Group asks churches to send care packages to servicemen and women

The small care package on display in the Christian Reformed Church's Grand Rapids office contains snacks, breakfast foods, toiletries, a book of Bible-based reflections and a prayer card.

Geared to satisfy personal as well as spiritual needs, the package is an example of ways that churches can reach out to soldiers who are serving overseas in Afghanistan or Iraq, said the Rev. Herman Keizer, director of chaplaincy ministries for the CRC.

Keizer is encouraging CRC congregations in the United States and Canada to consider taking part in a program such as this. He came across this effort last year when talking to members of Rush Creek Bible Church in Grand Rapids.

Rush Creek is not affiliated with the CRC, but it has developed a wide-ranging ministry that goes beyond the creation of the care packages. It is an outreach that is sorely needed during this time of conflict, Keizer said.

For congregations interested in starting a ministry like this, he suggests that they look at "Resources for Ministry to Soldiers and their Families," on the CRCNA website.

He also suggests that congregations consider developing, as Rush Creek is in the process of doing, an aftercare ministry for soldiers when they return home.

Rush Creek's Military Support Group began in November 2006, about the time Shirley Bultema's son went off to boot camp. Troubled and worried about her son, Bultema says she found help from a church member who was the mother of two soldiers serving in the military.

"She would search me out every Sunday to let me know she was praying for us and our young soldier," said Bultema. "When I told her how tough it was seeing him leave, she knew how we felt and encouraged us to be diligent in prayer for his strength: physically, emotionally and spiritually."

Not long after that, she says, she was able to do the same for the mother of an Army reservist who was heading to boot camp and eventually was ordered to deploy overseas. "We three couples got together. We talked, we laughed, we cried, and we prayed about becoming a group to support each other and maybe even others we didn't know about yet," said Bultema.

In the process, they spoke with some people from Hudsonville, Mich., who had started a military support group among themselves. Using what they learned from that group, Bultema said, they launched the Military Support Group, which is made up of parents, families and friends of military personnel. They meet every other Sunday morning after church "to pray for our soldiers, update each other on their whereabouts, plan for sending packages, cards and letters for birthdays, special occasions and holidays," said Bultema.

In addition, she says, the group has a display case in church that features photos of and information on 16 soldiers connected to the church who are now serving in the military. Veterans who are part of the church are highlighted there as well. The group also tries to attend funerals in the area for fallen soldiers and to send cards to family members.

"We see this as a real need. Our church has a huge heart for the military," said Bultema. "We are more than willing to connect with other churches to help them do what we have done."

The next phase the support group is exploring is trying to understand the changes families and friends might see when the soldiers return from war. "There is the real possibility of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). That is a whole other dimension," she said.

As for the care packages, which have proven very popular with soldiers, the church talks to area businesses, asking for donations for the packages that they mail. "With the input from our soldiers, we have put a list together of items they like to get in the packages mailed overseas," she said.

Among the items are Bible readings and the prayer card. The one in the care package at the CRC office quotes from Psalm 16: "Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge."

For more information on resources for military families, visit www.crcna.org/pages/ chaplaincy.cfm.

This story is written by Chris Meehan and provided by Worldwide Faith News.