The ‘Pastors to Chaplains’ project conducted by the Chaplains Ministries Directorate, will be held November held in Kiev, Ukraine, November 5th, 6th, and 7th, 2015. This is truly a unique opportunity for the IPHC to train Ukrainian pastors of various faith groups who volunteer to provide religious support and pastoral care to soldiers of the Ukrainian Army.
During the Global Assembly in Hong Kong, a meeting was held with Bishop Reshetinsky from the Ukraine, upon his request, to consider this request for training. At that meeting he explained that the Ukrainian Army does not have a formal military chaplain institution. This is where we learned that civilian pastors from various faith groups volunteer to go to the sites where Ukrainian soldiers are training and fighting and provide for them, the best they can, religious support and pastoral care. It was determined at the Hong Kong meeting that the IPHC Chaplain Ministries would provide this training.
A team of five has been selected to provide this training; Chaplain (COL) Lou Shirey, USA Retired, Becky Shirey, Chaplain (COL) Roger Heath, USA Retired, Chaplain (COL) Philip Chandler, USA Retired, and Chaplain (COL) Jerry L. Jones, USA Retired. Each of these individuals has skill sets and experience that allows them to address specific chaplain functions and pastoral essentials.
The training will be inclusive of functional topics for religious support and pastoral care and will not include tactical or strategic matters. Some of the topics to be instructed are: History of the U.S. Chaplaincy and Structure, Role of the Chaplain with Commanders and Soldiers, Inspiring Soldiers in Battle, Providing Pastoral Care and Religious Needs, Crisis and Grief Counseling, Critical Incident De-briefings, Post Traumatic Issues and Moral Injury, Hospital Visitation, Suicide Awareness and Prevention, Memorials Honors and Funerals, Spouse and Family Issues and Readiness.
Preparation for this training is already underway. The topics have been agreed upon. Travel and lodging have been discussed and planning being made for them.
Our leadership in the Ukraine and here at the GMC see this as a tremendous opportunity for the IPHC to join its chaplains and pastors with their talents in an effort to build the Kingdom of God within the individual soldiers of the Ukrainian Army.
If you are interested in supporting the ‘Pastors to Chaplains’ project, you can do so in two ways. The first and most important is with your prayers and your sharing with others of this worthy effort. The second way is by sending a contribution directly to Chaplain Ministries. We estimate the cost for this project to be approximately $10,000.00.
Chaplain (COL) Jerry L. Jones, USA Retired
Director/Endorser Chaplain Ministries, IPHC
The address to send a contribution is:
GMC, IPHC
ATTN: Chaplain Ministries, EVUSA
PO Box 270420
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73137