Chatting with the Chaplain http://www.denverseminary.edu/chatting-with-the-chaplain/ About this Blog Join Dr. Jan McCormack as she explores and muses on the world of chaplaincy through her own experiences and the stories of those she has mentored and trained. Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:56:29 CDT en-us Copyright 2009 Denver Seminary Things I Never Learned in Seminary part 1 http://www.denverseminary.edu/chatting-with-the-chaplain/things-i-never-learned-in-seminary-part-1/ http://www.denverseminary.edu/chatting-with-the-chaplain/things-i-never-learned-in-seminary-part-1/ Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:55:45 CDT I had been working with a young military security policeman who was going psychotic in my office. I was not able to get him to release "privileged communication" in order to warn his commander that he needed to "pull his weapons' card" so I worked around procedures by asking his commander if "we still had the program where we take young troops off of the front lines and put them in administrative jobs." He knew I was telling him this airman needed not to have a weapon or be guarding nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, his answer to me was, "What does a young captain, a chaplain and a woman know (about the security field)." He hung up on me. So I prayed-hard.

Two weeks to the day of that phone call, as I was getting into bed at night, Central Security Control called and said, "Airman ‘Snuffy' has taken his loaded weapon and he has two of our Korean secretaries (women) up against a wall. He thinks they are ‘Commie spies' and he is threatening to shoot them. Chaplain, we need you to talk him down!" I was too inexperienced to know how serious this was and that I may not have the skills to do what they wanted me to do. As I was getting dressed to respond, I was getting madder and madder at the commander. It was that anger which was to get me through this crisis.

As I got to the scene, there were the two civilian secretaries crouched down against the squadron wall, in fear and in tears. ‘Snuffy' had his loaded weapon fixed on them and 12 of his peers were ‘locked and loaded' in a semi-circle around him. I was so mad at the commander I literally charged into that scene and parted the 12 cops like Moses parted the Red Sea. Pointing at ‘Snuffy' I said with anger in my voice, "How dare you get me out of bed at this time of night! You give me that gun; you sit over there and don't you there move!" The "Mad Mom" in me scared him so badly; he passed his M16 to me and sat down!

As I grabbed the gun and passed it back to another cop, I thought, "Oh my gosh, I don't know how to hold this-I could shoot somebody!" I turned my head and threw up! That commander later made me an honorary cop; his form of an apology, I guess. My next ‘pastoral ministry skill' was to have a cop teach me how to take and safe a weapon!

]]> Secure in the Pulpit http://www.denverseminary.edu/chatting-with-the-chaplain/secure-in-the-pulpit/ http://www.denverseminary.edu/chatting-with-the-chaplain/secure-in-the-pulpit/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:56:28 CDT "I (Paul) commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well."

Romans 16:1-2 (NRSV)

I was another reluctant "Moses" when God called me into ministry. It wasn't that I believed women should not be in ministry theologically, I had just never seen a woman pastor before. It took my church and friends to convince me that they recognized my spiritual gifts and call as legitimate. By the time I graduated from seminary, I had settled "the woman in ministry issue" for myself.

Still I often found that I had to explain and defend my calling to parishioners, colleagues and supervisors alike. As difficult and hurtful as that was, it helped me even more to internalize the legitimacy of my calling with no apologies. As I progressed in ministry positions and there were more women in ministry, others got more comfortable with the idea of women chaplains and the challenges to my ministry were fewer. Yet just when I would feel safe in my ministerial role, I'd get blindsided.

My husband was an Air Force security police officer commander. He and I would often get late-night emergency calls. Sometimes they were for him, sometimes for me and sometimes for both of us. He is not a night person and although he was quite coherent when he spoke to others, he was often still half-asleep. So I was not surprised to hear him answer the phone and say, "Let me get my wife. That's right, she's the chaplain, I'm a cop... No, I'm a cop, she's the minister." At this point he began to wake up and got louder. That was not a good thing. "Yes that's right, my wife's the chaplain, I'm a cop."

When the caller again questioned him about what I presume was the right of a woman to be a minister, he got even louder and angry. Now fully awake he said, "Look I have 500 teenagers with loaded guns and nukes (nuclear weapons), she has prayer---which one of us do you want!" Very quietly and with a smile he handed me the phone and said, "Honey, it's for you." I don't really remember that case, but I will always remember the unconditional support of my wonderful husband who has never once wavered in believing in me and my call to ministry.

Heavenly Potter, thank you for the persons you send into our lives that believe in us and our call to ministry, those who strengthen, support and help us go back into that pulpit yet one more time. We are especially grateful for the courage of men of credibility who are not afraid to commend us and our ministry to others. Amen.

 

[Printed in Delloff, Linda-Marie and Glover-Williams, Bernadette, Eds. Women at the Well: Meditations for Quenching our Thirst, Vol 2. Judson Press, 2003, pp. 169-170. Written by Rev., Dr. Jan McCormack, Chaplain, Lt. Col. USAF, Ret.; Denver Seminary Mentoring Director and Assistant Professor of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling]

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