From: Rev. Eric J. Stefanski Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2002 3:31 PM To: cat41@cox-internet.com Subject: Fwd: CLIMB: Chaplain's Field Report Cleveland 12/3/01 ---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ---------------- Date: 12/3/2001 5:37 PM Received: 12/3/2001 6:30 PM From: Barb Kavouras, kavouras@multiverse.com To: Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness, CLiMB@CAT41.org Barb K Cleveland kavouras@multiverse.com Chaplain's Field Report Cleveland, Ohio December 3, 2001 Dear Friends, If I were to entitle this report, it could be called "the beat goes on" because that's exactly what's happening with me - as it is with you I'm sure. Each of us must live our lives, clean our houses, pay our bills, get ready for Christmas etc. I wanted to keep in touch and let you know what goes on daily in my chaplaincy work. One important thing that has not gone on is to formally acknowledge the tremendous support you have all given me with your financial assistance, your words of encouragement and most importantly your prayers. A door has been opened wide to preach the Gospel of Christ and give the encouragement and wisdom of God's Word to some very special people - our safety forces. It appears that our national fervor for God and country might be fading a bit since 9/11, but it still seems that there are two people that we want to have very near these days: the fireman and the policeman. We must be eternally grateful to them and to our Lord who has given them to us, for they have done more than you will ever know to unravel what has happened and to prevent more of the same. As ugly as it can ever get on earth - they have gone there for us; they have done for us what we could never have accomplished for ourselves. And they continue to do it even as we speak. This makes my lack for formal thank-you letters all the more lamentable. If/when the other shoe(s) drops, I will be bold enough and helpless enough to call on you again for more of your self-less support so that these blessed heroes can receive the courage, willingness and God-given strength to offer even more of themselves to us all. So thank you for your understanding, and if you request it, we can supply you with a tax deductible receipt for your donations to the work. Since returning from NYC in mid October, besides the many new demands that domestic war has put on me, I've also carried out my normal duties. In early November I spent the day in Federal court with some of my agents who were prosecuting a child sex predator. This is a case which had been developed for over a year and was due to come to trial this September. Though the attacks delayed it - for virtually every agent's attention was turned to national security - law and order must still be maintained even in times of war. The pressures to present a coherent and effective case at a time like this, against such a craven criminal as this, were beyond imagination. But the good guys won, as the 57 year old defendant was convicted on all four counts of the indictment, and will spend many years behind bars where he can no longer harm young teen-age girls. The chaplain's presence and his prayers with these agents, seemed to encourage them greatly for not only were they dealing with an oily character, but they had spent many hours compiling evidence, pictures and tapes of the most lurid sexual behavior one can imagine. Coincidentally, just this past week I did similar duty on the local level for a Cleveland police officer. He had arrested a man several months ago for crimes against a step-daughter which I need not repeat here. Suffice it to say that not only did the man show no remorse, but he seemed proud of his crimes and held his step-daughter in contempt. Try being the policeman on *that* case, and see how long you could maintain your professionalism. In both of these cases, I spoke to the people about the blood of Christ which *purifies* us from every sin, and restores us to the original innocence and perfect fellowship we had with God before sin entered the world. In so doing, I found verse three of the hymn "Hark the Glad Sound" to be a powerful tool. This excellent stanza proclaims what the Savior would accomplish by coming to earth and shedding His sacred blood for our sins. "He comes, from thickest films of vice, to clear the mental ray; and on the eyeballs of the blind to pour celestial day." Besides these more dramatic cases there is the everyday work: visiting injured firemen (many burns, bruises, punctures, strains etc.) and policemen who sustain relatively minor injuries, but which none-the-less are un-nerving to both the personnel and their families. They entail pain, time off from work, medicine, treatments, doctors' visits, paperwork and too often chronic problems in later years. There are also ongoing matters; there are people I've visited for many months or even years. One seriously injured officer comes to mind. He had to jump off a freeway overpass to the road below, in order to save his life from an oncoming car which was driving in the berm instead of the lane. Though this happened nearly two years ago, he is still off work, has had many surgeries and may never fully recover. If you ever get tired of working, or take your health for granted, try sitting for two years. There are also two police widows, young mothers with small children, who along with their husbands, have made the ultimate sacrifice. While everyone seems to forget about these folks after a few months or a year, they still need the comfort of Christ; it seems to mean so much more coming from the chaplain. There are many others I stay in contact with as well. Those who've lost children, parents, spouses. It might be a brief phone call, a cup of coffee at their kitchen table, a beer at the pub, a personal visit to their fire station or police car, an emailed sermon or note of encouragement. No drama. No glory. Just the milk of human kindness delivered by the Christian pastor; and always the Word of God's love for them in Christ, and a reminder of the heaven which we will inherit by virtue of our connection to the Savior made when we were baptized into His name. I also spent one week in Quantico, Virginia at the FBI National Training Academy. It was an in-service for all FBI chaplains and a wonderful opportunity to meet and compare notes. We spent one of those days in Washington at FBI-HQ, met with Director Robert Mueller and had a chance to ask him questions. We spent another session dissecting our experiences from the Pentagon, NYC and Somerset sites. This too brought new stories to light and made us all better equipped for next time. It was an excellent event which helped us and which served to make the program stronger. This is good for everyone concerned. Among other benefits, I heard a theme from one of the chaplains which well describes our work: To protect and serve those who protect and serve. That' s what safety chaplains do. By the mighty Word of God, and the glorious and eternal promises it gives in Christ, we protect these protectors from sin, death and the devil. We give them the imperishable words of eternal life, when everything around them spells out in vivid detail how temporary and frail human life is in this sinful world. We are there to serve them and their families, and to help them know (or regain) peace, sanity and security in this amazing adventure known as law enforcement and the fire service. In closing I'll relate one final story which again illustrates how vital the safety forces consider their chaplains. One of my fellow FBI chaplains was standing in the pit at ground zero when a Battalion Chief approached him and asked, "Chaplain, are you going to be here very long?". The chaplain, thinking he might be in the way said, "did you want me to move?". The chief said "No, just stay exactly where you are and don't move. We just want to be able to see you while we're working and know that you're here with us." I leave you with the words of Solomon from Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." Rev. Dean Kavouras, Chaplain Cleveland Safety Forces FBI, Cleveland chap7953@multiverse.com + + + Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness + + + The CLIMB e-letter brings you unedited, uncut reports directly from the mission field, whether in South America, Africa, Europe, inner-city, rural, or collegiate America, or military installations and battle sites around the world. It is our contention that those who truly hold to the ~Book of Concord~ as the pure exposition of Holy Scripture and the true confession of the Christian faith are also the most zealous supporters of the preaching of the Gospel in every corner of the world and, as such, ought to be kept thoroughly informed of how those endeavors are faring and shown how they may be rightly carried out without the destruction of orthodox doctrine and practice that some within the pale of Lutheranism now advocate. 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Stefanski + + + Confess And Teach For Unity + + + ----------------- End Forwarded Message ----------------- * * * * * * * * An Approach to Liturgical 'Style' #1 of 28 * * * * * * * * To achieve style, begin by affecting none-- that is, place yourself in the background. The Rev. Eric J. Stefanski revski@CAT41.org Confess And Teach For Unity http://www.CAT41.org Lists: info@CAT41.org First Ev.-Luth. Church of Harrison, AR http://www.cat41.org/flc * * * * * Adapted from Strunk & White, ~The Elements of Style~ * * * * *