In Defense of Religion - Part I

It seems these days religion has gotten a bad reputation.  

This last year I have particularly noticed how much religion seems to be, or has become scapegoated for the world's problems.  Religion no longer has relevance in our modern world.  Religion is thought to be for the weak or simple minded.   Religion is obsolete because now we have science to explain things.    Those involved with religion tend to be overly judgmental.  Religion causes intolerance, prejudice, polarized "us / them" thinking, sexism, obnoxious aggressive proselytizing, acts of violence, even wars...it would seem religion has basically caused more harm than good in the world!  

Spirituality is "in", religion, "out". 

Recent polls show religion no longer has the influence it had on the American population.  For many Christian denominations,  attendance and membership has been in decline the past twenty to thirty years.   

It is not difficult to figure out why many hold negative views of religion.   Acts of violence wars, intolerance, sexism, power politics, hypocrisy, killing, even genocide...all in the name of religion or someone's god (or gods).

Yes, it is easy to blame religion for all these negative things.  But what if we just look a little deeper, what will we find?

Unfortunately many of us have met people who have been hurt by religion, or rather, hurt by people who are involved in a certain religion. Some hurt so badly, they find it difficult to even visit a church, (or mosque, or temple, etc.).  It is a shame, because just about every religion teaches love, peace, forgiveness, hope, etc....but how many people live these things?

Some now go beyond dislike and even seem to hate religion.  The intense hatred of religion I have experienced recently by some people is especially shocking to me.  I overheard a most negative, venomous conversation attacking religion and those in the ministry in a restaurant...most of what they were saying was misinformed.  I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I could not help overhear them talking as I was right next to them. 

And a week or so ago I watched a movie, a documentary spoof on religion.  I don't want to give it any publicity, so I won't say the name of the movie...but again, venomous hatred of religion.  Mean spirited and condescending to anyone who was / is religious.  The person who made this movie had an agenda to be sure...

And so these things got me thinking... in defense of religion.  Is religion really all that bad?  What about all the good things people have done because of their religious beliefs and practices?    How easily we forget, or overlook the good!

Interestingly when I research on the Internet on the defense of religion,  I find mostly writings from conservative persuasions, saying how to defend against "militant atheism", or the "liberal media".

Just more polarized, combative thinking.   What if we dared to look deeper and within, instead of projecting...

There is a song that goes, "Let there be peace on earth.... And let it begin with me." 

Yes, what if we....actually....

Let there be peace on earth.... And let it begin with me!

Transitions....to the next edge of the earth!

These past few months (actually past couple of years)  have been incredibly transitional.  Again, it is like being in the bardo...the land of the in between!

A month ago I came home from a deployment to Antarctica...and am still transitioning to "regular" life  (whatever regular life is!).

This past year+  I have been going through the "Anglicanization" process.  A time of transition, learning and growth as I transition to the Episcopal Church.

And just this past week I was ordained a "Transitional Deacon" with the Episcopal Church.   It was a beautiful ceremony at the Cathedral.   

The power of ritual and rites of passage to mark major transitions in life!   And it is powerful!

But sad too, as now I leave the Cathedral...and yet again transition to the next era and place where the Spirit is taking me for awhile....to the next "edge of the earth"!....

A Quiet Day

Amidst the busyness and never ending list of things to do... today I took a "quiet day". 

What is a quiet day you may ask?

Today I went to a Benedictine monastery and basically hung out for a good portion of the day.    It is a beautiful place...very peaceful.  Roses, trees, acres of grounds, a chapel, beautiful art, statues of the Lady of Guadalupe....an acre or two of growing vegetables...large wind chimes that occasionally gently made a peaceful sound.

I took no books, no computer, no cell phone....just hung out.  I did not think too hard or try to resolve anything in my head.  I walked around, rested, and prayed by listening.  No words.  I walked the labyrinth and around the grounds, and sat on a swing couch outside and watched the clouds roll by and soaked up the sun.

I listened....just listened....and did nothing but rest in the beauty that surrounded me.

It was great. 

Everyone needs a quiet day now and then.

Coming Home from Deployment...

So, what do you write about AFTER the big adventure?  After you come home from "the edge of the earth"?  

Coming home.  Being back at home.  What is it like when you come home from a long overseas deployment?

The plane ride home is always tough...even when you get to fly in a nice commercial jet...those long flights around the world just take so much energy out of you.

Coming home is always so good.  You play it in your mind over and over when you are away, what it will be like when you come home.  And when you reach for your house keys that you have not used or seen in so long to open your front door of your house, it is so great.  As for me, two anxious little dogs were waiting for me once inside and they gave me a very big welcome!

Once in my house, and family has left, I sit there.  Dazed.  I made it home.  Home sweet home.   

