|
About
us
Founded
in 1917 as the Chaplains' Committee of the Jewish Welfare
Board and retitled during re-organization on several occasions
since, this agency of JCC Association serves as endorsing
body for Jewish military chaplains who serve in the Armed
Forces and VA chaplaincy services. The JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council consists of sixteen rabbis, four each from the Rabbinical
Assembly (Conservative), the Rabbinical Council of America
(Orthodox), and the Central Conference of American Rabbis
(Reform), plus four active duty Jewish chaplains representing
the Chaplains Advisory Group (CAG). The Council serves approximately
37 full-time military and Veterans Administration chaplains,
55 chaplain reservists, more than 88 military lay leaders,
and thousands of Jews at more than 500 military installations
and VA medical centers. |
| An
Overview of Services
Chaplain
Training Workshops:
Training conferences for Jewish chaplains, organized by the
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, supported by all service branches,
are held regularly. Chaplains spend several days together
in study, worship, and workshop sessions for professional
growth and enrichment. The Association of Jewish Chaplains
underwrites the cost of providing outstanding scholars-in-residence.
Lay Leader Training Programs:
Regional training workshops for Jewish Lay Leaders sponsored
by each separate branch of service are held at various dates
throughout the year. The Council provides a training manual
and resource material. Regional Jewish chaplains act as supervisors
and mentors to Jewish lay leaders who serve in the absence
of a Jewish chaplain in developing Jewish programs at bases
throughout the world.
Chapel Rack Literature: The JWB
Jewish Chaplains Council provides informative and inspirational
pamphlets, recently revised, on the festivals of the Jewish
calendar, the life cycle, and foundations of Jewish faith
and life. These pamphlets are included as curricular material
in the Unified Curriculum Resource Guide and may be purchased
by appropriated and non-appropriated Government funds on a
continuing basis for Chapel racks.
Monitoring the Unified Jewish Religious
Education Curriculum Guide: The JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council enlists the expertise of outstanding Jewish educators
to review curricular materials and make available the most
current effective educational resources.
Passover kosher food and Solo-Seder kits
Media Library: The Association
of Jewish Chaplains of the Armed Forces maintains an extensive
audio-visual library of over 60 video-cassettes and close
to 500 audio-tapes on Jewish religious, educational, historical,
and cultural themes. Chaplains and lay leaders may access
these materials without charge through the JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council Office.
Holiday Supplies: Support
provided by the Women's Organizations Services of the JCC
Association enables the Council to distribute Hanukkah and
Passover supplementary items to military personnel and VA
Medical Center patients.
Volunteer Programs: Local VA Voluntary
Services Committees and Armed Forces and Veterans Services
Committees perform personal services at VA Medical Centers
and military bases across the country. The JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council provides counsel and recognition to these volunteers.
CHAPLINES
Newsletter: A professional newsletter - CHAPLINES -
is disseminated quarterly as an important information vehicle
for all chaplains. It also provides a bridge between Jewish
chaplains and lay leaders, who often experience a sense of
distance from other Jewish chaplains and Jewish programs.
Serving
as an Effective Liaison with the Defense Establishment: The
Chiefs of Chaplains have expressed an on-going concern for
the needs of Jews in the Armed Forces and VA Medical Centers.
Accordingly, the Council regularly acts as an advisor to them,
the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, and the Department of Defense
to assure that Jewish personnel are properly and effectively
supported. Periodic revising of the Prayerbook for Jewish
personnel in the Armed Forces, a steady flow of recommended
resource materials for the Unified Jewish Religious Education
Curriculum Guide, and guidance on dealing with unforeseen
situations, has made the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council an indispensable
problem-solving body on which American defense agencies rely.
|
