December 17, 2004

CHICAGO - Corporal Nicolas "Nick" Lee Ziolkowski, a sniper for Bravo Company of the First Battalion, U.S. Marines, was "intensely patriotic, leaving for active duty as soon as he graduated from Boys' Latin School of Maryland," said the Rev. Paul Collinson-Streng, Baltimore, a campus pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), at Ziolkowski's funeral on Nov. 24 at Arlington National Cemetery.

An enemy sniper shot and killed Ziolkowski on Nov. 16 in Fallujah, Iraq, said Collinson-Streng.

"He hadn't had his driver's license too long when he decided, in the pouring rain, to offer rides to strangers stranded at a bus stop. He would stop to help a stranded motorist change a tire and would get in trouble in order to keep a friend out of trouble," Collinson-Streng told more than 450 families, friends, U.S. Marines and others who attended Ziolkowski's funeral.

"We give thanks for Nick's desire to make peace, to make the world a better place, even as we mourn our loss. Even if divided in our thoughts about the war in Iraq, we are united in our support for our soldiers and in honoring Nick for his selfless and heroic acts, in life and in death. We remember the soldier, also [a] son, brother and man," said Collinson-Streng.

While the war in Iraq has led to emotional distress for many people, especially military families and families with members in areas of conflict, congregations of the ELCA are providing places for them to pray, to support one another across the United States, and to reach out to soldiers deployed overseas this holiday season.

"We have been remembering people in the military in prayer on a regular basis," said the Rev. Robert L. Dahl, First Lutheran Church, Marshall, Minn. "We have tried to lift up all of those currently in the military, whether they are in a hostile environment or not," he said.

"In terms of the 'hot spots', we have two of our member families wherein the next stop for their loved ones will be Iraq. These men were deployed back in September and have been taking some stateside training before shipping out," Dahl said.

Members of First Lutheran Church have created a display to remember and honor people serving in the military. The display, located in the narthex of the church, is decorated in red, white and blue and highlights some community activities surrounding support for soldiers in active duty. A letter from the governor's wife, who is coordinating community activities for military families and soldiers in Minnesota, is posted on the display. Underneath the display is a box full of items the congregation is collecting to send soldiers as "care packages."

"Soldiers need ChapStick, batteries, phone cards and other personal items that cannot readily be bought out in the field," said the Rev. Kelly J. Wasberg, First Lutheran Church. "In Afghanistan, for example, there isn't a Walgreen's around the corner for soldiers to purchase the things they need while in active duty," he said.

To help guide congregations across the ELCA in supporting soldiers deployed overseas, resources for "times of peace and war" are available at http://www.elca.org/peaceandwar/index.html on the ELCA Web site. Congregations can download prayers and worship resources and learn ways to offer care and support for military families, such as scheduling prayer vigils and using assets to provide interest-free loans or gifts to those whose incomes have been drastically reduced by war. Lutherans are also providing free "Christmas e-cards" to send soldiers at http://www.elca.org/ecards/troops/ on the ELCA Web site. ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries also offers services and family assistance.

In addition to serving as associate pastor at First Lutheran, Wasberg is a chaplain for the National Guard. He said being a chaplain is similar to being "a parish pastor, only we serve in the military setting."

Chaplains provide "the human face" in the military, said Wasberg. We provide "a ministry of presence and serve as counselors to our soldiers." Chaplains are concerned with "how a solider is doing" versus providing orders to carry out an operation.

"We're in tune with what's going on with soldiers both spiritually and ethically," Wasberg said. "We're there to help soldiers reconcile with how they can remain faithful to the Fifth Commandment but still be a solider."

Working alongside them, chaplains help troops carry supplies and materials, "conduct worship and Holy Communion in the field. Chaplains do not have weapons, but must meet all the physical, height and weight requirements as soldiers," Wasberg said.

Serving as a military chaplain is a specialized ministry, according to the Rev. Ivan G. Ives, assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries. "It demands physical fitness as well as mental and spiritual fitness from those who wish to serve their Lord in this unique environment," he said. ELCA chaplains are endorsed through ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries and are called from the churchwide organization. "Chaplains are in some ways missionaries to our soldiers," he said.

