I suspect most Americans don’t know both the US Senate and the House of Representatives have chaplains. Furthermore, I suspect some Americans are not happy that we do have chaplains at that level. I have never asked an atheist what he or she thinks about that. While I understand the history of the office, I admit to having mixed feelings myself. My theology---Christian and Quaker---makes religion and politics tricky partners. I don’t doubt the role of either one, but when packaged, they often have led to trouble. I am not sure I could fill that role of chaplain.
But I am not worried. No one is going to ask me to do it! All this is in the news, since the House of Representatives have just appointed a new chaplain. The Speaker of the House made the appointment. The choice came through a bipartisan committee. The appointment is breaking news because for the first time, a woman has been appointed to fill that role. Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben to succeed Father Pat Conroy, a Jesuit priest. Chaplain Kibben is a Presbyterian and holds two graduate degrees from Princeton. So we can call her chaplain, doctor, pastor and admiral. No doubt, she is extremely well qualified.
She is qualified, except perhaps for those who don’t think women should be ordained and function in this pastoral role. If she were Catholic, she might be chosen, but she would not be a priest. Certain other, more fundamentalists groups also would not go along with the idea that a woman can effectively intercede on our behalf with God. As a Quaker, I have no problems. Historically, Quakers have held the equality of women with men, so I have grown up with women being in that kind of role.
In her announcement of Chaplain Kibben’s appointment, the Speaker of the House notes, “Her integrity, experience and patriotism will serve the Congress and the country well, as she ministers to the needs of members…” I don’t know a thing about Kibben, so I cannot speak to her integrity. It is easy to assume she can’t be in the roles she has had if she is not a good person. Her experience speaks for itself. If you read her biography, it is filled with impressive credentials and appointments. No doubt within the Armed Services, she comes highly qualified. Her patriotism seems self-evident.
So what does a chaplain do at this national political place? One important thing is to offer a prayer at the beginning of a meeting of the House of Representatives, when it is in session. That is the obvious performance of her role. But we get a clue to what likely is a more important aspect of her role if we read carefully the Speaker’s announcement. She will minister to the needs of members. We know the House has 435 members, so she has a bigger job than the guy filling the chaplain’s role in the Senate, where there are only 100 senators. Her “congregation” is much bigger than most congregations in this country!
I was intrigued to realize the chaplain’s role is not necessarily a “vanilla” one---the chaplain is around, but irrelevant. I enjoyed being reminded that in 2018 the then-Chaplain Conroy was hounded by the Speaker of the House at that time, Paul Ryan, who became mad at the content of one of Conroy’s prayers. It was a time the House was pondering tax cuts, which would doubtlessly make the rich even richer. Chaplain Conroy, the Jesuit who by training (and perhaps naturally), was concerned with social justice.
I appreciated seeing his prayer offered at the time. He prayed, “May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle. May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans…” I have a heart for social justice, too, so the prayer seems quite legitimate to me. Father Conroy was petitioning God to continue to watch out for the poor and implying we should do the same thing. Amen, I say!
Seeing this prayer helps me understand what Chaplain Kibben could do. And when there are 435 women and men in the group, no doubt there will be all sorts of opportunities for all sorts of ministries---many of which will appropriately be private and about which we will know nothing. I know for sure this is what constitutes much of ministry. I am willing to assume that Chaplain Kibben is more than suited to the task.
I think God is going to enjoy hearing from a woman in the House. I think God will be glad to work directly through her to address the needs of people who clearly are important to this country and make decisions that affect all of our lives. I will pray for Admiral, Doctor and Chaplain Kibben.
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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