Page 52 - KRH Regimental Journal 2022

50 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
The Chaplain’s Year – a Journey of Faith
Helping with the homeless project. Church of St Olaf, Tallinn, Estonia. 30 Dec 2022
Actually, when I say ‘journey’ I feel a bit of a fraud. I was posted to KRH in June 2022 so, as I write this in January 2023, it’s been a relatively short seven-month journey since I arrived. What a whirlwind seven months it’s been! A few weeks in camp in Tidworth, some pre-deployment leave, then out to Estonia to be chaplain to the KRH battlegroup.
As the British Army website says: Life as an Army Chaplain is a calling like no other. Belonging to a remarkable organisation of young men and women, sharing your life with them and serving alongside them wherever they go brings tremendous opportunities and challenges. It is a vocation that is both demanding and rewarding and offers an adventur- ous journey of faith.
The Rev’d Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, was an Army chaplain during World War I. He was nicknamed Woodbine Willie because he handed out Woodbine cigarettes to soldiers. The soldiers liked their chaplain because of his irreverent preaching style and col- ourful language. We particularly like him today because of his description of Army chaplaincy. He said: “take a box of fags in your haversack, and a great deal of love in your heart. You can pray with (the soldiers) sometimes; but pray for them always”.
Today we replace cigarettes with sweets, but really, nothing else has changed. The chaplain still carries a great deal of God’s love in his heart. He still sometimes prays with the soldiers but always prays for them. In the first few weeks of our deployment people were busy; they were focussed on their mission – perhaps a little too busy to talk to the chaplain. Then, as I moved amongst KRH and the battlegroup, talking to people in their workplaces, in the cookhouse, on exercise, out and about, conversations began - they flowed. People shared with me their joys and sorrows; they shared what made them laugh and what made them cry.
The Eucharist (church service) every Sunday morning has been central to my week. We had at our disposal what I’ve been told is the only military chapel in Estonia. Sharing the chapel over Christmas with my French chaplain colleague was a joy, celebrating the birth of Christ in the stable in Bethlehem alongside each other.
On 30 December we were able to show how NATO forces are a social force as well as a protective force. Thirty-one British per- sonnel travelled from Tapa Camp to the Church of St Olaf in Tallinn, to assist with the church’s annual outreach project for homeless and vulnerable people. Eight hundred people came into the church building to be given a free concert in warm surround- ings. Soup and stew were served, plus tea and coffee. Then parcels of food, and bags of sweets and clothes were distributed as people left the building. The British personnel did sterling work, help- ing where help was needed, and showing to others the art of form- ing a human chain and passing items down the line of people. It’s amazing what impresses other people, especially the skills we take for granted.
Working alongside Maj West (RMO) and his medical team, SSgt Kerry Stitt (Army Welfare Service) and the chain of command, I’ve tried to bring chaplaincy support to our deployed personnel in Estonia.
I’m indebted to The Rev’d Chris Kinch CF, Chaplain to The Royal Welsh, for looking after the KRH ROG and our families back home in Tidworth. I’d like to thank The Rev’d Gavin Smith CF for conducting the funeral of the late Colonel Mike Vickery OBE in St Michael’s Church, Tidworth, on 18th January 2023. I’d also like to thank The Rev’d Martyn Groves CF for preaching at the funeral. This truly has been demanding and rewarding, an adventurous journey of faith.
GDA