Photo By Janecze Wright | Families play a game tossing water balloons during the Weekend VBS event July 26, 2024...... read more read more
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — The Fort Cavazos Garrison Chaplain’s Office welcomed families newly stationed at The Great Place with food, fun and fellowship during the Weekend Vacation Bible School event 5 to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Main Post Chapel.
Open to families who have been here since January and families of deployed Soldiers regardless of when they arrived, the three-day VBS event provided an opportunity for new families to socialize, become acclimated to their new home and learn about the services and resources the Fort Cavazos Garrison Chaplain’s Office and the Religious Support Office provide.
“It’s important to give them the opportunity to develop their spiritual readiness as a family,” said Garrett Northway, director of Religious Education for the RSO.
“With the demand that families have put on them, it’s probably hard for them to be able to just take time together to develop their faith.
“The event introduces them to the RSO and the services that we provide and the chapel services we offer,” he continued. “And then also, it introduces them to other military families.”
The event was the first VBS for families, organized to support the command’s initiative to help introduce new families to services and resources available to them upon arriving at The Great Place.
“We wanted to win the first 90 days, which is one of the (commanding general’s) priorities — getting families and newly arriving Soldiers connected,” Northway said.
The theme for the three-day event was “God’s Rock-Solid Truth in a World of Shifting Sands,” explained Chaplain (Col.) Luis Kruger, garrison chaplain.
“In a world where everyone’s looking for truth, these next few days we’re going to help parents and, more importantly, their kids find truth,” he said of the event. “It brings our community together. That’s important just to build relationships, and we’re encouraging them in their faith.”
Kruger conveyed the importance of starting each day with a meal.
“It’s not just to get food in the belly, but it’s a time where they sit with their family, with other neighbors, and get to know other people,” he shared. “So, that’s a great way to build community.”
The meal was an especially vital aspect of the event for Bethany Ruckman, who attended with her four children.
She shared that her spouse, Capt. Aaron Ruckman, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, had been deployed for almost three months and events like this help with the most basic necessities.
“It’s very hard for me to eat with two small babies and two other children,” she said candidly. “I am grateful be able to come here. It makes things easier.”
After enjoying a feast of kalua pork with all the trimmings served by RSO staff and volunteers, families participated in an opening worship rally, followed by a rotation through three stations — games, Bible and crafts, before a closing worship rally to end the day.
Eva Shellabarger shared how excited her husband Lt. Col. Peter Shellabarger, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, and their three children were to be at The Great Place.
“We just arrived here, and we’re really grateful for this opportunity to be together as a family for VBS,” she expressed.
“We’re excited for our kids to hear about Jesus, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”
Military families are as diverse as their religious preferences, and the RSO works diligently to accommodate varying religions and faiths, Kruger conveyed.
“We try to serve the whole Fort Cavazos community,” he said. “Whether their faith is Jewish, Christian, Muslim … we’re here to help the whole community, to help them to grow in their faith.”
Northway agreed.
“We know that the Army is made up of diverse individuals who have different faith groups,” he said. “The Army recognizes that the spiritual component of a person is vitally important to them being able to overcome the challenges of life. I want families to feel more connected to their faith and to each other. Even if they just meet one family and make a connection, then we’ve done our job.”
For more information about Fort Cavazos Garrison Chaplain’s Office events, visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FortCavazosRSO or call the Religious Support Office at 254-288-6545.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2024 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 477620 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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