Twenty active and reserve U.S. Navy chaplains attended a workshop at the Bangor Chapel, July 9-10, to strengthen their
ministry knowledge and skills. 
The goal of the workshop, titled the “Region Northwest Active and Reserve Ministry Workshop,” was to integrate the active
and reserve chaplains as a step toward a more unified Navy.
“Our efforts were to make sure we had a blend,” said Capt. Ronald Wells, deputy Navy Region Northwest chaplain and one
of the event’s coordinators. 
During the two-day workshop the chaplains engaged in 10 presentations and talks about assorted ministerial and spiritual
topics. The group evaluated the quality of the program and feedback was positive according to Wells.
The group also toured Regional Operations Command (ROC) to heighten its awareness of how to act during a national or
regional disaster.
Many chaplains said that the tour of ROC was the “most practical part of the workshop,” Wells said.
Cmdr. Christopher Kneen, the Northwest Regional Operations command chaplain, opened the workshop with an encouraging
story. He spoke about Hanna Massad, the first Christian pastor to preach in Gaza in the Middle East.
The roof of Massad’s church has caved-in six times due to vibrations from artillery, and has also been ransacked of its supplies
by militants. Massad continues to preach through it all, and his story served as inspiration for the group. 
“If you see a problem, it’s yours to fix,” said Kneen, referring to each chaplain’s ministry. “Leave here with a clearer sense to
be successful in the place God has given you.”
This hope is aligned with the Navy’s Chaplain Corps (CHC) mission, which is to “deliver religious accommodation, care, and
advisement, to strengthen faith, values, and virtues, so that Sailors, Marines, and their families may best serve our country.”
The CHC consists of approximately 1,000 active and reserve chaplains. Around 900 religious program specialists support the
CHC.
Chaplains can support Sailors in a variety of ways. Counseling them is one of these services. Conversations with a chaplain remain
confidential, so a Sailor can feel safe to speak his or her mind freely. 
Chaplains are the only ones “a Sailor can talk to with complete confidence,” said Cmdr. Michael Barber, a Jesuit reserve chaplain.
Barber recently arrived in the Pacific Northwest aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and has served in the Navy for 17 years.
He attended the workshop to learn about “new opportunities for reserve chaplains,” he said.
The chaplains came from local areas, such as Washington and Oregon, and as far away as New Jersey. Many different denominations
were represented, including Southern Baptist, Baptist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, United Methodist, United Church of
Christ, Church of the Nazarenes, and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.
The group also listened to presentations from Rear Adm. Joseph David Stinson, deputy chief of Chaplains for Reserve Matters and
Director of Religious Programs, Marine Forces Reserve, and Capt. Debra McGuire, commander Naval Reserve Forces Command Force
Chaplain. The group “really enjoyed their presentations,” said Wells. Kneen offered cordial words of his own to the group during the workshop. 
“Whatever God has entrusted you with,” said Kneen, “be faithful to that.”