Got a call from Chaplain Joel DeGraeve today. He informed me that the Navy selected me to be a Navy Chaplain! I had a great feeling of excitement for the future at his words.
I will stay at the parish until July 1st (the next regular rotation of priests.) Then I will head out for training in August. 5 weeks Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport followed by 7 weeks of Chaplain School at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
In the next months, I will get all my ducks in a row and double my efforts to be in shape -- the best shape of my life. In the words of Chaplain Joe Coffey, "you can get a little fat over Christmas, but in January, hit the gym!"
Stay tuned, my friends....now the Journey starts to get interesting!
Father McPartland, we have members of our family at St. Joseph's in Toms River the Loffredo's and our grand-daughter Jordan had the joy of being in sessions with the Youth Group and she expressed joy at your calling to be a Chaplain. We have a son Jeremiah Joyce Kelly who is at Fort Gordon Ga and he has 13 years of Navy service and it has been a pleasure seeing him grow and still be attending to his Roman Catholic Faith and raising two children.
ReplyDeleteWe pray for you as you seek Our Lords guidence and krrp up the great Physical manner for maintaing good health. May you grow deeper in His
Holy Spirit and may you find,Peace ,Joy and His Powerful Love ever in your mind and Heart...Carl Kelly
Just saw this....
DeleteThanks for the encouragement! Maybe I will run into your son.
God bless!
fr. Pat