News

St. Olaf College | News

U.S. military chaplains will discuss importance of interfaith work

The four members of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps who will visit campus on February 20 are (clockwise, from top left) Chaplain (Colonel) Ibraheem Raheem, a Muslim Chaplain (Imam) in the United States Army who serves as the program director of the School for Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership Graduate School; Chaplain (Lieutenant Colonel) Kerstin Hedlund, a Lutheran pastor who serves in the Accessions and Recruiting Division of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office; Chaplain (Captain) Dung Nguyen, a Buddhist priest who serves with the 82nd Airborne Division; and Chaplain (Colonel) Buddy Winn, a Christian pastor who serves as the Minnesota National Guard State Chaplain.
The four members of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps who will visit campus on February 20 are (clockwise, from top left) Chaplain (Colonel) Ibraheem Raheem, a Muslim Chaplain (Imam) in the United States Army who serves as the program director of the School for Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership Graduate School; Chaplain (Lieutenant Colonel) Kerstin Hedlund, a Lutheran pastor who serves in the Accessions and Recruiting Division of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office; Chaplain (Captain) Dung Nguyen, a Buddhist priest who serves with the 82nd Airborne Division; and Chaplain (Colonel) Buddy Winn, a Christian pastor who serves as the Minnesota National Guard State Chaplain.

The St. Olaf College Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community will host a discussion with four members of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps representing multiple faith traditions on February 20.

The event, titled The Critical Interfaith Work of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, will feature Chaplain (Lieutenant Colonel) Kerstin Hedlund, Chaplain (Captain) Dung Nguyen, Chaplain (Colonel) Ibraheem Raheem, and Chaplain (Colonel) Buddy Winn. It will begin with a panel discussion at 4 p.m. in Viking Theater, followed by a dinner. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP.

Lutheran Center Director Deanna Thompson ’89 says the way that U.S. military chaplains minister and tend to the spiritual needs of others — regardless of their faith — can serve as a model for caring for one another beyond the military. She hopes that this panel discussion with military chaplains will provide insight into this under-the-radar ministry and surprising site of interfaith work.

“A theologian friend of mine refers to chaplains and clergy as ‘spiritual first responders.’ Whether we’re talking about local clergy, hospital or college chaplains, or other religious officials, these leaders are often called upon to pray, lead services, or just be present with people at the most difficult times of their lives,” Thompson says. “That the military is an intentionally multireligious space means that military chaplains are always practicing and refining their skills at being spiritual leaders for people of many religious backgrounds. Their experiences in intentionally multireligious spaces no doubt have much to teach all of us — including other religious leaders — about living into America’s motto of E pluribus unum: ‘Out of many, one.'”

“That the military is an intentionally multireligious space means that military chaplains are always practicing and refining their skills at being spiritual leaders for people of many religious backgrounds. Their experiences in intentionally multireligious spaces no doubt have much to teach all of us — including other religious leaders — about living into America’s motto of E pluribus unum: ‘Out of many, one.'”

— Lutheran Center Director Deanna Thompson ’89

The first U.S. military chaplain was commissioned in 1791, and the US. Army Chaplain Corps became interfaith in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln required the hiring of a rabbi. Since then, U.S. courts have upheld the role that military chaplains play in ensuring that service members are able to exercise their right to freely practice their religion.

“As the mission of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps also makes clear, supporting the spiritual needs of military personnel contributes to strong teams for the challenging work they do across the globe,” Thompson says. “We welcome all members of our community to learn more about this dimension of religious and spiritual life that often goes unnoticed in civilian circles, and to consider what military chaplains have to teach us about living and working with those who believe and live differently than we do.”

About the panelists

Chaplain (Lieutenant Colonel) Kerstin Hedlund joined the United States Army through Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in 1999. She commissioned as an intelligence officer for a short time before she transferred to the Chaplain Corps in 2005. She had planned to serve as a civilian Lutheran pastor after completing her military obligation, but instead combined her military and ministry vocations in the Chaplain Corps. She has held numerous military assignments, and currently serves in the Accessions and Recruiting Division of the Army Chief of Chaplains Office. She holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a Master of Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and she is completing a Ph.D. in theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Chaplain (Captain) Dung Nguyen is a Buddhist priest and a United States Army chaplain currently serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. Born and raised in Vietnam, Nguyen joined the monastic community in 1997 and received his Buddhist monk ordination in 2002. Before transitioning to the role of a Buddhist priest and joining active duty in 2016, he served the Buddhist community for over 20 years, including as a temple abbot. As an Army chaplain, Nguyen provides spiritual support to soldiers, veterans, and their families. A board-certified chaplain, he holds a Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary, a Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University, a Master of Divinity from the University of the West, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Buddhology from Van Hanh Buddhist University.

Chaplain (Colonel) Ibraheem Raheem is one of five Muslim Chaplains (Imams) in the United States Army, and he currently serves as the program director of the School for Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership Graduate School at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Raheem’s deployments include Iraq (Al-Ramadi), Qatar, Iraq (Baghdad), Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Korea, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His military assignments are numerous, and include serving as director of clinical pastoral education at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He holds an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of Science from Campbell University, a Master of Arts from Córdoba University, a Master of Business Administration from Trident University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Erskine Seminary.

Chaplain (Colonel) Buddy Winn is a Christian pastor who serves as the Minnesota National Guard State Chaplain. He enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard as a Forward Observer in 1988 and later served full-time in multiple Minnesota Army National Guard units. In 2001 Winn responded to the call to ministry and pursued seminary studies while remaining a guardsman and serving as a pastor in a local church. He joined the Army Chaplain Corps in November 2006. He has completed three tours in the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Spartan Shield. Winn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University in Saint Paul, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.