Brief History of the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel (PRCC)
By James C. Pakala (Secretary 1981-95, Chairman 1996-2009) for the Silver Anniversary dinner, 5 March 2002 and then updated in 2023.
On September 13, 1976 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) answered in the affirmative an overture from its Pacific Presbytery requesting a study to consider whether a joint commission with “sister Presbyterian denominations” or a PCA chaplain commission under the denomination’s Mission to the U.S. (MUS, now MNA/Mission to North America) should be formed to represent and supervise PCA chaplains better than was possible through the chaplain commission of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), through whose good services the young denomination had been securing endorsements for its chaplains. The PCA Moderator appointed a committee consisting of teaching elders J.P. Clark, E.A. Jussely, D.R. McCullough, J.E. Moore, and W.I. Philips, ruling elders E. Bolton, J. Campbell, and G. Sovereign, and alternates H. Langford and E. Fleming. This “Ad-interim Subcommittee on Chaplains” met in Montgomery, AL on February 17, 1977 with Clark as chair and Langford as recorder, but it already had corresponded with the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, other Presbyterian chaplain endorsing entities, and world missions and interchurch relations personnel of the PCA.
As a result of that meeting, the PCA Assembly later that year adopted several recommendations. It instructed its Committee on Interchurch Relations (with Chaplains Don Clements and W.I. Philips added as ex officio members) to study the possibility of a joint commission with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) and Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES). The PCA also stipulated that though its MUS eventually should handle “matters of denominational examination of candidates, [and] endorsement through a recognized Commission,” for the time being its Mission to the World (MTW) should “continue to examine and endorse chaplains to the Armed Services through the administrative offices of the NAE.” As a chaplain examined in 1974-75 by Westminster Presbytery and endorsed by the NAE, I do not recall interacting directly with MTW, but I was grateful for their oversight of this arena of ministry and their use of the NAE that, as it turned out, saved my endorsement process from serious snags, thanks to NAE expertise and clout.
In Seattle on December 5-6, 1977 the PCA (through Interchurch Relations auspices) sponsored a “working group” that met in response to the Assembly’s action as well as action by the 155th General Synod of the RPCES to “seek the cooperation of the OPC and PCA in establishing a joint Chaplains Commission.” The group consisted of D. Clements and D. Esty of the PCA, M. Stingley and P. Morison of the OPC, and W. Leonard and S. Leonard of the RPCES. Visitors were R. Bonner and D. Lee of the RPCES. Active duty chaplains at the time totaled 2 OPC (Foh and Lee), 6 PCA (Clements, Crocker, Good, Philips, Register, and Roberts), and 11 RPCES (Ackley, Baker, Case, Cross, Fiol, Greenwalt, Hegeman, Hubbard, Needham, Peterson, and Sidebotham). Correspondence from all three Chiefs of Chaplains indicated that having a joint commission would not adversely affect current chaplains or the placement of new chaplains.
The working group proposed a name and structure that became official in June 1978 when the Assemblies/Synod met in Grand Rapids and approved the commission that the group had proposed. This came to the OPC as Stated Clerk’s Recommendation 1, while the PCA’s approval occurred as part of the report from its Committee on Interchurch Relations. The RPCES Synod’s approval was part of its Chaplains Committee report, which specified that the Committee would designate the representatives. Robert Bonner, Bill Leonard, and John MacGregor were chosen. But the OPC and PCA Assemblies elected their representatives. The OPC named Elmer Dortzbach (though not among five initial candidates) and Dennis Prutow (with the class of 1981 temporarily vacant). The PCA appointed Don Clements, Jim Pakala, and ruling elder Tom Birr.
On September 21, 1978 the Commission’s initial meeting occurred at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis to form the new Presbyterian and Reformed Commission (the word “Joint” subsequently was added at OPC request). The RPCES had the most chaplains and brought the most expertise, ranging from broad experience with endorsements to recognition among the Chiefs of Chaplains. The PCA was only five years old but had initiated the idea and could commit significant financial and logistical resources. Though it had few chaplains at the time, the OPC maintained the most ecumenical contacts with Reformed denominations globally.
In the early 1980s the U.S. military dropped its (short-lived) policy of requiring at least 100,000 members for an ecclesiastical body to begin endorsing chaplains on its own. In 1978, however, a key reason for the PRJC’s formation was the 100,000 threshold. With 102,362 members reported among the three denominations, Don Clements quipped “Thank God for the Coral Ridge Church” (with its 4,714 communicant members it had recently joined the PCA).
If ecumenicity and military requirements led to the PRJC’s founding, other reasons boosted its long-range credibility and growth. Rather than chaplains falling into the “lone ranger” syndrome as many from small denominations easily can, the PRJC chaplains had the benefit of a visible and highly experienced Executive Director to serve both formally as endorser/advocate and informally as mentor/shepherd during their years of service. Soon they also had PRJC retreats, increased chaplain awareness at General Assembly/Synod, stronger representation in Washington and also among other endorsing agencies, timely assistance with both routine and unusual situations, and a newsletter all their own (On Line began in 1983, followed by The Guardian in 1997). Few of these benefits would have been possible if each denomination had gone its own way.
