For decades there have been Christian Science Military Chaplains serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Their responsibilities include ministering to Christian Scientists on active duty, providing guidance and prayer for all military personnel and conducting nondenominational worship services. For the last few years, this program has been administered by the Clerk’s Office. However now, the Committee on Publication is responsible for the administration of this program because central to the work of chaplains is correcting impositions on the public as they pertain to the United States Armed Forces.

Colonel (Ret.) Janet Horton has been appointed Endorser of Christian Science Chaplains for The Mother Church, replacing Karl (Sandy) Sandberg, who now serves as President of the Board of Education.

Janet brings a rich background in Christian Science and the military to this role. She entered the U.S. Army in 1976 as a chaplain and was the first woman assigned as a Division or Corps Chaplain and the first woman promoted to Colonel in the Army Chaplain Corps. During her military service, Janet undertook many important assignments, including supervising religious support for the Joint Task Forces in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo.

In conjunction with these changes, The Mother Church has reinitiated the Chaplain Training Program, preparing potential Christian Science Chaplains prepared for their ministry. The details are being worked out and Janet will play an integral role in its development.

Read Church in a Combat Zone by Rees Ryder Stevens. It’s reprinted from the January 2003 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

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A call to the chaplaincy Jeffrey Hildner talks with Colonel (Ret.) Janet Horton, Endorser of Christian Science Chaplains for The Mother Church Reprinted from the May 2006 issue of The Christian Science Journal.
This and other articles relating to military service can be found at www.spirituality.com under the heading: Current Events.

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