CAMP ZAMA, Japan – U.S. Army chaplains and their staff hosted an interfaith council for the first time here Thursday as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen their relationship with local religious leaders.
The U.S. Army Japan Chaplain Directorate, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Garrison Japan Religious Support Office, welcomed 14 members of the Tokyo Interfaith Council, which is comprised of several faith groups.
Last year, Army chaplains toured the renowned Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine in Tokyo, which initially piqued their interest in forging bonds with faith leaders in the surrounding community. A few months later, they hosted a group of Shinto priests for a visit to Camp Zama.
“That really started this interest in, ‘How do we become more familiar with the religious leaders in the area?’” said Col. J.P. Smith, command chaplain for USARJ. “And not only that, ‘How can we share with them what we do here?’”
As they broadened their outreach, the chaplains also contacted the Tokyo Interfaith Council and attended meetings with them as well as religious services at their places of worship.
“What we’re hoping is that not only did this start a dialogue,” Smith said, “but now we will be able to continue that through getting out and interacting with other organizations and religious leaders out there.”
During last week’s event, council members and two Navy chaplains visited the USARJ headquarters and Camp Zama Chapel and took a bus tour of the installation. Chaplains also briefed them on the Army’s mission in Japan while everyone exchanged information and ideas on how they can assist each other.
“They represent many different faith groups that we don’t have here,” said Lt. Col. Damon Saxton, chaplain for USAG Japan. “And we we’re hoping to build relationships, so that some of our service members who don’t have a faith home could have a place that they could call their faith home.”
Saxton said he and others were glad to show a closeup view of U.S. Army life to the council members not familiar with the military.
“We gained some great friends and partners in the community,” he said. “Military members are always told that we are ambassadors wherever we go, and so, as we interact with the community members and they see a positive side of the military, it helps the relationship the military has with the surrounding communities.”
April Cook, who helped establish the council in 2019, said the Army religious teams rolled out the red carpet for her fellow members, who represented an array of Christian, Jewish and Baha’i faith groups.
“Today’s visit was absolutely incredible,” she said. “The way that we were received really just amazed me.”
Cook said the council has been working on a similar mission to reach out to other faith leaders to spread religious freedom and access to services.
“Anytime that we can connect more with people who are trying to do those things is a benefit to us,” she said, “and also to those groups trying to enrich those understandings of faith in their communities.”
After a briefing on the Army chaplaincy at the chapel, Cook said she was surprised to learn how the Department of Defense recognizes over 200 different faith groups.
“The importance that has been placed on helping members of faith to be strengthened in whatever they believe, I was really impressed by that,” she said. “That was a really strong message.”
Andrew Scheer, a rabbi and one of the council’s leaders, also believed the role of the chaplains closely aligned with that of the council members.
“At the end of the day, we’re there to meet the need of who were serving,” he said.
Scheer, who previously served in the Army Reserve, enjoyed the opportunity to be back on an Army installation.
“Whenever I can come to Zama it’s a reminder of what feels like a previous life in a lot of ways,” he said, “and it just heartens my soul to be around, specifically, Army chaplains.”
While he understood how the chaplaincy supports those in the military, Scheer was still thrilled when he heard Army chaplains tell him during the visit that they also wanted to help his organization.
“Just that sense of warmth and openness and of figuring out the mission together – that’s something I didn’t expect but was a tremendous highlight,” he said.
Smith said he and his religious teams plan to put those words into action in the coming months.
“The takeaway for them is, this is only the beginning,” he said of the council. “It’s going to continue on here … and we believe that this will help our military personnel as well as the people in the community.”
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