Clergy Day brings together Travis, community religious leaders

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Base chapel services hosted religious leaders from the community for a Clergy Day May 18 at Travis Air Force Base, California.

 

The purpose of the event was to inform and educate leaders from off-base religious services from a variety of faiths about life at Travis, particularly for children and young Airmen in their teens and early 20s.

 

Chaplain (Capt.) Philip Smith, 60th Air Mobility Wing chapel services, said approximately 20 pastors from the community attended the four-hour event. He said it’s important to engage local religious figures as Travis Airmen and their families may not reach out for spiritual guidance from the base’s services alone.

 

“Even if our services were completely packed, there would still be people that we would be missing or that would go elsewhere,” said Smith. “As long as you’re getting fed spiritually and your family is being taken care of in that manner, how can we help?”

 

The visit included stops at The Peak, a facility near the Travis dorms with coffee, snacks, games and Internet access that fosters seeks to improve the lives of Airmen through a ministry environment. The Peak’s foot traffic is largely young, single Airmen who live in the dorms. The visiting leaders also visited the base’s two religious facilities, the First Street Chapel and the Twin Peaks Chapel.

 

Among those on the tour was Pastor John Butcher Sr. from The Building Christian Fellowship in Suisun City, California, located less than seven miles from the base’s main gate.

 

Butcher said he hadn’t thought of the need to connect with leadership at Travis.

 

“I didn’t realize the need for the civilian sector to actually link up with the military side to minister to some of these Airmen that we have out there,” said Butcher. “I thought they had it pretty much covered.”

 

Butcher, who served in the Army for six years, said off-base religious leaders such as himself need to understand the distinct spiritual and emotional needs of Airmen and their families.

 

“A lot of pastors don’t realize the very special care that you have to give to these individuals,” said Butcher. “I understand deployment. I understand the stress on families left behind, of mothers left to help family with children, and vice versa for fathers. I understand better being in the middle of it.”

 

Although the day was geared toward young Airmen, Pastor Charles A. Brown from St. Mark’s Community Church in Vallejo, California, said that because his church is more than 20 miles from Travis, the members of his congregation with military ties are often Sailors who finished their service at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1996, and their families.

 

Brown said although he had visited Travis before, this Clergy Day made him better attuned to the needs of Airmen and their loved ones.

 

“The first few times was more about exposure to the base, to leadership on base, but this time was more substantive,” said Brown. “This was a chance to follow up and see the impact of the Airmen on base.”

 

Clergy Day is a recurring event Travis religious leaders host. Smith said that while the nature of military service is transitory, off-base leaders would be wise to be inclusive and inviting of Airmen.

 

“You have an incredible work force, an incredible volunteer base — don’t be afraid to utilize them,” said Smith. “Don’t just look at them as transitory. Look at them as someone who can add incredible depth and energy … to your community while they’re here.”

 

Butcher said that whether people attend services on-base, off-base or not at all, building a sense of community is paramount.

 

“Airmen should never feel alone,” said Butcher. “I would love for people to understand that church isn’t always about quote church quote. … Whether you believe in the Bible, the Quran, whatever it is, there’s a sense of community available on- and off-base.”