IN HISTORIC
MOVE, US AIR FORCE CREATES SEPARATE CHAPELS FOR JEWISH &
ISLAMIC WORSHIP FOR MILITARY FORCES IN EUROPE
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council Director
Rabbi David Lapp to Attend Dedication Ceremony at Base in Ramstein
, Germany Set for Tuesday, September 20, 11am
NEW YORK, NY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 – In
what is certain to come as welcome news to the Jewish and
Muslim military personnel and their families who are stationed
on Air Force and Army installations in the southwest corner
of Germany, the U.S. Air Force will soon unveil separate facilities
for their communities to conduct worship on its main European
base in Ramstein, Germany. Both a synagogue and Muslim prayer
room have been created in an annex to the base’s South
Chapel, which also contains space for interfaith religious
and educational fellowship. With the Jewish High Holy Days
to begin with the eve of Rosh Hashanah on Monday, October
3, the completion of the South Chapel Annex couldn’t
be better timed.
Until now, only the Jewish and Islamic cadets attending the
Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had access
to individual denominational chapels. Other Jewish military
personnel worshipped in large nondenominational spaces. There
are about 50,000 Americans stationed in and around Ramstein.
The entire 4,090 square-foot facility will be formally dedicated
in a special ceremony on Tuesday, September 20, beginning
at 11:00 a.m, with welcoming remarks from the chief of the
Air Force Chaplain Service, Chaplain Major General Charles
Baldwin. Following these, each chapel will be dedicated, the
synagogue by Rabbi David Lapp, director of JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council, and Rabbi Donald Levy, the base’s sole Jewish
chaplain. The JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, under the auspices
of JCC Association, is responsible for recruiting and endorsing
Jewish chaplains for the U.S. Armed Services worldwide.
The two rabbis will recite Birkat haBayit, the traditional
blessing over a new home, and hang a mezuzah containing a
sacred scroll of the Ten Commandments. Chaplain Levy’s
Muslim colleague at Ramstein, Imam Mubarak, will recite the
appropriate liturgy to sanctify the Muslim prayer room. Chaplain
Baldwin, who will fly in for the occasion from Bolling Air
Force Base in Washington, D.C., will then conclude the morning’s
planned agenda with a spiritual message, after which the guests
will enjoy a specially prepared vegetarian lunch. The group
will be joined by Qaseem Ali Uqdah, representing the American
Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs (V.A.) Council, based
in Arlington, Virginia.
The half-million dollar building project, launched in August
2004, was spearheaded by the head of Ramstein’s chaplaincy
service, Chaplain Colonel Richard Elliott, a Southern Baptist
who has made sensitivity to the religious needs of minority
populations in the Armed Services a hallmark of his chaplaincy.
Taking these into account in the construction of the facility,
noted Chaplain Levy, who also currently serves as the Jewish
chaplain for the U.S. Armed Services throughout Europe, enables
the Jewish and Muslim religious leadership on the base to
address issues common to their communities, but not of concern
to the far larger number of followers of the various Christian
denominations. The annex faces east, for example, allowing
Jewish worshippers to pray in the direction of Jerusalem and
Muslim congregants to bow towards Mecca. Another change is
that of scale. Minority populations feel lost in the base’s
main sanctuaries that seat up to 500 people. Chaplain Levy
expects about 60 worshippers for High Holy Day services, and
a typical Friday evening Shabbat service attracts 20-25 people,
comfortable numbers for the new synagogue, he said.
Also, the synagogue will have flexible furnishings –
moveable chairs and podium – in contrast to the fixed
pews found in the existing chapels, said Chaplain Levy, to
better accommodate the varied spiritual and educational events
and programs he supervises, among them a religious school
for the children of Jewish service personnel. He already has
use of two Torah scrolls, both on permanent loan to the military
from the Jewish Chaplains Council: one scroll is housed at
Ramstein, the other, normally housed at the Army installation
in Wiesbaden, is at the Ramstein base temporarily.
Chaplain Levy anticipates that the common space linking the
prayer room and synagogue will create serendipitous opportunities
for the intermingling between the Jewish and Muslim communities.
While there is perhaps less tension among ethnic minorities
in the military than in the general population, given the
fact that “we’re all in the same boat, with the
same employer,” Chaplain Levy said, he noted that increasing
the chances to promote understanding and tolerance of one
another is always of value.
The total cost of construction -- $535,000 – has been
fully funded by the Commander of United States Air Force –
Europe through the 38th Construction Training Squadron.
Media coverage is welcome. Please contact
Miriam Rinn in the United States at 212-786-5092 or miriam@jcca.org
or in Germany, 435 Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office/Media
Relations at 011-49-6371-47-2458 to make appropriate arrangements.
JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of more than
350 JCC, YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC
Association offers a wide range of services and resources
to strengthen the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational,
cultural, social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational
programs to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all
ages and backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and
strengthens connections between North American Jews and Israel
as well as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S.
government accredited agency for serving the religious and
social needs of Jewish military personnel, their families,
and patients in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
fax: 212-481-4174
send an e-mail
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