Greg Aydt enters into his third season serving as volunteer chaplain for Memphis 901 FC and as part of Soccer Chaplains United. 901 FC, a team that plays second division soccer in the the USL-Championship here in the U.S, is located in Memphis and Greg always has an interesting historical story that he ties into the team and into chaplaincy. Listen today as Greg and I talk about Tom Lee, my disc golf game, and freeze pops of all things. You won’t want to miss it.
I am Rev Brad Kenney, and this is the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (usually 10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Greg-Aydt.jpg500750Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2021-06-02 00:00:002021-06-28 09:39:07Freeze Pops with Greg Aydt
This week, I’ve had the special privilege of spending time with Greg Aydt, serving as chaplain with Memphis 901FC, an expansion team with USL-Championship, the second division of professional soccer in the US. Greg has been serving the club since the beginning of the year. It’s not just a new team to Memphis, but a new opportunity for Greg who serves as a pastor at Advent Presbyterian and today passed his examination for ordination in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Greg and I pose outside Autozone Park, home stadium of Memphis 901 FC.
Memphis 901 FC has captured the hearts of many in the city of Memphis. As a professional soccer team, coming to this city has meant a lot, especially for one of the owners, Tim Howard, for whom Memphis is home. And as soccer continues to grow in the United States and as Memphis begins to grow there is a lot of promise for those involved.
Starting in sports chaplaincy is never an easy task. Many times it can come with a bit of struggle as some have likened it to being “like a ‘stray dog — they either kick you out or start to feed you.'” Chaplains must earn the trust and be winsome in many ways. Often, chaplains must serve and work to demonstrate the value that they bring to a club or organization.
Greg stands ready at a training session — whether to retrieve an errant ball or strike up a conversation with someone injured or struggling.
Chaplains bring an incarnation presence to the teams and organizations that they serve. They are often an extension of love and grace and constancy in a world filled with transition, hurriedness, and challenges for one’s faith and family life. Many, by virtue of their profession, live a nomadic lifestyle — moving from team to team, city to city to ply their trade for as many days as their bodies will allow.
Greg, being prayed over after successfully passing his oral ordination examination. 2019 Presbytery of the West at Advent Presbyterian Church, Cordova, TN
Part of my time and purpose for going to Memphis was to spend time with Greg. To give coaching and insight and to see the specific environment that he is faced with — with all of its challenges and with the different blessings. It is also to learn from Greg — what does he need more of, what does he need less of? And, as the season, and years to come progress, myself and the rest of Soccer Chaplains United will be able to better support Greg and his work with the people that make up Memphis 901 FC.
Pray for Greg. Pray for Memphis. Defend Memphis
Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and we depend upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy in cities like Memphis with teams like 901 FC. Your support allows us to provide coaching and help further develop chaplaincy. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work. Click the PushPay logo below or text soccerchaplains to 77977 to make a secure electronic donation. You can also mail a donation to Soccer Chaplains United, PO Box 102081 Denver, CO 80250.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_9764.jpg14401920Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2019-05-03 14:20:462019-05-06 14:36:30Walkin’ in Memphis
I am pleased to announce that ahead of the 2019 season, Greg Aydt, has been approved as candidate to serve as chaplain to one of the newest teams in the United Soccer League — Championship. Greg is the Youth Ministries Director at Advent Presbyterian Church and is currently completing his ordination process with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). You can read more about him on his bio page here.
When we began the search earlier this year, I shared about the opportunity with several people in the EPC, which has a strong presence in the Memphis area. After a number of phone calls and looking at the various candidates, it became clear that Greg would make an excellent choice. As I shared with Greg about the vision of Soccer Chaplains United, he seemed to really grab a hold of our desire to care — not just for the athletes in the locker room, but for the staff and for the whole organization and even the city!
When I asked Greg about his vision and hope for this first season of Memphis, he shared:
As I join 901 FC for their inaugural season, I hope I can serve every level of the organization in small ways so that they will feel cared for and valued as they serve the city of Memphis.
Greg is someone who has a heart and a vision, not just for a soccer team, but for a city, and I am exited to see him grow into this role.
I am excited to start my chaplaincy with the starting of this club. I have been stoked to hear the passion and vision of the ownership and coaching staff for this city. It inspires that same passion in me to love Memphis like God loves Memphis.
As Greg joins Soccer Chaplains United, he brings the number of chaplains currently serving to 12 chaplains and Memphis 901 FC becomes the 5th USL team being served by Soccer Chaplains United. We are still looking to fill a chaplain vacancy in Charlotte with the Charlotte Independence.
Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-memphis-901-fc-soccer-logo-design.png321520Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2018-12-03 08:00:022018-11-30 15:46:07Announcing Memphis 901 FC Chaplain
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.