Even though our brother Freddie Owens went to heaven on Good Friday, he is still hard at work making sure the Military Chaplain Association of America (MCA) is fulfilling a promise made to us at the last Vet to Vet Tennessee boot camp in March 2017. During the boot camp, MCA’s Executive Director Lyman Smith announced the partnership between MCA and VTVT and agreed to launch our Veteran/Military Friendly Congregation nationally. During the following months, a new VMFC-USA.org was developed by MCA’s administrator Jack Figel and VTVT’s Treasurer Ed Junod in January 2018. Several changes in the MCA leadership delayed the launching of the new website and a new Executive Director was elected in February January 2018.
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In the meantime, VTVT has continued to enroll VMFCs; after Freddie’s passing, I contacted MCA to inquiry is the VMFC program was still viable. The VMFC ministry got a shot in the arm with a phone conference on May 2nd at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting when Chaplain Ev Price called in to see what could be done by us partnering with another the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, which is an Episcopalian organization established for lay men in the Episcopal Church.
Since then, VTVT, MCA and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew has been working on the new website. VTVT updated and modernized the www.vmfc-usa.org website and launched it on May 21, 2018. MCA’s new Executive Director Fr. Razz Waff, DMin, BCC announced the VMFC initiative and website in his MCA May 23, 2018 newsgram. Click here to read Executive Director Waff Notes Veteran/Military Friendly Congregations.
The latest VTVT VMFC enrollment was on May 7, 2018; Rio Revolution Church, Maryville Tennessee. On May 22, 2018 VMFC-USA.org received its first website enrollment.
Freddie, I and others have been working on this initiative since March 2013 and thought it could grow. With all of your prayers, dedication and God, we have finally achieved our vision. Now let’s continue to enroll our congregations and ministries. Click here to enroll. [/read]
