A Devotion for Remembering Well
Veteran’s Day is not a holiday of the church calendar, but it’s a day that we in recovery work need to consider. The reason I wanted to write about Veteran’s Day this week is because those of us who work in Disaster Recovery often encounter veterans who have been deeply and tragically affected by natural disasters. Our nation as a whole has done an abysmal job of caring for our veterans once they return from war. Statistics show that many veterans are much more likely to suffer from homelessness or housing insecurity.
According to the Department of Defense, about 20 American veterans kill themselves each day. Those are frightening statistics; the numbers are overwhelming. As many as 20 percent of veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, while many others are diagnosed with depression and anxiety. These numbers don't take into account the myriad other problems that our military personnel and their families face as a result of their service. Homelessness, addiction, job insecurity, the list goes on.
So, how can the church and we as individuals help service members and their families?
For us as Christians, the civic holiday of Veteran’s Day is a call to practice love of neighbor in incarnational and impactful ways. Beyond patriotic songs and ceremonies, our veterans need services and acts of justice that improve their daily lives, quality healthcare and mental healthcare services, and programs that allow for sustainable and affordable housing.
I believe our work of recovery is indeed an act of justice for our veterans. Beyond just saying “thank you” for their service, we can actually come alongside men and women for whom the storms’ impact has been proportionally worse. We can live out Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, to, serve those who have served us, and to make a place for them in our communities where they feel welcomed honored, and loved.
When you are working with a veteran in your Disaster Recovery role, there are many ways to provide support. UMC Chaplain Cynthia Astle provides the following list of suggestions for churches to show support to American troops:
· “Adopt” someone in military service from your community
· Provide a safe space
· Let them talk.
· Learn the vital role that military and pastoral chaplains play as peacemakers amid conflict.
· Be a vigorous advocate for resources that protect troops and for veterans’ benefits.
In all ways, our recovery work and shape of our everyday lives should uphold the justice, mercy and peace exemplified by Jesus in his life and death. We should seek to work for the righteousness of God’s Kingdom, remembering that we serve a God who cares for the poor and broken, those suffering and downtrodden, those whose lives have been marked by tragedy and loss.
For we know, as it says in Psalm 72, that our God
“delivers the needy when they call
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.”
May we remember well and honor well those who have served. And may our life’s work be a joining in the redemptive work of God, marked by compassion, marked by love, and marked by acts of justice so that all may know peace.
Grace and peace,
Chaplain Amy
A Litany from The Book of Worship for United States Forces (1974), no. 625
Leader: Let us give thanks to God for the land of our birth with all its chartered liberties. For all the wonder of our country's story:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For leaders in nation and state, and for those who in days past and in these present times have labored for the commonwealth:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For those who in all times and places have been true and brave, and in the worlds common ways have lived upright lives and ministered to their fellows:
People: We give you thanks, O God. Leader: For those who served their country in its hour of need, and especially for those who gave even their lives in that service:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
All: O almighty God and most merciful Father, as we remember these your servants, remembering with gratitude their courage and strength, we hold before you those who mourn them. Look upon your bereaved servants with your mercy. As this day brings them memories of those they have lost awhile, may it also bring your consolation and the assurance that their loved ones are alive now and forever in your living presence.
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