by Don Jansen
edited by Bob Terwilliger, fall 2022
Writing these words allows me to check out my memory! My recall of events in the past, unlike some short-term “stuff,” is still ok (I think!). Since graduating from Western Seminary in 1967, a lot of water has gone over the dam. (This is also true for many of my peers) Lots of things happened in my life soon after graduation. Seminary was a four-year program for me, instead of the traditional three, because I served a one-year internship at Bethel Reformed Church, Passaic, NJ, (1965-66) under the very able mentorship of the late Arie R. Brouwer. Two weeks after graduating from Western, I took a basic quarter in Clinical Pastoral Education at Detroit General Hospital. That experience came during the disastrous race riots that had a dramatic impact on the city, the hospital, and the CPE student group.
By the end of the summer, I was ordained by Holland Classis. I then received ecclesiastical endorsement from the RCA Chaplains Commission and the Army’s General Commission. This was the required path into the military as a chaplain, instead of by such means as traditional enlistment. By Christmas, 1967, I had entered active duty, attended the Basic Course at the Army’s Chaplain School located at that time at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, and was on my way to my first assignment at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas. My initial, pinpoint assignment, was to the Reception Center for new recruits and, later, a basic training brigade. Before going on active duty I already felt, as did many Americans, that the JFK/LBJ decision to wage war in Vietnam was a serious mistake. And I immediately saw the fear and anxiety in the troops, partly because many of them were drafted by selective service and were very much aware that they might soon be involved in an armed conflict. Our presidents had us stuck in Southeast Asia. The pastoral task given to me would have been much more difficult without good friends, my preparation for ministry at Western, and a lot of prayer.
Thinking back, I recall the difficult task that the cadre at the Chaplain School must have had trying to teach a large group of clergymen (some overweight and/or out of shape) military structure, the traditions of the Army, and some of the regulations we had to know in order to be ministers on active duty. We were taught how to march, salute, wear the various uniforms, and learn a new vocabulary. Each one of us was issued a “chaplain’s kit” which contained liturgical materials for leading small group worship services in a variety of locations. That kit became my companion, and I intentionally served Holy Communion each time I used it. As a chaplain, I was an officer whose rank was in parentheses because, by definition, I was a non-combatant and had no command authority. I carried Bibles instead of a weapon!
Following my assignment to Fort Bliss, I was ordered to Vietnam (winter 1968) where I became chaplain for an ammunition battalion. Most of my troops were scattered in small detachments over several square miles. In order to visit them, I traveled with a convoy or by helicopter. Danger was always present, and I experienced the sad, mournful sounds of the battlefield. As the only chaplain in my unit, I hardly ever saw any of my chaplain colleagues. I learned to function by myself and ask for help when necessary. I quickly realized that serving in the military is not the best place for a minister with high dependency needs.
From Vietnam, I was sent to Germany on what was defined as an inter-theater transfer. There I served with the Third Armored Division for three years. With two other chaplains, I had responsibilities for a chapel program, activities in the housing area for families, and frequent field duty. From Germany, I was assigned to Ft. McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia. That’s where I had the time to work on an advanced degree at Columbia Theological Seminary. Three years later, I attended the Advanced Course for chaplains at the Army Chaplain School located, at that time, on Staten Island, NY.
Following the career course, my next assignment was two years in Korea with a Signal Battalion. There I was something of a circuit rider since many of my troops had duty on what could be very cold, wind-swept mountaintops. Once again, it was often a solo ministry for me. I made regular use of my kit for small group worship services, enjoyed an evening meal with the troops, occasionally did some teaching and counseling, and then headed for the next site in the morning. During my time in Korea, I got acquainted with several missionaries and saw the vibrancy of the fast-growing Korean Church.
My next assignment sent me to Yale-New Haven Hospital for a year of CPE. And my utilization tour was a three-year assignment at Brooke Army Medical Center (San Antonio, TX) with primary duties at the Army’s Burn Center where up to 75 patients, family members and friends were part of my congregation. I learned that there are few injuries that assault a human being, body, soul, and mind, more than severe burns. Then it was back to Germany for my final tour where I served first with a Military Intelligence Brigade and then as a chaplain in an American community of about 5000 (mostly troops and their families).