Last year when I came home from my deployment to SW Asia my family had put some food in the fridge for me...but not this time.   No food in the 'fridge, or the kitchen.  Nothing.  So in spite of how tired I was, I went to the grocery store and bought some food.  Then home, and sleep...and sleep...and sleep.  

The next four or five days is a flurry of unpacking, doing tons of laundry, cleaning the house, opening months of mail, emailing and calling friends and family, and paying bills.

The hard part about coming home is getting back into "the world" again and finding your place again.  Strange as it may sound, it is a bit scary to see everyone again for the first time.  Last year when I came back from SW Asia, it was very difficult for me to 'make my appearance'.  So tired, so, so, something.  In my mind it was still 5 months ago here....but for everyone here at home, it is now.  

This time it was not so bad, I was gone only about 3 months.  One of my co-workers down in Antarctica said the hard thing about being deployed is that while away you become less and less relevant to the people back home.  Meaning, they learn to get things done without you.  Life goes on.  

The dust is still settling here in my house.  I am still not totally ....uh...I am not sure what word to use...not yet something.

It takes more than a plane ride home...to come home from a deployment.

Bye bye Antarctica!

Flying out on a C-130 "Hercules"

Yesterday I flew out of Antarctica in a C-130 (see photo), to Christchurch, New Zealand.  It was an 8 hour flight, and very loud!

Coffee House - Wine Bar

My last night there we had a get together - send off at McMurdo Station's little "Coffee House - Wine Bar".  It is (was) my favorite place to go and relax and socialize during my tour.  It is very cozy, and was actually the old Navy Officer's Club in a quanset / Jamesway hut originally built in the 1950s when the US Navy built McMurdo Station.  The place has sleds and other Antarctica memorabilia hanging on the walls and rounded ceilings.  This was the place where I was pinned / promoted to Lt Col when I first arrived here in September.   Many people stopped in to say goodbye.   It was a really nice send off.

I never did make it to the South Pole, really bad weather canceled all flights this last week, and that was that. 

It has been a most incredible tour, great ministry, amazing people...but I was there only a short time really.  I was able to visit... and experience a world and culture (yes McMurdo has a culture all its own!) that is just so different than any place in the world.  It is absolutely unique.  

See the photo (below) I snapped before I boarded the C-130.  We were on the ice runway, on the frozen ocean!  I am looking at Mt Erebus, an active volcano, not too far from McMurdo Station.  When I first saw it, it had smoke coming out of the top!  It is the word's most southern active volcano, and is over 12,000 ft high.

Mt. Erebus from the Ice runway

Notice how white, frozen and desolate the place looks.  BUT...as we know, things are never the way they may first appear.   It may look like frozen wasteland devoid of life...but  In Antarctica all the life, (well 99% of it anyway) is beneath the ice.  Vivid colors, plants, animals are under the Ice.  Things and time seems to move in slow motion because it is so cold...but it is moving.  Ice burgs slowly melt into the frozen sea, glaciers slowly move down valleys...even waves, frozen in time do move.   Starfish move so very slowly, but they do move.  Even the seals and penguins...their food and thus life, is under the ice.

Interesting spiritual thoughts to reflect upon in our own lives.....What life lies 'beneath'?   What is in, or going on in our own lives...but we may not be seeing?  First appearances can be deceiving....

Many people touched my life there in McMurdo.  One man said to me as we talked, telling me of the reactions people gave him back in his home town when he told them he was going to McMurdo Station, Antarctica for 6 months to work.  That "what?" look (you know, that sort of annoyed look people give when they don't understand) and say "Why?"  or "There's nothing down there!"

Oh yes there is!

I had similar responses too.  One response I got was, "What?  People don't go to Antarctica!!

Oh yes they do!!

Yes, I will be processing this experience for many months and many years to come!

Bye bye Antarctica!

The Ice, Science and the Midnight Sun

Walking on the Ice, the frozen ocean, Antarctica!

Today is a warm sunny day (warm spell here, it is 21 degrees F!) so I walked out onto "the Ice", the frozen ocean. 

I have been here in Antarctica now going on seven weeks.  It is much different here now than it was when I first got here.

First of all, the sun now is up 24 / 7.  The sun spirals around in the sky and does not set anymore.  The last sunset here was on Oct 24th.    When I first got here end of September it was also much colder, windier, and the light was more like twilight.  But now it is very bright.  Day and night, it is bright sunlight, the Midnight Sun.

The other big difference is that now there are so many people here, about 1200 or so.  When I first got here,  there were only about 300 or 400 people.  So the pace and activity level is now much more intense!

