Chaplains of World War I

 

We are back in Ontario after nearly two weeks away for a vacation on the beautiful south shore of Nova Scotia. It appears that we vamoosed at the opportune moment, with up to 80 mm of rain predicted for that region as the tail end of Hurricane Michael. 

This morning, in the familiar surroundings of our home, I listened to a CBC interview about a commemoration of those who served in World War I. November 11th this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the cessation of fighting in what was a global conflict resulting in the deaths of 60,000 Canadian military personnel. There were just under 8 million Canadians at that time, yet more than 400,000 served in the various branches of the armed forces. 

Four years ago when we marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI in worship I spoke about the role of chaplains during the war. Many of those padres were fierce patriots and chose to enlist despite the fact that some were into their forties. The assumption was that every Canadian service person was a Christia and the YMCA developed what they called the War Roll Pledge which a remarkable 500,000 men signed:

I hereby pledge my allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and King
and by God’s help will help to fight his battles for the victory of His Kingdom.

 There was no preparation for the wretched conditions and carnage of the battlefields of Europe and what their role would be in the midst of chaos. Funerals for the dead were often conducted at night with the chaplains offering prayers from memory because a light could be fatal. At least one was shot and killed while conducting a funeral. 




There are heart-wrenching stories of chaplains advocating for men who deserted as a result of what we now term PTSD. Desertion was an offense punishable by death and despite the efforts of the padres they were executed by firing squads made up of other young men who were loath to kill a comrade. 

At times the chaplains chose to minister to captured and dying enemies, which they couldn't have imagined doing as the war began. One chaplain received word of the death of his son in battle and went in search of his body.

The hope of many padres was that those to whom they provided spiritual support during the war would return to Canada to fill churches. This was not the case as so many of them were traumatized by the horrors of protracted combat and embittered by the lack of support upon their return. Some chaplains became outspoken advocates for peace as a result of what they experienced, but their voices went unheeded as another global war broke out a couple of decades later. 

I hope we all take moments during the next month to remember with respect those who sacrificed so much. We can pray for those in the role of chaplain in our time. But most of all we can acknowledge the futility of war and pray for peace.