadlines.htm?from=holidayhome&page=mailingdeadlines#H2

Yes, the holidays really are upon us!

If there is anyone out there who is serving, and would like to be on my Holiday Card list, please send me your APO address to david@celestiallands.com.

Yours in Faith,

David Pyle

Veteran's Day Worship Services

Hello my fellow Military UU's.

Veteran's day this year is on a Sunday, and this is one of those days in which many congregations ask military and veteran UU's to participate in the worship service. I invite any of you who are participating in a service this Sunday to post here how you are participating. Perhaps it is a reading, a poem, a reflection on your own service. Perhaps some of you are preaching full sermons. (In the case of a sermon or long reading, it would be better if you could provide a link.)

Here is a link to the sermon and service that I am presenting this morning at the Unitarian Church of Evanston. http://celestiallands.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=150

Whether you are participating in a service or not, know you are in my thoughts, and I say, quietly and with reverence... thank you.

Yours in Faith,

David

For Veteran's Day

For all who serve or have served,
We remember.
And we thank you.

Update from Iraq

Hi everyone!

I'm just finishing up my 2nd month here in Iraq. I'm down in the southern portion of the country, Basra Province, which fortunately has been (comparatively) quiet. As a result, I've got a lot of down time, so I've been trying to do as much reading as possible. I've just recently finished Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith & Phillip Novak which I found to be an excellent primer on Buddhism. I'm a member of my congregation's book club, and I'm currently reading on of the club's selections - 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann which is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in American history. I've also picked up a translation of the Qu'ran which I'm going to start reading as well (a bit at a time I expect, it seems a little daunting).

I'm finding that being a UU on active duty was a bit more challenging than I had expected. I wasn't a UU during the 8 years I spent on active duty, and I think I had forgotten how much the attitudes of most soldiers is at odds with the UU outlook on most social issues. There have been more than a few times that I've found myself biting my tongue on hearing a particularly unpleasant comment on homosexuals or women. On one hand I know I should say something - but on the other hand I have to work and live in close proximity with some of the individuals making the remarks, and I'm reluctant to jeopardize good relations with people whom my life very well may depend on. It's a very awkward position, and I'm honestly not sure how best to deal with it. I love the Army and I am proud of my service and the service of my comrades, but at the same time I am reminded on almost a daily basis on why there are so few UUs (or just "progressives" in general) in the military. (I am perfectly open on my positions regarding the environment however, and I was quickly dubbed the unit "tree-hugger" which I consider to be something of a badge of honor.)

I'm curious on how UU Chaplains address the issues of homophobia and sexism in the military - or if they even do address them. Both in many ways are endemic in military culture (especially the former) and while officially they are not tolerated, everyone knows how most people feel about the subjects. I think sexism is much less of a problem than in the past, and has become more "underground", but few people even attempt to hide their homophobia - and given the fact that homosexuals are not allowed to serve openly, there really is no-one to complain and file charges of harassment or discrimination. Are social justice issues things that can be addressed in a UU Chaplains sermon? Or are they too "political" for a Chaplain?

Does anyone know if there are any UU Chaplains deployed over here currently?

Yours truly,

SGT Adrian Gunn
Camp Bucca, Iraq

P.S. I've attached a photo of my team and I - I'm the short bald guy in the middle!

The Chalice is now at the Army Chaplain's School!

Hey fellow Military UU's!

There is a formal article about this over at the uumm.blogspot.com website, but I thought I would share a few pictures with you of the recent endorser visit to the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School by Beth Miller and Lisa Presley, the UUA Director of Ministry and Professional Leadership and the Chair of the Committee on Military Ministry. George Tyger and I are here at Ft. Jackson as students at the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course, and Vernon Chandler was here for a few weeks earlier this month.

Here are a few pictures!

Lisa Presley, Vernon Chandler, Beth Miller, CH (Col) David Kenehan are along the top from left to right, and George Tyger (left) and me (David Pyle) (right) are kneeling on the bottom.

Vernon, George and I helped hang the banner, and then we got this picture taken together. Dont know for certain, but this may be the largest number of Military Chaplains from the Unitarian Universalist faith ever photographed together.

This picture was taken at the Prayer Breakfast that George was in charge of organizing, and I prepared the briefings on as a class project. There are currently over 130 students at the Chaplains Basic Course, but only two of us are Unitarian Universalists... and as near as we can figure having two is a record... So it was a great time for Beth and Lisa to visit, especially with Vernon being here for his retirement ceremony after 32 years in the Army... Thanks Vernon, for paving the way, and George and I are proud to relieve you...

