|
According to The Reverend Scott Brown QHC RN, Director Naval Chaplaincy Service (Capability), the new prayer book really is a giant leap forward:
"As far as we are aware there has never been a tri-Service prayer book published before," he explained. "In the past the Army have had their own Field Service Book but there hasn't been a book which caters for all three Services - the Army, Navy (including Royal Marines) and RAF."
Reverend Brown believes reaching out to all areas of the Armed Forces, particularly those who have served on operations in recent years, is what makes this new prayer book so significant:
"I think from listening to those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan the chaplains on the ground were able to identify a spiritual and religious need. The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Policy Board, which comprises the three Heads of Chaplaincy, took on the project. It's taken about two years to get to this point.
"The idea was simple - it had to be 'soldier friendly', that is to say written in a language and style that the soldier in the trench or the sailor in their bunk could relate to and understand. It has prayers for all different eventualities, both personal and formal. It's very much a mixture of personal and more organised, communal formal services. For example it has prayers in it for a formal field burial service and even a burial at sea."
The new Operational Service and Prayer book also includes material from the main World Faiths, including Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish and Islamic traditions. Reverend Brown is conscious that in today's Armed Forces there are personnel drawn from all of these faiths and he was keen to ensure that at least their burial rights are represented in this new book:
"The burial rights prayers from the different faiths were all approved by the Civilian Chaplains to the Military from those faiths."
It's no secret that Armed Forces Chaplains have had a vital role in providing spiritual and pastoral care to military personnel down the years. On the wider role of he and his fellow chaplains, Reverend Brown believes the prayer book will help them to better reach out to those who might need their help:
"The encouragement of personal and corporate religious faith is one of the roles of the military Chaplain. This tri-Service Operational Service and Prayer book is an excellent resource for our personnel. It is A6 in size, and designed to fit in the breast pocket of DPM uniform. It can be a spiritual resource for our people regardless of whether they are on the ground, in a ship, or in the air. It is recognising that religious faith is a key element in developing the moral component in our people.
"I am deeply indebted to those who have worked on this project and to the Fleet Command for funding this project. The next stage may be to find ways of having it transferred to a digital format, so that it can be downloaded as a podcast. I hope to have more information for the defence community in due course."
|
