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Serving God and Country by Amy Starr Redwine
Major Barbara K. Sherer
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Since the United States first formed a Continental Army and Navy, Presbyterian chaplains have been serving American soldiers. Presbyterian chaplains served both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War, and have traveled with United States troops in every military action since. In 1973, Dianna Pohlman Bell made history when she became the first female military chaplain—she also happened to be Presbyterian. Today there are 122 active duty chaplains representing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 18 of whom are female. Among other roles, military chaplains ensure that all members of the armed forces may practice the free exercise of religion. Although this may sound like a straightforward task, military personnel choose from a list of more than 200 faith groups when declaring their religious preference. Once soldiers have filled in the “other” category with groups or denominations not listed, the list of faith groups increases to almost 900. Serving a congregation of service men and women entails working with an incredibly diverse group, many of whom do not consider themselves Christian. In this context, how do the female chaplains of the military build community? Chaplain (Major) Barbara K. Sherer, Army chaplain since 1984, says the first step is to build trust. Barbara began her service as a chaplain in the Army Reserves while she served as associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She entered active duty in 1992 and recently served in Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Barbara currently serves as combat developer for the chaplaincy at the Combined Arms Support Command in Fort Lee, Virginia. “Simply put,” she said, “I ensure that religious support is fully integrated into the plans for the military of the future.” Amy Starr Redwine is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. She works as a freelance writer in Denver and is a frequent contributor to Horizons.
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 © 2004 Horizons, Presbyterian Women |