Though he's not a UU, I just wanted to share this moment. During the prayer breakfast there was a Buddhist prayer in Pali by the first ever Buddhist U.S. Army Chaplaincy Candidate, 2LT Somya Malasri. He and I sat Buddhist meditation together in the mornings.

To show its not all classroom and prayer breakfasts here, here I am giving a briefing for an obstacle course we are about to go run. Chaplains dont do any weapons training, but we do do alot of the other kinds of tactical training.

Like this (I'm on the back side of the wall)

And this (yep, that's me. the later is about 100ft tall or so).

And this (that's me too.... I couldnt find any that had been taken of George on the confidence course, but he did everything that I did... we all did.

It is a wonderful experience being one of the few Chaplains and Chaplain Candidates here of liberal faith. Our voice is desperately needed in the Chaplain's corps, so that we can continue to support the freedom of religous expression in the Army.

So, from the Chaplain's School at Ft. Jackson, George and I send a loud "HOOAH" out to all of you, as well as a loud Amen and Namaste!

Yours in Faith,

David Pyle

2LT, USAR Chaplaincy Candidate

General Assembly

OK, for those of you who attended the workshop on UU's in the military, how did it go? Thanks.

Marilyn

New UU emblem approved by the VA

Hello everyone,

I want to thank and congratulate Chaplain Rev. Cynthia Kane for all her work in getting the UUA Chalice inside two rings approved for VA gravemarkers. This is not the first time there has been a UU symbol, but an update to the most commonly used symbol in our congregations.

If you would like to see it, please visit http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmemb.asp . The UUA symbol is number 8 on the list.

Congrats Cynthia!

Yours in Faith,

David Pyle

2LT, USAR Chaplaincy Candidate

My Turn

Greetings all!

Well my turn has finally arrived - I've been notified that I am being activated and will be deploying to Iraq this summer with my unit's sister battalion as a "filler" (along with several other soldiers from my company). The timing is a bit lousy, as I was notified of the deployment just after starting the police academy, but I suppose the call of duty waits for no-one. I would love to be able to keep you all updated here on my deployment, but with the new blogging restrictions in place I'm not sure that will be possible (hopefully I'm not violating the policy as we speak).

Adrian

Laid To Rest, In Honor

Private Kooiman is one of the frist five American service members to have the newly permitted Pentegram on his grave stone.

I am so honored to share this with you, and pray to my God that She hold all Veterans in Her hands this day. Those in harms way today, those wounded inside and out, and those who never did make it home.

Blessed Be, Blessed Be, and Blessed Be Again





Hat tip to Joel Monka

UU's in the Military Workshop at General Assembly 2007

If you are going, or considering going to the UUA General Assembly in Portland Oregon from June 20th to the 24th, please join us at the following workshop entitled "Military and UUism: Respecting Inherent Worth?"

Workshop time: Saturday 10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Workshop title: #4023 Military and UUism: Respecting Inherent Worth?

Sponsored by: UUA Staff

Description: Congregations struggle to understand how to support military members and their families. Often times, our attitudes and/or behaviors inadvertently say to them, "You are not welcome." Why so? What can we do differently? We explore this reality, recent survey data on UU attitudes and real-lived experiences of UU military families.

Workshop leaders: Rev. Cynthia Kane, Dr. Vince Patton, Rev. Lisa Presley, and Rev. Beth Miller

For more information on General Assembly, Please visit the following link
http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/index.shtml

Memorial Day

This week Krista Tippet will replay a 2006 interview with a military chaplain. This program is titled "The Soul of War" and airs on NPR. Check your listings for Speaking of Faith.

Army Censors Bloggers

From Wired News:

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say. Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update. "This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

Sure glad this wasn't the case when I was in Iraq - I spent hours each day writing for my blog and it was one thing that helped me stay connected with the outside world.

UUMM News

Hello Fellow UU's in the Military!

I have a few news items to share with you from Unitarian Universalist Military Ministries, about different developing events among our growing and burgeoning group of Military UU's.

First, I would like to offer welcome and congratulations to Rev. George Tyger, who has been selected to become a U.S. Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain. Rev. Tyger is currently the senior minister of the First Universalist Church of Rochester, NY. He will be attending the Chaplains training course at Ft. Jackson this summer, and will be going on Active Duty with the Army. Rev. Tyger is a prior service enlisted army soldier.