Sea Urchins at Crary Lab

A starfish in the Crary lab, animals that live under the Ice

They put in a tube  that goes down into the ocean and under the ice so you can climb down in it and see under the water.  Many have seen seals, fish, the divers, etc.  So I climbed down there, about 25 to 30 feet down in a small tube (not for the claustrophobic) that looks like going down into a manhole from the frozen ocean top down into the water under the ice.  It was pretty wild seeing the ice up top and looking at it from underwater!    I saw some teeny tiny fish, but no other wild life.  Darn!  I still have not seen one penguin here!  I have seen a few Skua birds (aggressive seagull like birds) but no penguins or seals.

Piston Bully, vehicle you travel in on the Ice

Tonight I will attend a science lecture at the Crary lab on penguins!  Every week Crary lab has lectures by the scientists who are doing research projects here.  

See the Piston bully, the little red vehicle with tracks, this is one way they travel out on the ice to get to various remote locations to do their research, wherever it may be here in Antarctica.  Other ways of travel are helicopter and C-130s. 

If you would like to read more about the research projects and the science here, go to the United States Antarctic Program website.  Here is the link:  http://www.usap.gov/

McMurdo also has a live webcam, check it out!  Link:  http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm 

I am now winding down my 60 day tour here and preparing for my replacement to arrive tomorrow.  

I am here only a few more days...

A harsh continent...but an incredible community

Chapel of the Snows...backdoor

They call Antarctica the "harsh continent".... and it is.  In every way, this place is harsh...physically, mentally and spiritually. 

Many have lost their lives here, the early and first explorers.... even to this day. 

But still, people come here from all over the world....to explore, to research, to work, to see this place...it is one of the last frontiers on the earth. 

Last week four died in a helicopter crash, they were from the French Station over at Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica.   It impacted many here at McMurdo Station...as we all feel the pain...for the people who live and work here in Antarctica, it is a unique community. 

The people here amaze me.   They work long hours, in this freezing and ever changing weather....in very dangerous conditions doing very dangerous missions.  Plus that, the people here live in dorm rooms, with little or no privacy, with one or two or more roommates and a shared bathroom.  And they WANT to be here!  Not to mention the many who actually go to stay for extended periods out on the Ice and research camps and live in tents, in the freezing cold outdoors! 

Memorial Service

As I mentioned in a previous post, many come here year after year. 

Why do they come here year after year?

Because of the community.   This place is like no other.  A very unique place, and I am not talking about the fact that it is Antarctica.  It is the people, the community.

It is the support people give each other...it is the understanding and camaraderie of the many here who have been many places around the world...living between two worlds... back home wherever that may be and here coming back and forth every year.   For what can we do, what can we say when there is suffering?  Pain.  Loss?

There really is nothing one can do.  Except just be there for each other.   And that is really what it is all about.

Inside Chapel of the Snows - Sunday Services!

During services....

One of the parishners here at Chapel of the Snows snapped some photos of inside the Chapel and during services yesterday...so I thought I would share them with you. 

Every Sunday we hold Protestant Worship services, right after the Catholic mass.   

My first service here was four  Sundays ago, and  I had no lay leaders or musicians.  

Leading worship

I think the work and ministry here is most like being a missionary, or doing a church start.  With the exception, the Chapel building itself was already here!

Being the first Chaplain to arrive for the Antarctic spring - summer season, I had to build the Chapel programs and recruit people to participate from scratch.  (Over the winter here there are no chaplains).

But now we have many people participating in the services, playing music, reading scripture, assisting with Communion, and more.  It is great!  

Usually about 30 people attend the Protestant services now, and about 12 attend the Catholic mass.  The little chapel holds about 50 people max. 

Two musicians arrive early to play!

We now have many musicians and singers, and now we are starting a Choir!  Yay!

Serving Communion

More and more people keep coming to McMurdo almost everyday.  The town is getting packed. And there are still more to arrive!

In the evenings during the week, the Chapel offers Yoga, Meditation services, Adult Education and Spirituality classes, Bahai services, daily Catholic mass, and AA.

Chapel window and altar

It is a beautiful little chapel, has a wonderfully peaceful feel to it.  Many come in alone just to pray or just relax.

This Chapel was built in 1989 by the Navy and is the second one here.  The first chapel here burned down. 

 Communion

Deployment: Living in the Bardo

Outside my office window, Mt Discovery 

What is it like being deployed far away from home for an extended period?    This is difficult to answer, as I have been on three major deployments overseas in my military career, (Panama, The Middle East and now Antarctica) and each of them have been / are, so very different. 

But one does not have to be in the military to experience deployment.  Most of the people here are civilians, and are deployed here  for the entire 6 month Antarctic spring and summer season.  Some, year after year!

One gentleman told me, the first year they come for the adventure.  The second year, the money, the third and years after that, because they no longer fit in with regular society.

I can appreciate that!!   Face it, it is not normal, or regular life being deployed.

