Posted by Rev. David on November 11, 2012
(Part 1 of Sermon “Trauma and Transformation” with the Rev. Jan Christian at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura on Sunday, November 11th, 2012) When I came home from Bosnia, a VA psychologist gave me two books to read… books that have since become part of what I think of as scripture. At first, I [...]
Categories: Military, Veterans
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Tags: Homer, I, Military, military chaplain, soldier, transformation, trauma, UU Military
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Posted by Rev. David on August 27, 2012
It has now been over 2 years since I was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist Minister, and each of those years I have spent in more than full time ministry as a minister in our congregations, as well as a reserve military chaplain. Prior to that was a little over 5 years of ministerial preparation, [...]
Categories: ecclesiology, Ministry, Pastoral Care, Turnings
| Tags: change, David Pyle, liberal faith, military chaplain, Ministry, ordination, past, relationship, religion, responsibility, soldier, tranformation, transition
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Posted by Rev. David on May 17, 2012
I have received multiple requests for copies of the homily that I presented at the UUA Pacific Southwest District Assembly this year, and instead of continuing to email it out, I thought I would publish it here at Celestial Lands. The task was to reflect on what “Beyond Borders” meant to me and my ministry”. [...]
Categories: Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, UU Movement, Veterans
| Tags: beloved community, chaplain, liberal faith, Military, military bridgebuilder program, military chaplain, Ministry, radical hospitality, responsibility, soldier, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU Principles, UUA, war, welcoming
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Posted by Rev. David on February 14, 2012
I remember something that my Drill Sergeant said to me, my first day of Basic Training some 20 years ago, when I was an 18 year old private at Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri. We were all in one of our first formations, and he asked us if any of us would like to take a [...]
Categories: Equality, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Prophetic Voice, Religious Freedom
| Tags: Alliance Defense Fund, chaplain, chaplain religious freedom, Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty, David Pyle, election, Equality, Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, free exercise of religion, Military, military chaplain, military religion, military religious freedom, Ministry, politics, Prophetic Voice, religion, Religious Freedom, responsibility, soldier, Unitarian Universalist, Universalist, UU, UU Military
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Posted by Rev. David on January 16, 2012
Last week, a video surfaced on the internet that shows several young U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Immediately, there were calls for an investigation. World leaders talked of their disgust. U.S. Military leaders promised that they would get to the bottom of the story, and would punish those [...]
Categories: Military, politics
| Tags: cape, center for the army profession and ethics, chaplain, enemy remains, marines pee on taliban, Military, military chaplain, military decion making, military ethics, military professionalism, militay morality, politics, professionalism, responsibility, soldier, soldiers pee on taliban, strategic corporal, teaching ethics, U.S. Army, UU Military
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Posted by Rev. David on December 5, 2011
Unitarian Universalists are almost always surprised when they see me wearing the Christian Cross on my Army Chaplain uniform. Perhaps they should not be, given the Christian ancestry of our two founding denominations, but they are. Reactions have ranged from mild curiosity to outrage to some deep pastoral need. On several occasions, those reactions have [...]
Categories: ecclesiology, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, UU Movement
| Tags: chalice, chaplain, chaplain symbol, Christian, cross, David Pyle, faith, flaming chalice, Jesus, liberal, liberal faith, Military, military chaplain symbol, Ministry, religion, soldier, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, uu chapalin, UU Military
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Posted by Rev. David on October 31, 2011
This week, I received an email from an organization I track, known as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. It is an organization that advocates both legally and in the media, for the protection of the Free Exercise of Religion in the military, often with more passion than restraint. Yet, over the last few years that [...]
Categories: Evangelism, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, Religious Freedom
| Tags: air force chaplain, are military chaplains constitutional, army chapalin, bad chapalin award, bad chaplain, chaplain, chaplain corps, constituion, constitutionality, Evangelism, faith, katkoff v. marsh, Military, military chaplain, military religious freedom, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Ministry, MRFF, navy chaplain, religion, Religious Freedom, responsibility, soldier, UU Military, war
| 38 comments
Posted by Rev. David on October 17, 2011
In the fall of 2011 I was honored to attend the first ever OutServe Leadership Conference. This was the first time for this organization of LGB persons actively serving in the military to gather publicly, since such public gatherings and recognition was made possible by the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass, Don’t [...]
Categories: Equality, Faith, liberal faith, Military, Military Chaplaincy, Ministry, Pastoral Care, Religious Freedom, Social Engagement
| Tags: activism, bi-sexual, chaplain, David Pyle, Equality, Evangelism, faith, Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, gay, GLBT, hope, justice, Las Vegas, lesbian, LGB, lgbt, liberal, liberal faith, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, Outserve, politics, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, responsibility, Service Members Legal Defense Network, SLDN, soldier, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU Principles
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Posted by Rev. David on September 20, 2011
It may not be something that is in the minds of most of the public, but today, September 20th, has been a date on my mind for these last two months. It is a day long hoped for, long worked for, and dreamed of by many. It is a day when thousands of military service [...]
Categories: liberal faith, Military, Ministry, Patriotism, politics, Social Engagement
| Tags: activism, chaplain, DADT, David Pyle, Don't Ask, don't harass, don't pursue, Don't Tell, gay, gay military, GLB, GLBT activist, justice, LGB, lgbt, liberal, liberalism, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, Obama, Outserve, politics, responsibility, September 20th, soldier, UU Military, UU Principles, war
| 5 comments
Posted by Rev. David on July 11, 2011
I was determined to give myself a gift at the end of 5 years of seminary, church internship, military chaplain basic training, hospital internship and hospice residency… and I did not know what I wanted. Could I be craving a vacation on a beach in the Caribbean? Well, always… but I doubt I will ever [...]
Categories: Inspiration, Military, Turnings
| Tags: av's, Bosnia, chaplain, colorado avalanche, David Pyle, David Weber, gift, hockey, honor, Honor Harrington, Honorverse, internship, Jim Baen, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, red wings, religion, residency, sci fi, science fiction, seminary, soldier, Spiritual Practice, theology, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU Military, UU Principles, war
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