Second, I would like to update you all on the progress of the new policy initiative for how the UUA both endorses and supports our military chaplains and chaplaincy candidates. The draft policy has been approved by the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group of the UUA, and will be officially unveiled at General Assembly. It involves a more structured application and approval process for endorsement as military chaplains, and approval for seminary students to participate in the Chaplain Candidate programs. It also calls for the creation of a new Committee on Military Ministry (CMM) within the UUA. The commitee will initially be chaired by Rev. Lisa Presley, and will coordinate the endorsement process, as well as provide regular contact and support to our serving military and federal chaplains and chaplaincy candidates. The membership of the Committee is being recruited by the UUA as we speak.

Third, I would like to point you all towards an article about myself and Maj. Seanan Holland that has appeared in yesterday's online edition of UU World, on the subject of military chaplain candidacy. http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/22319.shtml

I'm sure that there are alot of other wonderful things going on out there, but I am going to try to post a quick article from UUMM every couple of months on developments at the UUA level in relation to the military and military ministry. If anyone has any news they would like to share with me, please do so at david@celestiallands.com .

Yours in Faith,

2LT David Pyle

USAR Chaplaincy Candidate

Student, Meadville Lombard Theological School

Tales of the Tartan Shirt

In an earlier post I mentioned developing religious education materials for use in our societies. These tales, something of a departure from the usual UU military Blog entries, is offered in this spirit. The material is not copyright so you're free to develop it as suits the need.

"Pretty! She called me pretty! I am the official tartan of the United States Marine Corps," declared my plaid shirt.

"I'm sure my mother-in-law meant it as a compliment," I said as soothingly as possible. "

"All of the other shirts in the closet will laugh at me after this," he bellowed.

"They will not. Why that chiffon scarf will forever be in your debt for jumping off your hanger and pulling her back up from behind the cedar chest. And that chambray shirt with the embroidered flowers--I think she'd like to hang next to you. That is, after your bath. I mean wash."

"OK, but hang me out on the line to dry."

"It's below freezing, I said.

"All to the good. I can take it."

This is just a rough sketch of the possibilities that can be used in discussing differences in social roles with children.

Any Soldier

Hi,

I'm going to try to set up a collection within my congregation to send care packages to a reserve unit from our state (the 399th Combat Support Hospital). I found the unit on www.anysoldier.com, which is a great website to check out, if you haven't seen it. Has anyone else done something similar with their congregations?

Adrian

Washington Office for Advocacy

Hi,

I was poking around the UUA website, and came across the section on the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy. Curious, I looked around for any military related issues. I was pleased to find a section entitled " Welcoming Veterans and Military Families in Our Congregations and Community", though I was a bit non-plussed at it's location - at the very bottom of the "Occupation of Iraq" Issues page. Obviously not as important as say "America Says NO!" or "Iraq for Sale" or a link to a website for the short film "The Ground Truth" an anti-war documentary that focuses on a small group of soldiers who after serving in Iraq became anti-war activists.

What I found a bit more disturbing was in the Links section.

Under the section "Military Spending and Disarmament" (Sets the tone) there were links for various anti-war/anti-military organizations such as the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (www.nwtrcc.org) which entourages activists to evade paying portions of thier income tax as a means of protesting war. Oh, and it also refers to the military as a "bigoted" institution and goes on to say "The military is, bar none, the most homophobic institution in our culture. Yet for all its sexism, heterosexism, racism and persecution of sexual minorities at home AND overseas, the military continues to be funded at enormous levels while programs everybody needs - health care, housing, food, environmental protection and education - continue to be gutted. More continues to be spent on the military each month than has been spent by the U.S. in the entire history of AIDS research. Killing, it seems, is far more important than saving lives." Oh and it also says "Over 50% of federal tax dollars go to fund one of the most misogynist and destructive forces in our society: the military."

Now, I realize that simply because this organization is in the links section of the UUA website does not necessarily imply that the UUA in anyway endorses or agrees with any of the positions taken by this organization, but it does seem to indicate that somebody within the UUA thinks highly enough of it to put the link up.

Several other websites listed that are also anti-military (as opposed to simply being anti-Iraq war) and focus on opposing military recruitment, selective service, and ROTC.

While I certainly respect the opinions of those Unitarian-Universalists who are pacifists, I am bit chagrined that it seems to be the position of the UUA (perhaps unofficially) to only support one, rather extreme, viewpoint on the subject.