Reflecting on my active duty days, I realized that frequent moves, usually with my family, were similar to a parish pastor moving from place to place. Families serve too. I learned early on that (1) Chaplains are expected by the military community to be pastors, and (2) The Church (the RCA in particular) remained the base for my call into the ministry. Throughout my career with its many changes I always had the prayerful support of the RCA and its Chaplains Commission. (3) Our troops and their families, whenever I was assigned near a housing area or a chapel, assumed that the chapel program would be their church away from home. Sometimes church was near a landing zone, out in the boondocks, or in a mess hall. The hood of my jeep sometimes made a good altar. (4) The theological education I received at Western shaped my ministry for being a generalist in the wide variety of positions I was given.
During my first 10 years after separating from the Army, I served in several pastoral positions – two terms as an interim for Reformed churches and an installed pastorate. I also committed one year into ministry at a Boys’ Ranch. Thankfully, I had learned to handle young men and understand family systems, certainly aided by my doctoral studies in family systems counseling. At the ranch, there were 17 people around the table in the evening – my family of four, three “big brother” counselors, and ten teenage boys, all sent to us by judges in lieu of detention. The boys worked and went to school on the ranch and attended church with us. Most of them had personal wounds of some kind and/or had issues with authority and drugs. There were regular sessions with parents and other professionals since the goal was to help as many of the boys as possible to return home.
My final block of time as a minister (ten years) was spent on staff as a chaplain at a VA hospital. Here again, my orientation in CPE and experience with troops was of significance. The hospital had four wards for veteran residents, including one that was locked to help keep the patients safe. All elective surgery was sent to another VA hospital. There was also a hospice unit and a drug/alcohol program that utilized my training and degree in treating chemical abuse, especially as it interacted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I was able to introduce some of the principles of Moral Injury, with its similarities and differences from PTSD, as pastoral care issues. The hospital chapel provided regular opportunities to lead worship for patients and staff. A national cemetery was located across the street from the hospital, and each chaplain was included in the rotation for leading committal services. Some morticians sent veterans’ remains to the cemetery for burial at a later time, so I had to assume that funeral services for veterans were often conducted earlier, in other locations. On one occasion, I officiated at a service with caskets of four veterans in front of me – and not one family member was present. I am still grateful for the traditional Reformed Church burial liturgy that I have used for the last 30 years.
Life while serving at the hospital did have its lighter times for me. I played noon-hour pick-up basketball at the hospital gymnasium until I retired at age seventy. Hunting and fishing in southern Michigan were excellent. I made friends in the community and was able to attend Reformed churches in the area.
Reflecting on my pastoral ministry: Much of what I have done was made possible because God used what I was taught by the teaching faculty at Western Seminary. I remember Brownson’s homiletical skills, warm pastoral style, and the folder he kept in his lapel pocket for jotting down items for his prayer list. Having recently read Calvin’s Concept of the Law, I recall Hesselink’s keen mind in the classroom. And John Piet, known as a “major premise” man, did a lot to “save” me. I occasionally heard him say something unusual when the students looked a little too complacent. I remember him writing on an old-fashioned chalk board “No proof-texting!” And when he said, “In Christianity we begin with the resurrection,” I listened. As my peers would probably agree, I was not the “sharpest knife in the drawer” as a student, but I learned anyhow. I often hear the comment that we stand on solid shoulders, and when I look behind me I see generations of gifted young men and women whom God is using for the up-building of his kingdom.
If there’s any heartburn in my life it’s because of insufficient unity in the Church. I was a delegate to the General Synod that voted to cancel publication of The Church Herald. That was a bad omen for us because, among other things, it put another limit on how well we listen to each other. I am reminded of the story about Bonhoeffer telling his students, “Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God.” Whether or not those words apply to the RCA, I must still tell myself to “be quick to listen, slow to speak.” Worship, corporate and integrative, is still one of God’s ways for the formation of unity in the believing community. My prayer is that you (“senior” or “up-coming”) will experience God’s richest blessings today and always.
Don received his BA from Hope College, an MA from Western Michigan University, a BD from Western Theological Seminary, an MSEd from Long Island University, and a DMin from Columbia Theological Seminary. He was a school teacher for 4 years before joining the US Army in 1967, serving as a chaplain for over 20 years. He served as interim minister at Third Reformed in Grand Rapids, and as pastor at Silver Creek Reformed in Minnesota. He was then the staff chaplain at the VA Hospital in Battle Creek, MI. donaldjansen37@gmail.com
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