What to Expect at a Military Church Service

With the focus on prayer, reverence, and devotion, why should a military church service be seen as unique in any way?

To be fair, only the soldier who is far removed from his or her family can sufficiently answer these questions.

It is perhaps the very circumstance of being alone in a different country which warrants a rethinking of the importance of military church services. Perhaps those spiritual pursuits that Americans take for granted are in essence the lifeline by which soldiers overcome the quiet despair they so often feel.

What you can come to expect from a military church service, then, is rooted in the overwhelming emotional needs of soldiers who are desperately looking for security instead of the potato chip dramas of pre-game Super bowl self-sufficiency.

Even with this justification in mind, a discussion of what to expect at a military church service can still be broken down into separate ideas.

The Neutrality of a Military Church Service

Come in from the fields of fear and what do you find at a military church service? It is certainly not men and women who are concerned with rank and self-importance.

Doesn't everyone die in the same way regardless of whether they are a private in the Army or a general in the Army?

One of the main things you can expect at a military church service, then, is to see a discarding of military importance.

All soldiers become equal under the influence of spiritual matters.

Patriotic Hymns

As with civilian church services, a great many hymns are sung at a military church service.

But, for the sake of motivating soldiers to do their duty, there are certain patriotic hymns which you can expect at military church services.

A military church service is most likely to include the National Anthem, for example, even though the National Anthem would probably not be part of a civilian church service.

Military Decorations

Finally, you could certainly expect to find flags and other military decorations flourishing at a military church service.

Remember, the emphasis at a military church service is on inspiring young men and women who are fighting for their country.

They only have to look up and see a flag to be inspired at a military church service.

In military church services, you will find that the prayers, reverence, and devotion are similar to those of a civilian church service.

The difference lies in the extreme emphasis placed on spiritual matters by desperately lonely soldiers.

Source: Personal Experience