Community Clergy: Responding to Returning Veterans
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15
One of the signs of a true Christian, according to St. Paul in Romans, is the task and ability to join people where they are. If they are celebrating, we are to celebrate. That’s easy enough, right?
Yet, when one is in mourning or grief, it is often difficult for us to join in. We often do not know what to say. What makes it all the more challenging is when we have not experienced the trauma that another has experienced. Case in point, PTSD.
PTSD is multifaceted in that there are many ways in which it reveals itself. There are also many levels and faces PTSD has.
- Trauma can and is experienced in many different ways:
- Sudden death can result in trauma.
- Catastrophic illness can leave one with trauma.
- Suicide leaves trauma, especially when there are no answers as to why.
- Assault, physical or sexual, leave a lasting mark on the individual and those around them.
PTSD can inflict wounds upon relationship, families, marriages, communities, etc. Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop put on by the Veterans Administration Chaplaincy Program entitled “Veteran Affairs Community Clergy Training and Outreach Event.”
To give you an overview of the workshop: The Community Clergy Training is designed to educate and inform clergy, pastors, and lay ministers about military and civilian culture clashes, service-related health concerns, challenges of readjusting to civilian life, and how to provide support for Veterans and their families.
The VA Outreach Event is designed for faith-based, nonprofit, community, neighborhood, and local organizations to learn about the benefits and services VA provides to Veterans, their family members, and eligible beneficiaries. A myriad of VA presenters and resources will be on hand to discuss the spiritual, medical, and social needs of Veterans, as well as financial, employment, and educational concerns. Speakers will share information about VA's healthcare services, eliminating Veterans homelessness, suicide prevention, claims processing, Women Veterans Program, and other resources.
We have heard so much on the topic of PTSD, particularly in the recent case of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. So most of us think of PTSD affecting on those 20-30 years old. Some of the saddest stories we have heard are about those who have attempted or accomplished suicide after returning home from combat deployment. But this is only part of the picture.
The Alexandria Conference of NW MN Synod which covers the six counties of Pope, Grant, Douglas, Otter Tail, Traverse and Todd have a total of 11,694 Veterans and Current Enlisted personnel. Grant, Douglas, and Otter Tail counties account for 8,467 of that number, about 72.4%.
No, this is not from the Gulf War and after, 1990 to today. This number includes WWII, Korean, and Vietnam wars as well. However, also with this number of Vets comes the effects of combat and non-combat duties.
Sometimes the effects result in PTSD and with that too often comes suicide due to combat duty and acts of personal sexual violence perpetrated upon both male and female soldiers, along with life concerns in the aging vet. The victims of PTSD and suicide is not only reserved for the young vet but all age groups as follows:
Total of MN Veteran Suicide 113 Midwest 1,516 U.S. 7,388 18–34 16 250 1,171 35–54 33 493 2,193 55–74 45 517 2,594 75+ 19 256 1,430 Notice the largest number in MN, the Midwest and in the U.S. The challenge for the VA is to reach out to these vets, particularly in the rural parts of the state. This workshop was meant to make clergy particularly aware and to get our assistance in reaching out to Veterans in our small communities.
So what can we do about it? I would say, let us keep an eye and ear open. What had been suggested is that the churches could form support groups for the Veterans in our communities where the Vets could come and talk about their experiences and their struggles and challenges with being a returning vet. That is what I would like to propose to do here. Pretty short and direct.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
~Pastor Kent