OVER THERE: How to help the deployed

As The Evangelist went to press on March 19, the tense situation in the world was unresolved. The fuse for war was burning; whether it sets off explosives or fizzles out, there will still be tens of thousands of American troops "over there," many of them from places in the Albany Diocese.

As an article on the front page notes, a program is available in the Diocese to help families of the deployed military deal with their separation. It is not the only effort. The National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (www.nacflm.org) has been collecting ideas on how parishes can minister to such families:

* Conduct a weekly service to pray for deployed members of the parish;

* Maintain a book of special intentions for military personnel and their families, and include the names in the General Intercessions at Mass;

* Designate someone to drop regular notes of support from the parish to the person who is away, and to maintain regular contact with the family;

* Have children and adults put together "Care packages" for parishioners overseas;

* Form support groups for family members of military personnel; recruit parishioners who have been in similar situations (Desert Storm, Vietnam);

* Organize gatherings of families so that they can get to know one another;

* Allow children to gather in the school, religious education or another supervised parish setting to discuss their concerns for a deployed parent;

* Organize baby-sitting for parents so that they can have time to shop, go to the movies or just spend some quiet time;

* Think of ways to aid families who may be experiencing financial difficulties while their family member is deployed; and

* Put together a "crisis team" to visit families if a family member is reported as missing-in-action, wounded or killed.

Those suggestions offer parishes (and schools, religious ed classes and other organizations) several practical ways they can be of physical, moral and spiritual support during this difficult time. We encourage Catholics to put them into effect.

(3/20/03) [[In-content Ad]]