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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
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A
CHAPLAIN'S
DIARY From by
Chaplain (Maj.) Mitchell I. Lewis
But
by Palm Sunday, we had begun to make
the transition from combat to
stability-and-support operations. The
unit had occupied an abandoned
government facility, and we prepared to
celebrate Palm Sunday under the large
porch of a real building. My
chaplain assistant, Staff Sergeant
Elian Strachan, quickly assembled a
choir and we cut fresh palm branches
from the trees that surrounded us in
the Euphrates valley. We had the
largest crowds yet gather to praise God
on Palm Sunday. Although
the troops were extremely busy with
their new mission, a handful of us
gathered on Good Friday to listen to
the crucifixion story in Mark 15 -- and
to pray. On
Easter morning, I led a convoy of
soldiers to a central location for a
large, ecumenical worship service. The
division band led the congregation in
singing Charles Wesley's "Christ the
Lord is Risen Today" and other
resurrection hymns. I
helped chaplains from a number of
Christian faith groups serve communion
to several hundred worshippers
(Catholics on the left, Protestants on
the right). That
afternoon, my assistant put together an
Easter egg hunt for our soldiers
followed by an Easter singing
extravaganza. The
singing service attracted such a large
crowd that we overflowed our worship
space. Several of our talented soldiers
sang sacred and gospel songs for about
an hour in celebration of our Lord's
resurrection, and we shared a deeply
moving experience of God's
presence.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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SPRING
2003
Experiencing
God in
Iraq
"And behold, I am with you
always..."
(Matthew 28:20)
Editor's
note: Mitchell Lewis, a clergy
member of the North Georgia
Conference of the UMC, is a staff
chaplain for the U.S. Army's
3rd
Infantry Division (Mechanized)
Artillery.
April 20 (Easter Sunday), Central Iraq
-- For three weeks, our unit was
involved in high-intensity, mobile
combat operations in the barren
desert.
Our weekly worship service took place
beside my HMMWV [High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] --
whenever the mission allowed. I screwed
the small aluminum cross and chalice
from my chaplain's kit into their
bases, set them on the side of my
vehicle, and offered those gathered the
word and sacrament.
The unit moved fully into peacekeeping
operations during Holy Week, working to
insure that Iraqi citizens in our zone
had water, food, health services, and
civil order.
