In February 2012, I was in Elkhart, Indiana, for a few days to work in the Mennonite Church USA offices. While I was there, someone suggested I walk over to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary to hear a presentation about military veterans and the challenges they face after combat.
I have to be honest and say I wasn’t interested at first. Not for lack of empathy for the veterans, but because I feared that a presentation about veterans at a pacifist institution could veer into self-congratulations. “We’ve been telling people about the sin of war for a long time. Now let’s look at the lives of veterans as proof that we were right."
Was I ever wrong! That day, Carolyn Holderread Heggen, a trauma psychotherapist who created the “Transforming the Wounds of War” program at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, gave a candid and moving workshop on the horrors of combat that many veterans carry, long after their service is over. It was devastating to hear of the piercing “soul wounds” many veterans face, a feeling that God was angry at them, of shame and self-loathing, the culmination of which leads to suicide and other injurious behaviors.
There was also hope, though, in the form of the church. It turns out that the church holds many of the attributes veterans need for healing of these soul wounds. Churches can offer the opportunity to build long-term ties to a community, be a place to confess the horrors of war that veterans may have witnessed, and provide a relationship with a moral authority (pastor, for instance).
The workshop explained it very clearly—here’s the pain, here’s the healing. Now the question: How do we bring these things together?
I don’t claim to know the answer, but I knew I wanted to be a part of finding it. PJSN started to have conversations with others across the church who care for the plight of returning veterans. Often, my peace and justice work with Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA connects me with Mennonite Central Committee U.S. So I reached out to Titus Peachey, the peace education coordinator at MCC U.S. to think about how we could support churches who also wanted to be places of healing for veterans.
Almost three years later, I’m pleased to announce the release of “Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together,” a Sunday school curriculum that brings together the gospel’s commitment to peace with an empathy and concern for the needs of military veterans. Relating to veterans isn’t just about helping veterans find healing. It’s also an opportunity for us to examine our beliefs about peace.
I hope you’ll consider using “Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together” with your church in 2015.
