B _CLOAKING
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News

CAMPBELLTOWN — South Londonderry Township supervisors have approved a police-chaplain policy and accepted the volunteer services of a local minister.

The Rev. Dan Travis, pastor of Palmyra Grace Brethren Church, Airport Road, offered his services to the police department.

Township manager Thomas Ernharth said last year the police department sent a letter to residents looking for volunteers to help with some police functions. The 55-year-old Travis was the only one who responded. Police Chief Jeffrey Arnold and Ernharth developed a policy to set the chaplain’s appointment and duties.
Travis said he has been pastor of the local church for the past two years.

“One of the things I always wanted to do is to find a way to integrate into the community. It’s one way for me to get to know the area and the people in need at the same time,” he said.

Travis said he has experience as a chaplain at a college and has been involved with planning boards in other states.
In a letter to the township, he said his two great passions are teaching the Scriptures and leading tours to the Holy Land. He described part of his role as police chaplain to help people who are going through traumatic situations and to help police officers with any issues they may have.

He said he hopes to make a difference in the community, and through Scripture, give people hope for the future.
“Integration into the community is the key for me,” he added.

Travis has been a pastor for 22 years and has lived in Iowa, California and Georgia. He and his wife, Joanne, have two grown children and moved here in the fall of 2005.

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TPCRC Newswire

By _CLOAKING
Herald Writer

Arlington, -- The aromas of halibut in cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes drew Capt. Scott Hillis into the kitchen at Fire Station 46 for a taste test.

On a recent Monday evening, was cooking supper for the B shift firefighters at the station, and Hillis and his crew were eagerly waiting for the call to come to the table.

Penny is the leader of Support 46, a group of seven volunteer chaplains who work alongside north Snohomish County fire crews, emergency medical technicians and police. Support 46 helps the victims of house fires, car accidents and other disasters.

Cooking at the fire station isn't part of the expected duties of a chaplain. Being part of the dinner rotation with the B shift is simply a matter of sharing a friendship with the crew.

"Kelly is awesome, and we can't say enough good things about her. We get out there to save lives and she comes in to help the families," Hillis said. "And she's there for us to talk to when our work gets tough, when a child doesn't make it."

The community relations manager at Cascade Valley Hospital, Penny, 35, has volunteered with Support 46 for about three years.

TPCRC Newswire 

By STEVE LANNEN - McClatchy Newspapers

Source: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq --
In a place where everyone is armed, all he carries is a camouflage Bible.

Five years into the war, this is s first tour in Iraq.

At 44, Hamlin is old enough to be the father of many of the soldiers he ministers to. The lanky man wears oval glasses and his black hair is high and tight.

Hamlin is in Baghdad, part of the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., attached to the 716th Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade.

He is still in the early stages of his own 15-month deployment, which had him and his battalion in Kuwait for Christmas. He readily admits he would rather be at home in Flaherty, Ky., with his wife, Pam, two sons, a daughter and golden Labrador retriever. "I have 11 months, 25 days to go."

The Army chaplain was very familiar with this war and its results before he got to Baghdad. From 2004 to 2006, he was posted at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, where he officiated at services and ministered to the families of soldiers who'd been killed in action.

The Minister’s son asked…

“Dad, I’m having a difficult time believing in a God who would allow so much pain, suffering and injustice in the world. I just don’t get it. It almost seems like a cruel joke. If there really is a God, why didn’t he make a world without all this evil”?

The dad answers, “Son, do you love me”? “Sure Dad, but what does that have to do with this,” the son replies? “I understand, but do you really truly love me,” Dad continued? “Yea, but what’s your point,” the son says with a bit of frustration?

“The point is Son, your love for me is something that has been growing in you since you were an infant. Your mother and I have nurtured and cared for you all the days of your life. Your love for your parents is something that you choose to actualize. Sure, we have not always been perfect parents, but if we had been cruel and evil you would not have the same feelings you have for us today. If I was a cruel parent could I force you to love me”? “Not hardly’” the son replied.