 And the firmament showeth his handiwork, Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Those whom he hath gathered out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. O come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. O come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, our God, and we are the people of his pastures, and the sheep of his hand. And I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord, to go unto the altar. And when Solomon had made an end to this prayer, the majesty of God filled the house, and all the people dedicated the house to God, and it was a day of great happiness. Visiting clergy, assembled chaplains, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great privilege and a pleasure for me to be here with you on this occasion. The dedication of this fine new chapel center is important to this post. It reflects once again the deep undergirding spiritual values upon which our nation is based. As we look back through history, we find in the words of the founding fathers the constant reiteration of our dependency upon a divine Creator. Phrases come down to us that men are endowed by their Creator. That our nation began with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence. That we are a nation under God, and that in God we trust. As part of this American tradition, the armed forces of the United States, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines provide chaplains in order that men and women of the military service will have available to them the rights and sacraments and ordinances of their particular denominations whenever the military situation permits. For almost two centuries, since the chaplaincy was established by a Continental Congress, the chaplains of the American Army have provided the opportunity for public worship for members of the military service. As one who has chosen the military as a career, I am proud and grateful for this heritage which has produced a community of people with different face, different creeds, different backgrounds and traditions, and has enabled us to live together in harmony and mutual understanding. This harmony, however, has not submerged our individuality. The denominational differences are recognized and preserved. In keeping with this traditional principle of our nation, our government in cooperation with our civilian churches has provided not only for the chaplains in the armed services, but has also supported this ministry to the men and women in uniform by the construction of appropriate houses of worship. This is still our firm belief. This deep religious principle which has guided us in the past still guides our actions today. But we are here to do more than dedicate a chapel. We are here to dedicate today a chapel center, a building which provides all the facilities for a full religious program. It's a nice chapel. We'll be able to do a lot with it. Modern? But then we live in modern times. I suppose every chapel reflects the people who built it. There sure have been a lot of them through the years. Stone, solid. From the Civil War, I performed my first wedding in one of those. Red brick, more and more of them for the country was growing. Then wood, the Contonement Chapel, temporary, built by the hundreds during World War II. And now we're looking to the future. And very soon these walls will be filled with the sounds of worship. Very soon we'll see all kinds of religious services in this one chapel. To my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Heaven and earth are filled with your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. The voice of joy and gladness. The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. The jubilant voice of bridegrooms from their neutral canopies and of youths from their feasts of songs. Praise be thou, O Lord, who gladdenest the bridegroom and the bride. Having concluded the seven marriage benedictions, the bridegroom will now break the glass as a symbol of mourning for the destruction of the temple. Mazel tov to you both. Kaplans used to have to hold services anywhere they could. Tents, mess halls, any place that would serve the purpose. No altar boys, no acolytes, no choirs, no guilds, and no church socials. But they managed the essential thing, even under the toughest conditions. Kaplans, I don't think we missed the conveniences in Korea as much as people thought. All in all, it was a good ministry. As a chaplain, you knew you were answering men who were in real need. You could feel them just reaching out for help. And preaching in the open on a hilltop or in a field, well, wasn't that what our good Lord taught his disciples to do? Special feeling in the house of God. We are here to dedicate today a chapel center. A building which provides all the facilities for a full religious program. The chapel itself is only a part of the chapel center. The rest of the building is given over to many other activities. A small blessed sacrament room provides a place for private devotion. There are offices for the many constantly in activities of the chaplains. Assembly, activity, and classrooms are available for all kinds of formal and informal gatherings. There is even a complete kitchen. In fact, there are activities within this building for every person in this chapel today. And these words which I command thee, this day shall be in my heart, and thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them. Very good. Good morning, boys and girls. Class will begin by having our opening prayers. Can I have a volunteer? Marsha, please. Will everybody stand? Name of the... Good group here again this morning. Before we begin, I notice we have a new member with us. I wonder if you'd introduce yourself and tell us where you're from. Mitch, Michelle, I come from Worcester, Massachusetts. Thank you, Mitch. It's good to have you with us. All of you be sure to greet him and make him feel part of our fellowship after the class. In the last