In 1984 at the request of the Korean American Presbyterian Church (KAPC) the PRJC granted a tentative endorsement to the Rev. Youn H. Kim and appointed Howard Cross and Lyman Smith to recommend an addition to the PRJC Constitution to permit chaplain endorsement for non-member denominations that are in doctrinal agreement and approved by the Commission. In 1996 the Korean Presbyterian Church in America (KPCA) became the second such denomination, joining the KAPC that blazed the trail a decade earlier.
By late 1985 the PRJC had taken increasing interest in non-military chaplaincies (even though not all require official endorsement, at least at the national level), but military chaplains remained focal. The number of OPC active-duty chaplains had tripled from two (both Army) to six (4 Army; 2 Navy), with a seventh in process. With the RPCES chaplains now in the PCA as a result of the 1982 “Joining and Receiving,” the PCA had thirty-four active-duty chaplains (18 Army; 13 Navy; 3 USAF).
In 1987 the OPC and PCA General Assemblies approved, upon recommendation of the PRJC, the admission of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) as a member of the PRJC. This and other official business reached the OPC and PCA Assemblies via their own Chaplains Commission and Mission to North America (MNA), respectively. In 1987 the PCA approved provisions for chaplains to baptize converts and see them, through a variety of means, placed in absentia as members of particular churches. The OPC had approved similar provisions.
In 1995, retired Army chaplain David Peterson succeeded William B. Leonard, Jr. as Executive Director. Bill, though part-time, had served essentially full-time since 1978. The position, with its dual role as MNA Coordinator of Chaplain Ministries, now was officially full-time. The budget mushroomed, but God provided all the funds. The PRJC appointed two largely volunteer Associate Directors to help especially with visiting chaplains: retired Navy chaplain Stan Beach and retired USAF chaplain Beryl Hubbard. Just as Dave Peterson did, they attained the highest rank in their service branches (apart from the Chief of Chaplains office) and they brought high recognition.
By 2001, the PCA had 74 active-duty chaplains (44 Army; 20 Navy; 10 USAF) plus 10 Army National Guard, 2 Air National Guard, 20 Army Reserve, 7 Navy Reserve, and 4 USAF Reserve chaplains. Its chaplains in Veterans Administration hospitals numbered 8 (6 full-time). Over 50 other PCA chaplains were serving either full-time or part-time in a wide variety of settings such as businesses, prisons, medical centers, retirement homes, the Civil Air Patrol, and local police departments or fire companies. The OPC had a total of 8 active and 3 reserve military chaplains plus at least 4 in other institutional settings. The other denominations listed mainly military chaplains as follows: RPCNA – 2 active-duty, 2 reserve; KAPC – 4 active-duty and 1 prison; and KPCA – 1 active duty. One of the ongoing challenges of the PRJC is to identify and minister to, in whatever ways feasible, more of the part-time and/or volunteer chaplains that are serving in local settings without the need for a formal ecclesiastical endorsement process.
In 2004 David Peterson hired Gary Hitzfeld, a PCA ruling elder, as his Administrative Assistant. For a good while the Commission also recognized him as Associate Director for the non-military chaplaincies. In 2007 the KAPC was received as a full member (with approval forthcoming from the OPC, PCA & RPCNA), but the KPCA at the same time was joined as a non-voting associate member because the United Reformed Churches in North America received approval as such.
After a lengthy search, the top Army Reserve Chaplain (Brigadier General) Douglas E. Lee as of October 2008 succeeded David Peterson. In 2009 Bentley Rayburn became Chairman of the Commission. He is a PCA ruling elder and had retired as an Air Force Major General.
The 2010 meeting was highly unusual because it was not held in Atlanta. The Air Force and Navy chaplain schools had moved to Fort Jackson, SC where the Army’s had moved from New Jersey back in 1996. The meeting was timely, for by 2017 the Air Force school was back in Alabama and the Navy’s in Rhode Island. Among the meeting’s actions was a By-Laws change specifying that two regular meetings would occur per year, one in person and the other by electronic means.
In 2012 the Commission dropped the word “Joint” from its name. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s application for membership was approved and sent on for approval by the four denominations. Interestingly, at least as early as 1994 there had been expressions of interest from the ARPC, which with the PC(USA) and two Cumberland denominations had membership in the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel. In 2013 the Commission welcomed representatives from the ARPC and the denomination has been very engaged ever since.
