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Soccer Chaplains United Team Retreat 1 Week Away

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Above, looking down into the South Park valley in Colorado at the 2014 retreat. Soccer Chaplains United will be retreating near here for this year.

I am excited as next week, myself and team members of Soccer Chaplains United will get away for a retreat up in the mountains of Colorado. November 9, 10, and 11 — the weekend that I am tempted to call something clever like The Founder’s Retreat or Founder’s Weekend may become an annual retreat for our team. (Not me as founder, but St Martin of Tours, the founder of chaplaincy).

St Martin of Tours’ Feast Day is November 11, a fitting time for Soccer Chaplains United to get away for a time of rest, renewal, and reflection

We’ve got chaplains, counselors, and community coordinators that will be taking part in this important time of spiritual renewal as we complete a busy season of ministry and look forward to another year of serving people within the sport of soccer.

Don’t ask me if I’ve got things planned out, yet! Gulp! But I have been up the mountain before and seen the ways in which God meets his people and refreshes his servants.

The opportunity for retreat has been a gift from one of our supporters who is allowing us the use of their mountain home. This will be first “team-only” retreat for Soccer Chaplains United, and even going back into our historical days of CrossTraining, I think we’ve always had a mix of team and board. The truth is that we’ve grown too much! We can’t have both at the same time with our current resources and connections (maybe you know someone that can donate a bigger retreat space to us in the future).

I have begun putting a bit of things together just to mark our time, but I am wary — often, the Holy Spirit wants to do more or different and I’ve learned to simply just try to create space.

Please pray for our group.

Pray that we listen — to God and one another.

Pray that we hear — from God and one another.

Pray that we are replenished and renewed.

Pray for us while we are on retreat.

From the Rev: St Martin of Tours

Today, we pay homage to St Martin of Tours. St Martin is the patron saint of chaplaincy. His recognized feast day in the church is recognized on November 11. The English word ‘chaplain’ comes from Martin’s life story.

Martin, as a Roman soldier, one day was headed into the city of Amiens, France with his troops. On the side of the road, he saw a man shivering from the cold. Moved with compassion, Martin cut a piece of his cloak and offered it to the man as a covering from the cold.

Later that night, in a dream, Jesus appeared to Martin.

Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.

The compelling words of Jesus encouraged Martin to seek a discharge from the military and to pursue a life of service to God. Martin was a bit of reluctant leader, rising in his position with the church, but seemingly always a bit uncomfortable with living above the austere conditions he felt were part of his calling. He trained others to serve others, to cover them at the point of their need.

When Martin died, his followers enshrined the half of the cloak. This tangible reminder of how Christians are called to serve, memorialized Martin’s life and work. Eventually, the place where the cloak was enshrined took on the name of the cloak. In Latin, capella, became called chapelle in French and those who took care of the cloak and its memory were known as chapelains.

As a chaplain with Soccer Chaplains United, this story of St Martin serves as a reminder — of how we are to serve, of our aims and our goals in ministry. Others may have their agendas or desires to utilize the platform and power of sport. Others might desire to create discipleship and ministry movements amongst athletes or in sports environments. But, for a chaplain, the goal and focus is on the pastoral and spiritual care of the person — over and above any works of evangelism or discipleship.

Martin’s life and story remind us that there is a space where God can reach and affect the heart. If we just be willing to have open eyes to see people in need. And often, the sacrificial cut and covering will come from what we have — no matter how great or how small. We, too, like Martin, must be willing to give it away with nothing promised in return.

Blessings.

— Rev Brad Kenney

From the Rev: Bless Everything, Let God Guard the Consequences

I recently returned from a trip to the U.K. and conference with chaplains with Sports Chaplaincy UK. SCUK (formerly known as SCORE) was founded by Rev John Boyers who continues to serve as chaplains for Manchester United Football Club. In the last 10+ years, I have had occasion to attend conference with the football (soccer) chaplains a number of times. They have been forging ahead in post-Christian UK context for years now and have established a foundation of trust and pastoral care and support for many sports in the UK including both ability and disability sports.

In my devotions for 10 October, my readings in Celtic Daily Prayer point to the life and work of St Ninian. Ninian, a British Christian, studied in Rome but heard of the work that St Martin and his disciples were accomplishing in Tours, France. He journeyed there to learn of what Martin was undertaking it and returned to his home country of Britain to put it into practice.

One of Ninian’s practices might be summed up in the phrase:

Bless everything, and let God guard the consequences.

In the years that I have practiced chaplaincy in and amongst the soccer community, this has become a learned pattern. From blessing elite athletes as they go out into competitive matches and endeavors, to praying for an injured player, to supporting a family devastated by news of a trade or a contract release, to attempting to bring reconciliation between a coach and an executive — as a chaplain we are often called into spaces where we must bless everything and let God guard the consequences.

But can we really bless everything?

I recall the charge leveled at me from Rev Brad Strait at my ordination. From the text of Hosea 14:4,

I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

The words of the Lord toward the nation of Israel. The words of a Father toward his wayward children. The charge of one minister to another. Rev Strait put it straightforward,

Love them freely and heal their waywardness.

As a perfectionist and as one who grew up in a more legalistic religious tradition, grace and love have been an edge for me to learn. But with great compassion, as I live in and amongst the football community I am growing constantly in learning what it means to look for the healing and loving moments.

As a chaplain, we bless what we are able to. We bless all that we can — all that we can see, be it ever so small. Even within each athlete, coach, staff member, executive, owner, family member, or fan we can even simply see the imago dei within a person. We bless everything — the work, the spirit of the game or play, the sharpening edge of one person to another. God guards the outcomes of the games, of the presence of a chaplain, the words and direction of a counselor, all of it.

When we allow God to guard the consequences we submit to the sovereignty and design of God. In soccer, one of the phrases that coaches and commentators will use is don’t chase the game. It is a similar thought to a chaplain’s surrender of the outcomes — when we go chasing a result we grow weary and unable to clearly see our own role as a chaplain in ministry. Of course, there are outcomes that come from the presence and work of a chaplain, but when a chaplain forces or tries to direct the outcomes in a particular fashion is usually when things go awry and the chaplain loses their ability to be a safe, trustworthy presence.

As chaplains, we need to let go of desired outcomes. In the course of our service, we should continue to apply ourselves to the work at hand. The outcomes, guarded and guided by God, will come.

Blessings.

— Rev Brad Kenney

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