talks with Endorser of Christian Science for the Mother Church
Military chaplains accompany US forces wherever they go. Read The Christian Science Monitor's recent front-page story on chaplains by Patrik Jonsson, Patrik Jonsson, "Troubled soldiers turn to chaplains for help," The Christian Science Monitor, March 8, 2006; see http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0308/p01s03-usmi.html. and you'll get a quick thumbnail of the chaplaincy's crucial role. You'll learn that chaplains provide trustworthy inspiration and counsel for soldiers in battle zones and for service members and their families facing war's aftermath. And you'll learn of the urgent need—one that cuts across denominational lines—for more chaplains to fill the ranks of the US military. Currently, the US Army has 1,400 clergy (most are Christian, about 30 are Jewish, and 15 are Muslim), but as Mr. Jonsson reports, "The top brass is aiming to recruit nearly 600 more chaplains to serve in the next five years." lbid.
In the following interview, Janet Horton, Endorser of Christian Science Chaplains for The Mother Church, addressed this urgent need in light of the special healing mission of Christian Science chaplains. Colonel Horton entered the US Army as a Christian Science chaplain in 1976 and retired in 2004. During her 28-year groundbreaking career as a female Christian Science chaplain, she ministered to others even as she faced down personal adversity and practiced Christian Science in a challenging environment. She was tested early—on her first day with her permanent military unit after basic training, she toughed out an arduous morning run, had a run-in with an antagonistic supervisory chaplain, and then was told at her first chapel meeting that she would not be allowed to preach. But over time, through her steady demonstration of Christian Science, Horton won respect as she trailblazed a path in the military not only for Christian Science chaplains but for all female chaplains. The first woman assigned as a Division or Corps Chaplain and the first woman promoted to Colonel in the Army Chaplain Corps, she supervised religious support for the Joint Task Forces in Albania, Macedonia, and Kosovo, wrote the current revision of the Department of Defense Directive on The Appointment of Chaplains for the Armed Forces, and developed the post-9/11 brief, "Terrorist Mindset Divine Command Morality," for the Distinguished Speaker Program for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
