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Faith Ministry Stories

Pastor John to Attend Basic Chaplain Training in May

Posted by Pastor John Klawiter on

In the five years of being at Faith, you have taught me so much about life. I’ve grown in my own pastoral identity and my theological grounding. This church continues to amaze me with our depth of reaching out to our community and the world. I’m proud to serve with you. You lift each other up and care for one another around difficult conversations about race, homelessness, food insecurity, and with people who experience oppression.

 

Faith also reaches out to veterans and this contributed to my calling to join the National Guard last fall. Thus far, my guard duties (one Saturday/Monday a month) have not taken me away from worship or my regular responsibilities at Faith. Since I’m not trained, I was not called into State Active Duty, but I’m affirmed that my voice as a chaplain for guard members in need of counsel or to process the events we’ve all witnessed is an important one, especially from the perspective as an ELCA pastor and our theological grounding of justice and peace.

 

There are 13 weeks of Chaplain Basic Training (emphasis on Chaplain!) that I need to complete in South Carolina. Fortunately, I can break these up into chunks and my first time being away is at the end of May to mid-June. Thanks to our hybrid services that include videos, I will still have some presence in worship with great preaching lined up while I’m gone. I’m grateful for the leadership of Bishop Patricia Lull, who attended my swearing-in last September and has been an advocate for my chaplaincy. She will preach on June 6th. I can’t wait to tune in and watch from Fort Jackson!

 

I appreciate your prayers and support, not just for me, but for my family. Taryn and our kids have been a rock and understand that this is another call that God has put into my life. I appreciate the training and leadership skills I’ll continue to develop while I’m gone, as they will only help me become a better pastor for our congregation in the future.

-Pastor John