Illustrative of activity across the years are several events in early 2013. One was the visit by Doug Lee and Steve Leonard to assist the Paraguay military in developing their chaplaincy. The other three were January and March 2013 teleconference meetings with the in-person meeting in between. Retired Army chaplain Mack Griffith and retired hospital and hospice chaplain Del Farris came on board (largely through their own fund-raising) to help minister to military and civilian chaplains, respectively. Retired Navy chaplain and Associate Director Ron Swafford particularly welcomed Griffith’s help in visiting scores of military chaplains stationed so many places. And 2013 also saw the establishment of the Chaplain William B. Leonard, Jr. Scholarship Fund, and the Chaplain David P. Peterson Leadership Fund. Subsequently the Stanley Beach Scholarship was established. The key purpose of these was to provide scholarships for seminarians pursuing chaplaincy. Significant also was Gary Hitzfeld’s report as a representative to the Association of Religious Endorsing Bodies, on whose officer nominating committee he served, the other two members being a female rabbi and a Greek Orthodox priest.
Regarding the Commission’s Executive Director, it is essential to recognize that the individual also is the PCA’s Chaplain Ministries Coordinator under Mission to North America, and the MNA Coordinator must approve hiring of the individual. At the February 23-24, 2016 Commission meeting Chairman Rayburn appointed a four-member search committee in view of Executive Director Lee retiring by October 2017. At a teleconference meeting in September 2016 that committee recommended retired Army Chaplain (Colonel) James Carter as the new Executive Director. He already had met with MNA Coordinator Paul Hahn, who affirmed MNA’s agreement with the committee’s recommendation. Voting unanimously for Carter, the commissioners were instructed to keep the matter confidential until he could inform his congregation of his intent to accept the position as of October 2017. On November 14, 2017, a half-hour teleconference meeting occurred at which new Executive Director James Carter was present as well as the four Associates: Del Farris, Mack Griffith, Gary Hitzfeld, and David Tubley.
During an August 2019 teleconference meeting Jim Carter introduced Dr. Michael Stewart as Civilian Chaplain Associate Endorser and also reported that training events for chaplains are going well and that one for new chaplains and their spouses would be the following month at the ARPC’s Bonclarken Conference Center. He also explained that there has been a large rise in civilian chaplain ministry opportunities.
An October 2020 teleconference meeting included the introduction of Dr. Don Sampson as a Military Chaplain Associate Endorser, and Bekah Lawing became part-time administrative assistant. She brings experience from serving the Commission by assisting David Peterson years earlier. Executive Director Carter also announced that the Commission’s new Chaplaincy videos are available in online, DVD or thumb drive formats, and that the first sports chaplain is endorsed and serves the Nashville professional soccer club.
The February 2021 meeting was a virtual event, owing to the pandemic. There were now more Endorsed chaplains than ever before. There were also the most newly endorsed chaplains and the most approvals of chaplain candidates. The Associate Directors were all re-elected.
The February 22-23, 2022 meeting was advanced technologically, including a large screen showing several distant attendees who also could see those present, and there were real-time audiovisual interactions with, respectively, chaplains at West Point, two at the USAF Academy, and one at the Pentagon. In person there always are MNA representative attendees for part of the meeting, most notably Fred Marsh over the decades and people like Barbara Green, but the Commission almost always also hears from the MNA Coordinator in person as well. The Commission approved funds to launch a Douglas E. Lee New Chaplain Training Scholar all the committees whether short-term or with long histories, ship Fund.
At the February 2023 meeting, Executive Director Carter reported that there are 323 endorsed chaplains: 229 military; 85 non-military; and 20 candidates already learning as they serve at National Guard units, for example. There are actually 334 positions filled because eleven chaplains are full-time with a hospital or hospice, for example, and also with a military Reserve unit for drill weekends and fourteen days of full-time service annually. The chaplains are: 242 PCA, 29 KAPC, 23 ARPC, 15 OPC, 9 KPCA, 3 RPCNA, and 2 URCNA. Over the year the chaplains each received at least one virtual or in-person visits from Commission Staff. The Commission’s aim is as follows: Care/Counsel-Mentor; Credentialing & Ecclesiastical Endorsement; Cover and Protect; Calling/Counsel-Mentor (formerly “Catch” or recruit and thus first when the list devised by Doug Lee was “Catch, Credential, Care, and Cover”); and Connect Local Congregations to the Chaplaincy. Retiring Navy Chaplain (Captain) Dwight Horne was elected an Associate Endorser and replacing Gary Hitzfeld as Administrative Director is Charles Dey, Missouri Air Guard Chaplain and until May 31 a full-time hospital chaplain. Full-time with the Commission as of June, he observed and assisted until assuming duties July 1 with ongoing oversight by Gary Hitzfeld until the latter retires August 31, 2023.
This account lacks coverage of so much Commission history, such as budgetary matters, Constitution and By-Laws changes, oft-recurring revisions to the Chaplains’ Manual, occasional disputes or differences among the denominational representatives, and extensive consideration of military policy changes and sociopolitical issues such as women in combat, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and whether chaplains may be excused from serving on military courts martial. I have written a longer history but have not intended to promulgate it, partly owing to its sensitivity, although it is in the PRCC archives at the PCA Historical Center. Like this shorter version, it is based on Commission minutes and those of the OPC, PCA, and the RPCES prior to joining the PCA. Also helpful were some issues of the Commission’s periodical On Line, which preceded the current one titled The Guardian.