Adrian

P.S. Oh and when you google "UUA military" the first thing that comes up is a section on the UUA website about conscientious objection. This blog is third.

Did You See That?

Have you ordered your UU Military Ministries Gear yet? Mine came in a few days ago.

I got a large coffee mug and a button. I wanted to get more but funds are short as of right now. The coffee mug now proudly rests on my desk at work. Several people have asked about it and expressed delight in finding out its meaning.

The button I wore on my lapel today at church. Proudly displayed above my name tag. I didn't get any questions of comments about it. That may be because my name tag itself holds various items. Blue background representing the fact that I am a board member, a lapel pin in red and gold from The Church of the Larger Fellowship, and an orange ribbon and golden safety pin that represents a promise I keeping for myself this year.

Still, next Sunday, if people do not ask about it I think I might start pointing out. "See my new UUMM button?"

Also check this post out from Cee Jay. She is a fellow congregant of mine, and a good friend. Great advise on how to really, actually, support our troops.

Welcome to a new Blogger!

Please welcome someone I have been in communication with on several projects over the past several months... Here is the info he sent us...

ET1(SW/AW) Lou Portella, USN Active
On shore duty at Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic / Surface Nuclear Propulsion Administration code N92V /
Unitarian Church of Norfolk (UCN), Thomas Jefferson District
Founder and co-chairperson of UUniforms, UCN's military support group

Welcome Lou to UU's in the Military!

UU Military Ministries Gear!

Hello everyone!

I have been intending to do this for awhile, and this morning I had a choice...either read William Ellery Channing's "Unitarian Christianity" for class tomorrow (I'll do it tonight) or actually do a project that is kinda fun for me...

So, I opted for the "fun" project this morning. Now, fun is a relative term... But you will see what I mean.

Eric David Carlson, a fellow student here at the Meadville Lombard Theological School, created a logo for the UU Military Ministries awhile back, on the promise that one day I would send him a coffee cup with that logo on it. Lou Portella sent me the wondeful logo that the UUniforms project in Norfolk VA had created... and I decided the time was right to make some UU Military Ministries Gear available!

Here is the link: http://www.cafepress.com/uumm

Now, it is done through CafePress, and so I could have added a markup on the gear... but no... not yet, anway. We may in the future do so to help fund some UUMM projects and the like, but for right now, all of this is as low in price as I can make it.

So, check it out and show up on Sunday morning for Coffee Hour with a UU Military coffee cup, or wear a UU Miliary baseball cap at General Assembly!

Oh, and Eric... I will get the coffee cup sent to you soon, I promise! As soon as mine gets here!

Yours in Faith,

David Pyle
2LT, USAR Chaplaincy Candidate
Student, Meadville Lombard Theological School
www.uumm.blogspot.com

Greetings everyone!

I was very excited to discover this blog - as far as I can tell I'm the only serviceman in my congregation so I really don't have anyone to discuss my experiences with. My wife and I have been members of our congregation for 14 months now and we are both very happy there. I've been sort of lost spiritually for several years after realizing that my agnosticism was not particularly fulfilling, and I've really found a home in UU. I was a bit apprehensive about how well I would fit in the congregation, knowing in advance that most UUs tend to be very liberal and have a strong anti-war stance. I don't consider myself a liberal in the modern understanding, but more of a classical liberal. I'm definitely a social libertarian, so many of the social justice activities of the UU dovetail nicely with my beliefs, but as a lifelong soldier (and infantryman too boot) I can hardly describe myself as a pacifist or anti-war. For the most part my congregation has been very welcoming, and usually the only response I get when I say I'm in the military is an expression of concern for my safety if I was deployed. What troubles me a bit is that I hear frequent denunciations of "militarism" and "warmongering" from both the pulpit and members of the congregation. Nothing seemingly directed towards me (and I get along quite famously with our minister) - but it still makes me a touch uncomfortable. Both the words militarism and warmongering are obviously pejorative, and I'm not 100% exactly what is meant by them - are they denunciations of an extreme, unnecessary use of military force - or the military and the use of force in general? I suppose I could simply ask my minister but frankly I feel a bit uncomfortable raising the issue directly - I certainly don't want to hurt anyones feelings of insult anyone by seeming to make accusations. Has anyone else felt this sort of tension? Am I overreacting (which I suspect I might be)?

Thanks,

Adrian