WASHINGTON (July 7, 2015) -- Freedom was the topic of discussion during a Spiritual Fitness Luncheon hosted by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington's Chaplain's Office held at the Fort Lesley J. McNair Officers Club.
"Spiritual fitness events are an important part of building and sustaining the team, as is physical fitness" said Egon Hawrylak, Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington's deputy commander. "Together they affect our resilience and readiness to perform the tasks we are asked to execute each day."
The spiritual fitness luncheon is part of an ongoing program by the chaplain's office to reach out to the command in order to build fellowship in a relaxing setting.
"Just like exercising our physical body, our spiritual being needs stretched and strengthened. Additionally, when bringing the MDW team together for a spiritual fitness luncheon we interact as a team in a different area of our lives apart from work stations, offices and cubicles," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ed Hamlin, MDW deputy command chaplain. "There is a biblical verse that gets to the heart of this point, 'Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another' (Proverbs 27:17). Building up the individual spiritual faith body or the corporate body takes time and trust. This event is another means to help do that."
During the luncheon the U.S. Army Band's Brass Quintet performed a variety of patriotic music. Freedom was the main theme of the luncheon, with guest speakers talking about the meaning of freedom.
"The theme was incorporated as the date was set in close proximity to our country's birthday, July 4th. There were book marks at each place with Scripture passages annotated by each Chaplain and Chaplain Assistants; those passages all revolved around freedom and liberty," said Hamlin. "The founders of our great country recognized the very essence of where ultimate freedom and liberty came from, as attested to by this quote near the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'"
The next spiritual fitness luncheon is scheduled for late September, when the MDW Chaplain's Office will host the second annual St. Michael Medallion luncheon.
"The event went exceptionally well. The Fort McNair Officers Club did an excellent job of facilitating the event and the U.S. Army Band 'Pershing's Own' set the tone and performed outstanding. Again, when glancing around the room there was so much interaction among all individuals that you could see the team being strengthened," said Hamlin.
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