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SPIRITUAL DEPTH: Lay Leaders Support the Religious Community at Sea by CDR Richard Pusateri, USN |
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It's normal routine for a submarine underway on Sunday to provide time for religious believers to gather in worship. The tradition of holding divine services onboard ships at sea is as old as the Navy. Yet, one aspect of this religious practice makes submarine worship unique. Through months of deployment and patrol, volunteer lay leaders from the crew conduct religious services for their shipmates. Lay leaders sometimes lead worship on Navy surface ships, but generally only in the absence of a chaplain. Aboard a deployed submarine, a chaplain is almost always absent, and the responsibility for leading regular worship falls to dedicated crewmembers appointed by their commanding officer to provide religious leadership for shipmates who share their faith. Every Pacific Submarine Force boat goes to sea with trained Roman Catholic and Protestant Christian lay leaders, and many have leaders for other religious groups as well. More than 110 appointed lay leaders currently serve SUBPAC boats and receive on-going training, guidance, and support from the eight SUBPAC chaplains. While the chaplains assigned to sea-going commands normally serve as the worship leaders, religious teachers, and spiritual counselors for their crews, these roles change significantly for those assigned to a submarine ministry. LCDR Bob McGaha, command chaplain of Naval Submarine Support Command, Pearl Harbor, explained, "Though I saw lay leaders on surface ships, in the Submarine Force I gained a whole new appreciation for how much more crucial and critical lay leader ministry is. Our lay leaders are it: the focal point of religious ministry aboard a submarine, the front line of ministry for submariners." To support the lay leaders, SUBPAC ministry teams provide assistance in a variety of creative ways. Chaplains and their Religious Program Specialist (RP) assistants offer both initial basic training and monthly continuing training for lay leaders. For lay leaders representing faith groups different from the submarine chaplains, the training is supplemented with instruction on their specific religious practices led by other chaplains and civilian clergy. During their increasingly frequent submarine "rides," chaplains sometimes spend Sundays at sea giving lay leaders on-the-job-training for their religious duties. Before deploying, each boat's lay leaders also receive a carefully chosen selection of religious supplies designed to meet the spiritual needs of their crew. Pacific submarine ministry teams further support these volunteer leaders with a bi-monthly newsletter, an Internet website, in-house videos, deployment supply mailings, and regular visits to them inport. Submarines usually hold underway worship services on Sunday morning, since it is a relatively quiet and uninterrupted time when the typical ship's schedule is light on drills and training. Services are most often held in the wardroom, chief's quarters, or a crew's lounge (on Tridents), but on some boats, worship services have become so popular that they outgrew these spaces and have had to move into the crews' mess. Many groups have talented musicians who play keyboard or guitar to lead a few hymns; some go a cappella. It takes commitment for any Sailor to give up an opportunity for extra sleep just to attend the service, but from lay leaders, even more is demanded, since regardless of their faith group, they must take time to study and prepare.
So, even with all of the interest and support, why would an already fully tasked submariner volunteer to add lay leader responsibilities to his full plate of duties? USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) lay leader LT Tom Sicola explained, "Religion has been an important part of my life as long as I remember. Los Angeles needed me when I came here. So I went ahead and did it." ET2(SS) Brent Wilson, USS Michigan (SSBN-727) (Gold) lay leader, said, "Having worship onboard is very important and a great responsibility." USS Pasadena's (SSN-752) lay leader, ET1(SS) Jan Peacock, said he served because, "I love God, and I'm interested in people's views of different aspects of the Bible." Most lay leaders find motivation from their work's positive influence on shipmates. LTJG Rob Ross, USS Alabama (SSBN-731) (Blue) lay leader, said, "A highlight of being a lay leader is hearing someone say that the worship and study time were important and met his personal needs." USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) (Gold) lay leader, ET1(SS) David Turley, takes satisfaction in seeing his services "help people stay balanced through remembering what is important, and help them be better persons." It's not just the lay leaders who understand the importance of worship at sea. ETC(SS) Paul Swiderski described the impact of his participation in a worship group during the Los Angeles' recent WESTPAC deployment. "We had a good time with it. More people got involved. The men needed to get together to talk about God, and the worship discussions seemed to be just-in-time training for our day-to-day needs." Former USS Topeka (SSN-754) Commanding Officer, CDR Mark Patton, pointed to the value added by lay ministries in his command. "The biggest benefit is that the services give another avenue that Sailors can use to deal with the stress and problems they are facing. For most Sailors religion helps them feel comfortable and builds camaraderie." With its close quarters and demanding
duties, submarine service limits the opportunities for the crew's
personal expression and interests. But due to the dedicated efforts of
lay leaders, the crew's spiritual expression and interests continue to
thrive. When duty takes submariners under the sea and far from home and
loved ones, lay leader services provide them a valued reminder that God
remains near. |
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