"As we try to provide care for our congregations and our to soldiers, as their vocation takes them to a variety of locations, some dangerous, our chaplains in the military go with them to bring Word and Sacrament in the same ways that we provide Word and Sacrament to all of our congregations as they live and work in their own places," Ives said.

The Rev. Michael T. Lembke, an ELCA division chaplain for the Army, is deployed in Tikrit, Iraq. In a Dec. 2 journal entry he called "Tikrit on the Tigris," Lembke wrote, "In the midst of this war we find great community in the worshiping fellowship and the working relationships. And of course, the relationships forged from long hours covering the dangerous ground." Lembke's journal is posted at http://www.elca.org/federalchaplains/updates49.html on the ELCA Web site.

Troops "observed a vespers service at the site of an old church ruin" in Tikrit, said Lembke. "This site dates from the sixth century. There was a monastery and church here on the banks of the Tigris," he said.

"Christianity is quite old in this country. Among the customs of Advent are the Advent wreath of four candles in a circle of evergreens. Each day the candles are lit, accompanied by a short prayer. Lighting of the candle is symbolic of hope and everlasting light," said Lembke, who presided in the service. "And to do so here, in a spot where years and years ago people gathered to worship Jesus, gives us a sense of continuity. Our faith is portable, it doesn't rely on a building; it lives in our hearts."

"In the end grief and loss are individual matters, but they are helped along the way by getting together and acknowledging the corporate nature of service," he said.

"Even though the circumstances and the surroundings of our holiday season are not what most would want, the presence and the purpose of our work and mission make the days seem more meaningful," said Lembke.

About 10,000 soldiers wounded in Iraq are now returning home to the United States, according to the Rev. David R. Kupka, King of Kings Lutheran Church, Oceanside, Calif. Many Marines "are returning in just T-shirts, shorts and their sea boots" to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Kupka said. King of Kings is located near Camp Pendleton.

At Camp Pendleton's request, King of Kings is sending these soldiers "new warm-up suits and sweat suits as an ongoing project of the congregation," he said.

About 35,000 active-duty Marines are stationed at Camp Pendleton, Kupka said. "Somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 of them are now deployed in Iraq," he said.

"For members of King of Kings who have family deployed in Iraq, the emotional impact has been great. They hope that their loved-ones are safe and out of harm's way," Kupka said.

"Every Sunday we pray for our soldiers and their families," said the Rev. Mark S. Knutson, San Marcos Lutheran Church, San Marcos, Calif. "Some of our soldiers have returned and others are being deployed once again."

According to the Dec. 13 issue of Time magazine, the number of U.S. troops scheduled to be stationed in Iraq in January is 150,000, the highest level since last year's invasion. The number of soldiers who will be ordered to extend their tours, with a majority surpassing the one-year deployment cap promised by the Army, is 10,400. A Department of Defense news release said the increase in troop strength is to assist with security surrounding Iraqi elections in January.

Members of San Marcos have developed a "Prayer Wall" to remind them to pray for soldiers deployed in Iraq. Knutson said the wall is adorned with pictures of soldiers who are members of San Marcos and pictures of families dealing with deployment.

As a local pastor, Knutson was invited to attend a military funeral at Camp Pendleton for the first helicopter pilot killed in Iraq. Knutson said he has provided counseling for members at San Marcos who are dealing with deployment. In particular, Knutson counseled a seven-year-old member of the congregation who experienced anxiety attacks when his father was deployed to Iraq.

"I think it's been very difficult emotionally for military families at the church, given the length of time of the war, but these families maintain a supportive attitude despite the hardship," he said.

"During this holiday season, in addition to the usual stress of trying to do too much with too little, there is the thought of how long [the war] will go on," said the Rev. James West, a chaplain for the Navy serving at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton.

"Rather than 'Will my husband be home for Christmas' it is 'Will he get home and how long before he heads back?' Remember too, for some it is 'When will my wife get back?'" he said.

"At the hospital we have about 100 members of our staff deployed to Iraq to provide medical support to the troops. There is a sense of accomplishment. We are doing what we have been trained to do; we are saving lives," West said.

ELCA News Service