Big Stone Gap District:
Stanfield leaves Trinity
for navy chaplain post
By Jodi Deal
The Coalfield Progress
WISE, Va. - Becoming a Navy chaplain fulfills a long-time dream for the Rev. Chris Stanfield, who has been pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church for four years.
Stanfield, 33, preached his last
sermon at the Big Stone Gap District
church on May 22. On the following
Monday morning, he set out for
Newport, R.I., where he began 10
weeks of chaplain training.
When that is complete, the family
will relocate to the Navy Air Base
in Pensacola, Fla., home to the
Blue Angels Flight Demonstration
Squadron.
About 50 of Stanfield's family,
friends and church members attended
a commissioning ceremony held
April 21 at Trinity.
"This is the most people I have
ever seen at a commissioning," said
Lt. John Houser, a Navy recruiter
from Knoxville, who officiated.
Houser said most commissionings
are performed quickly at the
recruiting office. Stanfield chose to
have the ceremony at Trinity and to
be sworn in by his father, Jerry, a
retired Marine.
Long-time goal
Stanfield says becoming a Navy chaplain fulfills a long-time goal of his.
"I've wanted to do this for 15
years, ever since I was called to the
ministry," Stanfield said, noting that
his first pastor was a reserve Navy
chaplain. "It's always been there."
The time just seemed right last
November, with seminary and
church experience under his belt.
Obtaining the required endorsement
from the United Methodist Church
was relatively simple, but the
subsequent screening process,
including multiple interviews and
exhaustive paperwork, dragged on
for nearly six months.
"Once you get the endorsement,
you just keep on going," Stanfield
said. "There are a number of different
hurdles, and if you miss one, it's over."
But Stanfield didn't miss a hurdle.
He aced each interview, including the
one he recalls as the most stressful,
in the Naval annex of the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C.
"You have 30 minutes to show
them whether or not you're able
to do this," Stanfield said. Of five
prospective chaplains interviewing
that day, only three were selected.
Possible duties
A Navy chaplain's duties are similar to those of a pastor at Trinity. Stanfield will deliver sermons, counsel, perform weddings, and visit people who are hospitalized.
New responsibilities will be added
when Stanfield becomes a military
officer. He will be working with Navy
officers of all faiths, providing general
ministry and guidance during the more
difficult times in military life.
While he knows he will be based
in Pensacola for his first few years of
service, after that, Stanfield and his
family could be relocated to almost
anywhere in the world.
"It's the same thing, just a
different setting," Stanfield said. "It's
all very exciting."
His wife is excited, too.
"He's going to be fantastic,"
Kelly Stanfield said. "Chris relates
to young guys so well. He's not at all
intimidating."
While military bases may seem
large and intimidating, Kelly
Stanfield feels sure that wherever
Chris is stationed, the base will feel
like a big family, just like the family
at Trinity UMC. What's more, all six
of the Stanfield children are homeschooled,
so frequent moves will not
interrupt their studies.
"For the kids, it's the ultimate
home schooling experience," Kelly
Stanfield said. "God made such a big
world. Why spend all of our time in
one tiny part of it?"
Ellie, 2, is the youngest Stanfield
child, and was born in Wise. Nettie,
4, was an infant when the family
moved to Wise from Church Hill,
Tenn. Carson, 7, Molly, 8, Lucas, 12,
and Tyler, 15, have all made close
friendships in the area, through the
church, home-schooling groups and
Appalachian Children's Theatre, Kelly
Stanfield said.
Stanfield, a Georgia native, was
appointed to Wise fresh out of Asbury
Theological Seminary in Wilmore,
Ky. Hoping to move south from his
student appointment in Church Hill,
Stanfield's first assignment took him
North instead to Trinity in Wise.
In 2001, Trinity had a congregation
of about 60 people, with few youth.
Now, the church's congregation
averages about 90 members, Stanfield
says, including many new youth and
children.
The church is going through a
generational change, he explained, in
which younger members are filling
leadership roles once occupied by
older members. While such a change
can be sad, as older members pass
away - it is also exciting, as new
members are baptized, Stanfield said.
"It's been interesting to watch
people switch spiritual gears,"
Stanfield said.
Overall, Stanfield says, Wise was
undoubtedly where he and his family
were supposed to be over the past four
years.
"This place has been good to us,"
he said fondly.
Reprinted with permission,
The Coalfield Progress
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