More faith groups minister to military

Despite the recognition of their service, especially on Veterans Day, more indepth care of veterans’ and service members’ needs is often overlooked. Even in houses of worship. That’s something retired Air Force Lt. Col. Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz wants to change, and she’s working with local religious leaders to do that.

Gallowitz, of Upper Arlington, runs a company called Vanguard Veterans, which trains faith communities about how to best support veterans, service members and their families.

About 150 religious leaders in Ohio have been trained since Gallowitz started this work a few years ago.

At the time, she was still working for the military and ran a training program through her employer at the time, the Ohio National Guard.

She’s picked up the cause after retirement because “there’s so much more that can be done.”

“This is so brand new ... this movement is in its infancy,” Gallowitz said.

Faith leaders have been responsive to Gallowitz’s call for them to minister more to service members, though many are uncertain about how exactly to do it.

“Recently a senior pastor at a local church, he said, ‘You know, I’ve never thought about it,’” Gallowitz said, referring to ministering to service members and veterans. “Faith leaders are so busy addressing the needs of others.

“Sometimes the needs of the unique ... population get forgotten.”

She doesn’t want to see that happen. Neither does the Rev. Gary Brand.

Brand, director of

older adult ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church in Marble Cliff and a veteran himself, likens the reason for helping the veteran population to the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. The Samaritan didn’t pass by a man in need on the side of the road, while a priest and another man did. Jesus said to be like the Samaritan.

“We want to be not those who walk by a place where people are, but we want to do what we can to help,” he said.

Trinity has an activeduty honor wall that features congregants. Brand has done honor flights, where veterans get free trips to see memorials of the wars they fought in through a nonprofit organization, with church members, and the church also participates in the H.E.R.O.E.S. Care Ministry Program, which provides support for military members and their families. It’s been offering services for military members for about 10 years, Brand said.

Trinity, which is also the church Gallowitz

attends, started what’s referred to as a military ministry, as have a few other local churches, she said.

A military ministry means pastors and faith leaders know their congregants, and which ones are active duty, reserve, or veterans, she said. Beyond that, they should know when they deploy, find out what the family needs while they’re gone, and provide other services.

The ministry can look several different ways, Gallowitz said. Maybe it’s a support group of some kind. Maybe it’s just offering donations to families of members, a referral to other services or holding specific worship services and prayers. It could be other congregants offering to mow the lawn, bringing over food or babysitting.

Deacon Todd Tucky, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Delaware, went through training on the specific needs of military members and families, and then built a military ministry at that church.

He’s found that many service members say the best way to help them is to help their families.

“What we try to do is work with these families to help them with ways of understanding” what service members are going through before and after deployment, he said.

With veterans, it’s helping them see that what they’re going through is OK, Tucky said.

Sometimes, that takes another veteran from the same branch, which is why Tucky started a peer-mentoring program.

“We have a group of people that’s only growing and are still underserved,” he said.

He pointed out the fact that the country has been at war for the longest time in its history, and that more resources need to be available to help troops coming back.

“When they come back, there is a tremendous amount of healing that needs to happen,” Tucky said.

“At the church, that’s kind of in our wheelhouse.”