Oh it may seem glamorous traveling the world and seeing new places, and yes, it is exciting.  But it is very hard too.

It is hard to leave one’s home, your loved ones, your pets, the comforts of home, your favorite foods, your LIFE.

Yes, you do miss home.  Pangs of it hit from time to time. 

Time, or perception of time too, is different when you are way.  It moves slowly, and at times fast. 

For those of you familiar with Tibetan Buddhism, then you are familiar with the bardo.

The bardo is a transitional state, life in the "in between" the period after death and before rebirth.   

Being deployed is like living in the bardo.

It is the land of the in between.

You left your regular life behind, you are here...living, working, working very hard and long hours.....learning, growing, meeting new people, seeing things you have never seen before and will probably never see again after you leave....it forever changes you.  You wait, and wait, and wait, until you can come home.

But when you get home, it is always different, because now you have been changed by the experience. 

Living in the bardo changes you.

Doing Interfaith Ministry at McMurdo, Antarctica

I know some of you may be wondering what it is like doing ministry, or being a chaplain here at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. 

Chapel of the Snows is interfaith, and serves all faiths.  McMurdo is like a small town.  It is very unlike any typical military deployment, or even any military assignment, because about 90% of the people here are civilians. 

The Air National Guard provides many support personnel, including the Protestant Chaplain for McMurdo Station & South Pole from September through February every year.  The Roman Catholic priests come from New Zealand.

The priests are here for 30 day tours and rotate.  The Protestant Chaplains are here for 60 day tours, so three Protestant chaplains cover the Antarctic six month spring and summer season.
 
I am here for the first phase.  McMurdo is receiving new people almost every day, so the population is currently growing.  We are about 850 people right now.  Soon there will be about 1200 people here. 

There are no chaplains over the winter, but there are lay persons who are winter overs who provide lay leadership and prayer services. 

OK, so what is it like?

Every day the Catholic Chaplain and I start our day meeting in the chapel, and do Morning Prayer together and have coffee. Caffeine and prayer is a great way to start the day!

A Catholic and a Protestant praying together every morning.  Isn't that great?

When I first got here, I had to get many things set up from scratch.  Computer, email, chapel worship supplies, office supplies, make flyers, establish a chapel weekly schedule of events and activities, set up worship services, create flyers for advertising around town, on the TV station, etc. 
 
But the biggest thing is getting out there and meeting the people, getting to know them, and them getting to know you.  So, I go visiting as much as I can.  This has been tough, as the weather has been so cold, wind blowing so hard at times it is difficult to walk from one building to another.

Visiting and talking with people is called “ministry of presence”.  This is the brunt of doing ministry here right now.  Plus counseling, and if there is an emergency or crisis, we are there too.  But right now, as we are still getting to know people and grow the programs here, it is about getting out there and being with the people.

This also entails talking with them at meal times.  The Galley, or Dining Facility is very large and has many round tables.  Every meal I purposely sit with different people, or with someone sitting by themselves.  This way I get to know more people.  They tend to sit in small groups with their co-workers.  So one day I will eat lunch with the fire guys (fire fighters), the next with the supply guys, the next with the medical people, and so forth. 

It also involves juggling different faiths, different cultures, and dealing with people who have a sort of negative view of religion or chaplains.  One day I was visiting in the Crary lab, just walking around saying hello and introducing myself.  Most people are very friendly.  One person blurted out to me, “I am an atheist!”, and turned away.  I said, “Nice to meet you!”

As I walk and visit, many times I will get in good conversations with people, or they will ask if they can meet with me later to talk in private.  So, much ministry as I walk and talk. 

Tomorrow is Sunday, and like most chapels we will have Sunday services.  Roman Catholic at 9:45 am, and Protestant Services, which I lead at 11 am.

Leading the Protestant services in a multi faith environment can be tricky.  There are dozens of denominations, and there is no way I will please them all.  My services are liturgical, so that will not make the Baptists happy.   But I try to involve people, get people to read the scriptures, lead prayers, get musicians to play and share their gifts...and it is amazing how the little community begins to come together!

During the week, three nights a week Yoga classes are led by members of the community here, and the chapel is packed.  They move all the chairs and stretch away! There are also classes we offer during the week, a Baha’i service, as well, AA meets here too.

In three weeks I will go to the Pole (South Pole) to give them a visit and provide services for them.  But more on that later!!

A Hike Around McMurdo

The Antarctic Sun!

Today was a beautiful sunny day and the wind is not blowing so I decided to take a hike around McMurdo Station and over to the Discover Hut.  This is the hut that was built by Robert Scott during the Discovery Expedition here in 1902.  

I layered up just in case, but actually came back sweating!  It was a great little hike.  How I miss being able to walk around freely!!     I guess I am getting a bit stir crazy here.  Now every time the weather is nice here, I will walk outside!

