‘A privilege to follow God’s call’

In the month of Remembrance, Jackie Macadam offers an insight into the lives of chaplains serving with the armed forces.

EVERY year at the General Assembly, a call goes out for ministers to consider joining the armed forces to be chaplains to those who serve.

In this season of Remembrance, chaplains to the three principal services of the armed forces offer an insight into the life of a padre.

The Rev Duncan Macpherson is based with the army in Wiltshire.

“I’m Senior Chaplain 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team and Deputy to the Assistant Chaplain General for 3rd (United Kingdom) Division of the British Army,” he says.

“Like all chaplaincies, it is our privilege to walk with the people we are called to minister to. For us that means people who serve at every rank and in every role in the British Army, from the youngest recruit to the most senior general, their parents, spouses and children and all those who work alongside us in defence.

“It is a ministry that takes us round the world as we deploy with our people as well as time spent at home caring for them and their families. We help to shape the communities they are required to form and in which they are required to live, he explains.”

“Over the course of more than 20 years as a Church of Scotland Army chaplain, I have served on operations and in barracks at home and abroad, in training units and on ceremonial duties, in support of Queen Victoria School and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, in front line units with global reach, in headquarters managing teams of chaplains in their ministry for the Gospel and on ceremonial duties, so it can be very varied!

“Like all chaplaincies, it is our privilege to walk with the people we are called to minister to.

“At the heart of what we do in our Lord’s name in a world of opposing strength and power is a willingness to serve with vulnerability and trust.

“This is the remarkable relationship between chaplains and the folks we minister to. We are completely dependent on the folks around us as they feed us (Army ration packs have improved with time – though the treacle track pad is still a feature) clothe us (one colour suits all), accommodate us (your own shell scrape with running water) and transport us (comfort definitely optional).

“Most important though, our people know that as we live out and share the love of God for them, we are willing to go with them unarmed to places they would only go with weapons into some of the darkest and most dangerous places in the world, earning an invitation to celebrate with them and to accompany them even to the place where they confront the wounds of this life in body, mind and soul. “We pray with them sometimes… but please, pray for them always.”

The Rev Alasdair Nicoll is Deputy Chaplain-in-Chief (Operations) with HQ Air Command in Buckinghamshire.

“The RAF Chaplaincy strapline is, ‘Serving the RAF community through Prayer, Presence and Proclamation’,” he says.

“Prayer. Presence. Proclamation. Three elements that could just as easily describe most ministries. Indeed, so much of what a chaplain in the Armed Forces does differs little from other forms of Kirk ministry: leading worship; walking alongside people through difficult times; building and sustaining community; prompting people to ask big questions; encouraging folks on their journey of faith.

“What is perhaps unique is the context in which all that happens. In hangars, workshops, gyms, offices, crew rooms, playing fields, conference rooms as well as station churches and by war memorials, chaplains have the privilege to minister to and among the service community, “ he says. “We travel with them to far flung places across the globe and to training areas down the road to pray for and with them, to be alongside them and to encourage them to explore their values, their hope, and their reason for being.

“The motivation for doing so I suspect again differs little from other ministries. Inspired by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and convinced of the unconditional love that God has for all people, the Christian chaplain’s calling is to be an ambassador of Christ (however flawed!). Called most tangibly to do so in times of conflict and suffering. Sowing peace, offering comfort, seeking redemption, providing challenge. And all this not to justify the violence nor hone the military machine but because, for those caught up in the horror and loss, it is there they need God the most.

“I remain incredibly grateful to the Church of Scotland for its continued support of my ministry to the RAF community as we all continue to pray, be present and proclaim the Gospel hope.”

The Royal Navy is often referred to as ‘the senior service’ due to its longevity.

“To be called by the grace of God into his ministry at this time (in the parish or in chaplaincy) it takes, faith, love, and hope. To be called by God you need to know that you have a value in this real life, with real people facing real challenges and joys, where God’s presence is real, being right there in amongst it all.

“The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t be complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us.” – Eugene Peterson in ‘Tell it Slant’ notes.

“On board a ship many miles away from home and separated from those I love is challenging.

“Simply and in short, Peterson’s description of God’s grace describes the faith attitude I’ve shared in the Royal Navy Chaplaincy,” says the Rev Stephen Ashley-Emery RN Chaplain, Chaplain Team Leader, HMS Sultan Chaplaincy, Gosport,

“On board a ship many miles away from home and separated from those I love is challenging. You can be forgiven for asking the question: ‘What is the point of this?’ We may be asking a similar question today when we try to work through the constant rising cost of living. It can be difficult to think that you have a value in amongst all of this, but as a Royal Navy Chaplain I have learned that we do.

“V E Frankl’s reflection on his time in the Second World War was entitled ‘From Death-Camp to Existentialism’ (which is better known as ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’), in those grave circumstances Frankl said: “Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

“Frankel’s invincible attitude of faith was forged through his search for meaning and value after his life and death experiences. To know that you have value in such moments as these is difficult to comprehend for those who have not experienced such suffering. I cannot compare to Frankel’s experiences, but I can reflect on his fortitude and courage.

“Royal Navy Chaplaincy has taken me into situations and places that have shaken my core being and understandings,” he says.

“This ministry has asked me to stop human doing and to serve God in his created image and be a human being, as he intended. There, as Romans 15:5 reminds me, God gives endurance, encouragement, and the same attitude of mind toward others that Christ has. All of us in the journey of ministry are to have this attitude of faith and you need to know, because of God’s grace, you are of value.

“It was in 1955 Albert Einstein was reported to have said: ‘Try not to become a person of success but try to become a person of value.’

“A modern world tends to push for success more than value and how we measure success can often be at the expense of value. It is not in our social psyche nor culture to strive to be a person of value due to our possible British, and/or post-modern societal reluctance to think in such a way. Also, Covid-19 and within its wake, has left an indelible mark upon the question what it means to have value, or even reassess what is of valuable to us. While we take on the challenge of humility in Romans 12:3 and don’t think of ourselves too highly, scripture is clear: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows’ (Matthew 10:29-31). It is this value God places within creation for all of humanity we to are to live out and value in our ministry.

“Royal Navy personnel on the surface and below the sea and in the air strive through the adverse and challenging military service to protect the adventure and the precious nature of life. As a Royal Navy Chaplain, it is humbling and a privilege to follow God’s call to attend and remember all who serve such a life and its value.

“Following God’s ministry, I try not to become a person of success but try to become a person of value.”