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| Spiritual Maintenance, Luke AFB 2004 |
The first three years of my eight years assigned at Luke AFB, I served as a reservist working with the active duty Air Force, the 56th Fighter Wing.
Luke AFB, by the way is a training base for fighter pilots.
The wing's Maintenance Group had a number of crises, and the chaplains felt that more presence in the maintenance areas would be a good idea. The commanders liked the idea, and the "Spiritual Maintenance" section was born!
A large couple of rooms in one of the maintenance hangars were given to the Chaplains. They were soon transformed from storage rooms full of junk into an oasis for airmen, kind of like a "USO".
"Spiritual Maintenance" was a welcoming environment with big comfy couches, free goodies, freshly baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, a wide screen TV, fresh coffee, cold waters and drinks, popsicles.... and air conditioning. Yes, those hangars and working outside on the flight line were awfully hot in the summer! And oh yes, the chaplains office was right off to the side!
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| Maintenance hangar for the F-16s, Luke AFB |
"Spiritual Maintenance" was a huge success. In fact, it became a model for other bases to emulate.
I loved being out there. I say 'out there' because this was on the far side of the base from the offices, medical clinics, the dining facilities, the BX, Commissary, dorms and housing, the gym and sports fields, etc. It might seem like all I did was hang out, visit, chit chat with the airmen, make coffee and batches of fresh cookies in the little Otis Spunkmeyer oven, and walk around the hangars and flight line...but a lot of ministry was done "out there"!
Another edge of the earth!
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| On an FTX (field training exercise) at Gila Bend! |
Most will not go across the base to the Chapel to see a chaplain when they are distressed or in need.
But if you (the chaplain) are always around, and in their world... you become part of their world....
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