Discovery Hut, built in 1902

I took many photos.  Here they are...Enjoy!

Cross near Discovery Hut

McMurdo!

The Ocean!

View westward from Discovery Hut

The Chalet, the National Science Foundation building

Me in my office, at Chapel of the Snows

The Ice Desert - An Alien Land - Antarctica

McMurdo Station is actually on Ross Island, on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.  Notice, magnetic south pole, is north of us!!

Antarctica has a beauty all its own.  From my office in the chapel here, I have this incredible view, looking southward over the frozen ocean, (the McMurdo Sound and Ross ice shelf) toward the Transantarctic mountains and my favorite mountain, Mt Discovery.  When you can see them, they are quite majestic, especially when the sun is out.

The weather here changes all the time, hour by hour.  There is no such thing as a “sunny day”  or a “cloudy day” here.  The sun does come out, but in an hour it will be cloudy and windy, or snowing.  Later in the day, it maybe sunny again. 

Antarctica is actually a desert, and it is extremely dry here.  It is an ice desert.  It is way more dry here than the American Southwest deserts, or the Arabian desert.  It is the driest place on earth!

You must drink water all the time.  And I mean, ALL THE TIME.  With every meal I drink 4 large glasses of water.  When I get up I drink a liter of water, and in between meals, and before I go to bed.  I must force myself to do this, as I do not get thirsty here.  Most people carry a water bottle with them everywhere they go here.

I have already learned the hard way about dehydration.  Last week I got very fatigued.  Then I got a very bad charlie horse on my back side for a whole day.  And I never get those.  I thought I was drinking enough water, but I was not.  So I upped my water intake, and now I feel better.

This place is inhospitable on all fronts.  Extreme cold, intense wind, no moisture, no plants or trees, no animals, no sounds of birds, no smells except of cold and the diesel trucks and vehicles.  The sounds here are vehicles, helicopters, heaters running, and sometimes the wind whistling and howling.

They say when you go out to the more remote areas, there is no sound at all!

The hills around McMurdo are black, volcanic hills and rock.  The hills that are not covered with snow and ice are black, and have a soot-ish look to them.  In fact, the whole place is devoid of color.  It is mainly black and white here.

The  other day I was walking up the stairs to my dorm building, and happened to look under the building.  Rocks, stones...black and dark reddish, all volcanic.  They looked like moon rocks, iron, or meteorites.  Very alien.  There are no weeds, no grass, no nothing.  No life. 

There is life though.  Right now we just can’t see it.  There is sea life under the frozen ice, and the seals and the penguins are currently in other parts of the continent.  I have not seen any of them as yet .  Sure hope I do!

Yes, this is a very alien place.... with a beauty all its own.    Remote, frozen, foreign.   But it is actually us (humans) that are the aliens here.  Everyone here.... is a foreigner.

Life at McMurdo Station, Not the 9 to 5 Crowd

I have been here now about a week and am learning the culture and meeting many people here. 

What is this place like?  We work 12 hours days, 6 days a week.  Being the chaplain, I do not get Sundays off, so there goes a day off.

We live in dorms, just like the college days.  Some people are doubled up, some dorms are open bay with many beds. 

As I write this, it is the beginning of Spring here, and more and more people are coming in to work the season here.  In February, the vast majority will leave. 

We are 77 degrees south latitude here, and currently 20 hours ahead of you in Arizona  or Pacific time.  So today is Tuesday here, for you it is Monday, but you are 4 hours ahead...but yesterday!


Presently, the sun does set, at about 11 pm, but it does not get dark here.  The sun skims the mountain tops, and rises a few hours later.  It is strange to walk outside at 10 pm, and it is still light outside!   Soon, the sun will be up 24 / 7, and just circle around in the sky.

There are many agencies here, the National Science Foundation, a company called Raytheon, the US Antarctic Program, the USAF, and the Kiwis (New Zealand). 

There is a distinct culture here.   Many of the people here come back, year after year, season after season.  I am one of the rare ones, as this is my first time here.  Most of the people all know each other and have many friends here.

The crowd reminds me of Boulder, Colorado, a bit of Berkeley and Seattle.  There is a mountainy - artsy - adventurist feel to the people here.   The vast majority are civilians working various jobs; scientists, research, support services... Many of them are world travelers.  When not here, they are in Nepal, or going across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, or some other exotic place.

Many have very high educations, graduate degrees, but may be doing the dishes here.    They come for adventure...and to pay off student loans.

It is a close community.  It is like a small mining town in Alaska.  There are no cell phones here, but we do have pagers.  Being that there are no cell phones, people actually talk to each other!!  In person!!  Amazing!

McMurdo has three bars, a small hospital, a chapel, many dorm buildings, 2 ice runways, the science labs, supply, a very small store, a large dining facility (and the food is very good), and many other buildings.  The buildings are not pretty, they have an industrial look. 

