Thursday, March 1, 2012

"A Place Which Provides Peace, Quiet and Privacy": A Military Chapel in Afghanistan

In garrison and on bases, military chapels tend to be quiet, infrequently used places. I once heard them described as being like the formal sitting parlour in a house, a place reserved for formal occasions rather than for everyday use. On deployment, however, chapels can be the one place in a FOB or a base where troops can be alone with their thoughts, find counsel, or seek God's presence.

Today the British MOD profiles St. Martin of Tours, a chapel built by members of 2nd Battalion, the Mercian Regiment, for their RC padre, at a British FOB in Helmand Province.


Father David Smith stands in front of a mural of St Martin with its artist, Staff Sergeant Jones Lee of the United States Marine Corps
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Do you have a story about the role a chapel played in your tour or deployment? If so, please consider leaving it in the comments section below. MP+
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2 comments:

  1. The Angry LurkerMarch 2, 2012 at 10:02 a.m.

    They must help some, excellent work.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. JDMarch 4, 2012 at 4:23 p.m.

    "military chapels tend to be quiet, infrequently used places..."

    That's kind of sad. Ever wonder why that is?

    US military chapels vary widely, but the size of their congregations are often directly related to the spiritual strength of the local chaplain.

    Some chapels rival "megachurches." In places where chaplains do little more than offer watered down platitudes, the pews are often empty.

    ReplyDelete