few weeks we've been discussing what it took to be a Christian in the early days of the church. Today we want to examine what it takes to be a 20th century Christian. Some of you are college students examining your faith in the light of intellectualism. Others of you as servicemen are looking for ways to strengthen your faith in the military situation. Today we want to bring ourselves up to the 20th century, and as young adults living in this period, how we maintain our Christian witness. Anyone have any ideas on the things that would be particular to the 20th century adult? Any problems? Religion today is not as strong as it used to be in the sense that now we tend to go to psychology, sociology, the like instead of religion. To supplement our needs, we follow myths and use this not as much as a crush. Yes, but the church today has become more of a social atmosphere. We go to see what everyone else is wearing and to just to be seen with other people at church and not to really hear the message that we have come to listen to from the chaplain or from the minister. Perhaps, but I think the trend today is more towards individuality and tolerance. And just along that line, we're afraid anymore to stand up and say, this is exactly what I believe. This is where I stand. Right now we're going to have a story about the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. Jesus and I, and I want you to listen very carefully so you can answer the questions. Please. Original sin is not the only kind of sin. No, there's another kind of sin called actual sin. Actual sin is any sin which we ourselves commit. After the sin of Adam and Eve, it was very hard to be good and many of the people were awfully mad. But some of the people were good and they prayed for the Savior to come. Was it hard to be good after the sin of Adam and Eve? Yeah. Were many of the people bad? What happened to the bad people? They were punished. Chris, did God have any beginning? No, God did not have a beginning. He always was. Mary, where is God? God is everywhere. Good. I'd like to teach you a very beautiful song that is a Hasidic song. It is sung at weddings and is used as an accompaniment to Hasidic dances that are done in front of the bride and bridegroom to make them happy and so on. It is part of the marriage ceremony itself and is one of the seven marriage benedictions that are said during the marriage. Loosely translated, it means soon may there be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy, the sound of gladness, the sound of the bridegroom and the sound of the bride. I think there's a great advantage in attending a wedding. I think there's a great advantage in attending a military chapel because you have the opportunity of observing if not participating in the denominations of a civilian community. And at the same time you can attend this non-denominational service at the post while you make up your mind the specific needs in which you choose to worship. Well, it leaves us away from our particular beliefs, but it's also a broadening experience because by associating with people of different denominations we have the benefit of learning of their ways. Maybe we can add something to this set of standards that we almost have one for ourselves. It helps people to understand their religion more. If they are really true to their beliefs then being exposed to different Protestant denominations will only help them if they're convinced that what they believe is right. And if they aren't it's a better way through the Protestant chapel to find what they want. And they may change because denominations of religion is a flexible thing. It has to go with the times or it isn't. People can't believe in something that's wrong. I disagree. I think people are very much aware of what people around them are doing. They seem to think that what's good for the crowd is good for them and look around and take a show of fans. And whatever the majority thinks they do and I think it's people are not necessarily personally involved or more or less trying to go along with the group. But in this modern day and age I think the young people of the 20th century need something more. They need the strength within themselves, the strength of a personal faith. Yes, but this is why the army provides us with chaplains to guide us and to counsel us. Not only do we have the benefit of chaplains but we have the benefit of association with others of different denominations. And from them and their opinions we can in time enrich our own set of standards. We are very proud to have this new chapel center which is another expression of the determination of the American army to provide for the spiritual well-being of its members. For throughout the world wherever American servicemen are gathered there is a chapel. O God, thou art my God. Early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee in a dry and thirsty land. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thy honor dwelleth. In the congregation will I bless the Lord. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? From birth until death the spiritual needs of the American soldier are never neglected. It gives me great pleasure, great pride, great satisfaction to participate with you in the dedication of this new chapel center today. As our nation was conceived and created by God-fearing men, as our forefathers found courage and inspiration and divine providence, so we continue today in the traditions they began so many years ago. As a reminder of the constant presence of God with his children, we dedicate this house. As a place of worship for men and women of every faith, we dedicate this house. As a place of prayer and meditation, we dedicate this house. As an incentive for right living and unselfish service, we dedicate this house. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, before the mountains were brought forth, or thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art God.