Mt Erebus is only a few miles away, and it is an active volcano.  I can see smoke coming out of its top!  So, isn’t that comforting...we live in sub zero weather, land on ice runways, and live on an active volcano!!

There is a distinct vocabulary here.  Here are a few words I have picked up: 

“Winter overs” - the people who stay here over the Antarctic winter (April thru SEP).  It is mostly dark (night) and very cold.  These are hardy souls. 

“Freshies”  - fresh vegetable and fruits.  These are very coveted things, as all fresh veggies must be flown in.  They last only a few days and then run out.    My first 5 days here we had no freshies, no salads, no veggies.  It was rough!  The winter overs have no freshies all winter long!

“The gerbil gym”  there are 3 gyms here at McMurdo, one of them has treadmills, and stationary bikes, called the gerbil gym.

“Win-fly”  - this is when people fly in at first light, in early August.  Usually no planes can come in during the winter due to the extreme cold and weather. 

“Finjee” - a word made up of an acronym FNG.  It means (expletive) new guy.

“Skua”  - skua means things that are stolen, taken or found or salvaged.  It is from the Skua birds that come in later, aggressive seagulls who snatch the food from your hand as you walk out of the dining hall.  So if you get something stolen, it is “skua’d”, or you just got "skua'd"!

More later!!

Pinning Ceremony, Promotion to Lt Col, McMurdo Style!

For many months I have been waiting for the federal recognition, as it is called to come through on my promotion to Lt Col.  Months have gone by, there have been a few bureaucratic errors, more waiting.  I wondered if I ever was going to get federal rec! 

I tried to visualize getting pinned in my blues, but it wasn't clicking.  Now I know why!!

The other day, I received the news my federal recognition finally came through.  And here I am in Antarctica!

So we decided to do a promotion pinning, McMurdo style!!  In the bar!

I wore my chaplain shirt (it is actually a rugby jersey I am told), as this is my uniform here.  As the commander read the orders, I was pinned, we had wine, and then we went outside to do the oath of office, as a flag must be visible to do this!  And one was over the building two or three buildings over.

It was a great little ceremony.  Unique, unusual, and well worth the wait!

God is always full of surprises! 

Down to McMurdo Station

Inside C-17, helicopter in background

The trip down to Antarctica went smoothly.  We all showed up at the Antarctica Center at Christchurch airport early in the morning.  The commander and I had a quick breakfast and coffee before we boarded the giant C-17 US Air Force aircraft.

Interestingly on this tour, I will not wear a USAF Chaplain uniform.  This is because I am to support the civilian population here too, and they want me to seem more accessible to all the people.  So the New Zealander’s made me a special shirt for us chaplains to wear here.

Most of the passengers were civilians going down for the season (the Spring and Summer of Antarctica) and work for a company called Raytheon.

It was a fully packed flight.  Full of people and cargo, even a helicopter!!   I wondered if the people would want a prayer before we took off, but did not want to force it on them.  I asked the commander, he said it usually was not done.  So, as usual when I fly, I prayed silently before take off.

We could not see out, as the cargo bay has no windows.  In the middle of the cargo bay were seats, like an airline plane has, and people also sat on the side along the fuselage. 

The flight down was about 5 hours.  About 30 minutes before we landed everyone started putting on their extreme cold weather gear. We landed on an ice runway called Pegasus, about 20 miles out to sea, frozen sea that is!  

I put on all my gear and braced for landing and the cold air as I exited the plane.  When I walked down the stairs,  a cold blast wave hit my face.  The hairs in my nostrils promptly froze.   I lugged my bags across the ice to a giant bus with wheels larger than you have ever seen, and we were taken to McMurdo and in processed. 

McMurdo Station looks like a little town on a hillside.  It actually reminds me of a mining town, but has a college feel to it.  There are dorm buildings, a dining facility, a small store, a couple of bars, labs for research, a small hospital, three gyms, a chapel, many buildings....  I still have yet to explore it all. 

The Erebus Chalice Ceremony, Christchurch, New Zealand

Dean Beck, Fr. Dan and me with the Erebus Chalice

A few days ago I flew to New Zealand.  This morning (Sunday) was the big Antarctica service at the Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch, NZ. 

The Cathedral is absolutely beautiful, very old and gothic looking.  It stands in the middle of a large traffic circle.  I was met by Fr. Dan, a Roman Catholic priest who has been down to the Ice many times.  We then met Dean Beck, and the ceremony / service began.  The Mayor of Christchurch was there, the American Ambassador, many military people, many New Zealanders who were also about to head down to the Ice, many who have been there, and a host of others.   

