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National Prayer Breakfast unites community

  • Published
  • By Pascual Flores
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  More than 330 joint base service members, civilian employees and guests of all faiths attended the National Prayer Breakfast March 5, 2013, at Tommy B's Community Activities Center here.

Guest speaker, Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Howard Stendahl, Air Force Headquarters chief of chaplains, delivered a sermon on the role of a military chaplain, to serve all regardless of their beliefs, as part of this year's theme, "Our Legacy of Religious Freedom."

"It is fun to see minister, priest, rabbi and Muslim chaplains working together; it is an amazing joy to me," said Stendahl.

In keeping with this year's theme, Stendahl re-emphasized the legacy by speaking of the sacrifices four Army chaplains on board the U.S. Army Transport ship Dorchester made during World War II. The four chaplains were 1st Lts. Alexander Goode, John Washington, George Fox and Clark Poling: a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and two ministers respectively. The four chaplains quickly and quietly worked to calm the men on the ship and when there were no more life jackets, took theirs off and gave it to the troops. The four chaplains were last seen with their arms linked and braced against the slanting deck, offering prayers and singing hymns as the ship went down.

"The heroism of those four chaplains stand as the motto today and that is the legacy of religious freedom I want to celebrate," said Stendahl. "On Feb. 3, that was 70 years ago, Father Washington, Rabbi Goode, George Fox and Clark Poling set the standards for the career field that we are so privileged as chaplains and chaplain assistants to participate in."
The prayer breakfast concluded with a gift presentation by Col. John Wood, JB MDL commander, followed by a benediction by Chaplain (Maj.) Timothy Hirten, 87th Air Base Wing chaplain.

"I think Chaplain Stendahl did a great job keeping everyone's attention and I liked the fact that it was not geared toward one religion and touched bases on each religion," said Tech. Sgt. Andreana Carrington, 87th Missions Support Group knowledge operations NCO in-charge. "It made attendees reflect on themselves, how good we have it and if we would have the courage if put in that predicament, what we would do?"

Stendahl, a St. Paul, Minn., native, has wanted to be a military chaplain since the age of three. He began his military career in May 1985, as a protestant Chaplain, Basic Military Training School, Permanent Party Chapel, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Stendahl became chief of chaplains August 2012.

The National Prayer Breakfast, formerly known as the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, has roots dating back to 1942. Out of concern for the U.S. involvement in World War II, leaders in the Senate and House of Representative began to meet weekly for prayer.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the first official Presidential Prayer Breakfast in 1953. The name of the breakfast was changed from Presidential Prayer Breakfast to National Prayer Breakfast in 1970.