In the middle of the service, during a scripture reading we were jolted by an earthquake tremor, it was quite noticeable!  These tremors have been happening all through the day and night since the big earthquake here a few weeks ago. 

I was then called up by the Dean and he handed me the Erebus Chalice.  I said a few words.  This is a paraphrase of what I said....

“It is a great honor and privilege to be here today and receive the famous Erebus Chalice!
Now, this is no ordinary chalice!  It has been going back and forth from the Cathedral here in Christchurch, New Zealand and Antarctica for many years.  There are many wonderful stories and legends surrounding the history of this Chalice.
The chalice is a symbol of sharing, it is the common cup that we share in the Eucharist.  It is also a symbol of unity, for all the people who have served in Antarctica.  
For over 50 years now, New Zealand has supplied the Roman Catholic Priests, and the US military has always supplied the Protestant Chaplains to minister to the people of Antarctica.
I am from Phoenix, Arizona…..and there is a bit of a temperature differential!!  This Tuesday at zero dark thirty I fly down to McMurdo Station, my first time going down there, and I will post this chalice in the Chapel of the Snows…where it will stay all season, and then return here end of summer. 
What a privilege it is to serve God in this way, and all God’s people ….to the ends of the earth!”  
 
After the service, we processed out, and the people came by and wanted to see the Chalice, as well, many wished me well.  

New Zealanders are a very friendly people!!  And the city, a very beautiful place on our planet earth.


Next stop....Antarctica!

The Comfort of My Own Time Zone

Just drove across two states (one very large state, Texas) to get back home.  It took 2 days of driving.    Yes, a very long drive!

Whenever I come home from a trip, it always feels so good not only to come home, (in place) but be back in my own time zone.  

At least for now.  A few days.   For in a few days...I am off to New Zealand and then Antarctica.

Have you ever felt the comfort of your own time zone?  Traveling is great.  But it is always so great to come home.

Whenever I go east, 2 or 3 time zones ahead, I have to adapt quickly, because I lose 2 or 3 hours of time.  It is difficult, to get up at my time 2 or 3 am!

When I deployed last year, it was 11 time zones ahead, that was 11 hours ahead of my home time zone.  I called it, "the place where tomorrow is today”.  For as we were about to go to dinner, everyone back home was just beginning their day.  At about 6 pm in the evening our time, I would see my emails beginning to be answered , as back home it was morning for them, and they were just waking up!

Time changing all those time zones was hard to adjust.  But I did it.  It took about a week to ten days to adapt. 

New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica are 19 hours ahead of my home time zone. 

I have never traveled that far before, in time or place!  What I am about to do?   What am I getting into?   It will be 20 degrees below down there!  Uh!

Every time I have traveled overseas, it is like going into an alternate state of consciousness. 

We enter this tube of time travel that flies for many many hours.    Crammed in our seats we sit, enduring the hours sitting there.  After awhile, is it day or is it night?  

Time travel is quite hard on the body.    Sleep deprivation, uncomfortable sitting for way too many hours in that plane.  And than you land in this place that is so different than home and way off your usual time.

But you do it.    You do it because there is no other choice!  And...it is a new adventure!

Whenever I am about to leave and step into the unknown, and travel to a new far away place and time, I brace for it. I am excited, but I brace for what I am about to endure to get there.    The pain, the wait, the time change.   The tube of time travel. 

And before I leave for this deployment in a couple of days...I rest and enjoy the comfort...of my own time zone.

Operation Deep Freeze! Ahhh, Springtime in Antarctica!

Ok, so it has begun!  The reason I started this blog last July, was that I knew I was being deployed to Antarctica.    A chaplain friend of mine said, ‘wow, you are going to the ends of the earth!!’   And this blog was born...except I titled it “edge of the earth”. 

No one country owns Antarctica, and no human is from there.  It is the coldest, most pristine and remote place on earth. 

I thought I was deploying in December....but yesterday...I received a phone call.   And now, I am “spinning up” as the military calls it  (getting ready)  to deploy (head out) very, very soon!!


When things change, they REALLY change!!  And fast!

So how does one “get ready” to deploy?  Well, each deployment is different.  Last year I deployed to SW Asia, and that as we all know is a war mission.  This  deployment is not a war mission. 

There is much information on the Internet about it.  It is called “Operation Deep Freeze”.  It is mainly a science mission, research, weather, and other interesting things.    Many countries send their people down there every Antarctic spring and summer.  And it is about to be spring time in Antarctica!  Opposite of the northern hemisphere.  It will be daylight 24/7 while I am down there!

McMurdo Station, Antarctica is the main place where I will be, at the Chapel of the Snows.  Yes, there is an Interfaith Chapel there!  I will also visit the South Pole, weather permitting.    

I will be one of the two chaplains there, along with a civilian Roman Catholic priest chaplain from New Zealand, a "kiwi priest" as they are called.  

OK, so I am spinning up.  Jumping through hoops, filling out forms, getting orders, plane tickets, coordinating logistics, travel, doing last minute trainings, medical things, awaiting orders, etc.   All this not to mention the massive amount of personal business I need to take care of before I go.

In many ways, the military is like being with fire department.  When the alarm goes off, you react...and quickly.   It is a topsy turvy life, always going here and there.  At moments notice...to far away places.  No sense of “normalcy”. 

But it is exciting too.  This is no regular job for sure.  I guess I must admit, I like the adrenaline rush!!  Maybe that is why I like very strong coffee!

I have been in now over twenty years.  How have I done it?  Caffeine, prayer, and a sense of humor.    Lots and lots of prayer, and lots of coffee.  And being able to laugh at the absurdities of life.

I will be posting more, as I live out this new adventure....

The Secret to Happiness and Inner Peace: A TV Hiatus!

Last week I drove across two states, one state being as the Internet notates, “slightly larger than the country of Iraq”.  Yes, that was a long drive!! 

I am here in Texas for a short military tour.  So, over this Labor Day weekend,  being that I am on orders, and the base is closed (and it is not like I know many people here to hang out with on a day off anyway) I am doing some research here in my hotel room.  Among many books and resources that I am reviewing for my project on creating a suicide prevention program for my unit, one book I am reading is on Anger Management. 

There was an interesting excerpt from the book that caught my eye.  The author told a story of when he was traveling and stopped to eat at a diner in a small town.  He began talking to the waitress, and happened to mention the name of a television personality.  The waitress responded, “I am sorry I do not know who that is.”  The author explained the person was a famous TV personality.    To which the waitress replied,  “But I never watch TV.  Haven’t in 20 years or so!” 

The waitress explained that she had had depression, and that her doctor advised her to stop watching TV, especially the news.  So she stopped watching TV, and she felt much better.  And so..... she just kept NOT watching TV!  And has felt fine ever since!

Wow!

The anger management book recommend a taking a TV news  break, especially from cable news, as these channels tend to polarize things and present things to incite emotion and anger.  If you must watch the news he says, watch your local news instead.  

Interesting.

In my hotel room, I looked at the large flat screen TV on the wall.  I decided not to turn it on.  Nothing on usually but ‘bad cinema’ and junk anyway!

I was never really a TV person or a couch potato.  There was always something I rather be doing; hiking, swimming, playing my bass or guitar, tinkering on my computer,  gardening,  reading or something!   

But last year, after I returned from my deployment to SW Asia, I was just so tired...I was exhausted.   It seemed all I wanted to do was relax... and watch TV. 

And I began to watch TV.    I have made some observations. 

Most TV shows today are crime dramas, and many TV shows are very disturbing.  And I am not just talking about violence, or how they show cut up corpses on the autopsy table, body parts, blood, crime scenes, or the bullet entering a body at the microscopic level. 

I am talking about the content, or stories of these TV shows.  Absolutely disturbing.  If you are reading this and have watched TV lately, I am sure you know what I mean.

The past year, many times the last image or thing I see before I go to bed or fall into sleep is something about crime, murder, suicide, mass killing, body parts, rape, atrocities, or some heinous or disturbing topic. 

Not good!

As for the commercials, have you noticed that most seem to be for prescription drugs?  If we don’t feel there is something wrong with us, it seems those prescription drug companies do their best at least to try and make us think so, and here is their drug to cure us!!  Just ask your doctor to give it to you!

There also seem to be way more commercials than ever before.  Remember when TV shows that lasted an hour were really about 50 minutes of show, and ten minutes of commercials?  Not so anymore.  Especially on the cable channels.

So, I began to realize why I have been feeling so edgy lately.  So, I decided to take a TV hiatus. 

Yep,  no TV!!  At least for awhile anyway.

But TV is not easily escaped.    It is everywhere...in the lobby of my hotel and it is on all the time!  They are in the gym, all over the place hanging down from the ceiling...loud and intrusive....they are in the dining halls on every base....obnoxious cable news channels blasting in your face.    When I was deployed, I could never eat a meal in peace.

And we wonder why we may need anger management?

On another note, is how much time TV takes from our lives.  One lady I know, a teacher, earned her PhD while working full time.  I asked her, “How on earth did you do it?  Find the time, that is?”   She replied, “I don’t watch TV!”  (And she was not kidding either!)

It has been 4 days now.  And I have not watched any TV.    It has been amazing how many things I have the energy to do!   And it has only been 4 days!    I already feel more peaceful, quiet.   I am playing my guitar again!!  Reading much more.  Walking.  Site seeing.   Meditating, praying....and getting so many things done!

Who knows.. I may just not turn on that TV again for a long while!