![]() Some people manage it, but many people do not.” “The ones that don’t have the support tend to end up on the street or having mental problems,” he said. Nisbet said veterans sometimes have difficulty when making the transition back to civilian life without adequate help, but churches can help by having a system in place to track them and ask whether they need help as well as keeping a prayer list. “Go have a conversation with your pastor, and if they’re worried about it, have them call me.” “It really comes from, I think, lay people saying to the pastor, ‘What do you think about this?’ and then pastors having the ability to say, ‘Yes, absolutely do it,’” Lee said. ![]() Hope Lee, Vienna’s lead pastor, promoted Stephen ministers as a way to help veterans and recommended that congregants approach their pastors when interested in seeing their churches start military ministries. Any congregation, regardless of denomination, “can start up their own program under the VMFC,” and “it’s a great way to find out what other congregations are doing and learn from their best practices as well.” Tom Portman, a military ministry leader with Vienna Presbyterian Church in Virginia, also discussed VMFC. “It encourages congregations to identify themselves as people who welcome” military members, veterans and their families, he said, and to offer support in various ways, such as assembling care packages. Nisbet, a retired Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastor, recommended Veteran/Military Friendly Congregations (VMFC), a program started by faith-based communities to promote a sense of community, acceptance and support for veterans and their families. It’s important to “look around for resources.” Bill Nisbet, a retired Army chaplain who worships with Roswell Presbyterian Church in Georgia and is affiliated with Presbyterian Federal Chaplaincies, a partnership organization of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta. “I have always encouraged my congregations to try not to reinvent the wheel,” said the Rev. One common theme during the webinar was the importance of delving into preexisting services, programs and resources when looking to assist veterans who may be struggling with homelessness, mental illness, unemployment or other problems. The series places an emphasis on listening, engaging and forming relationships with communities. McClinton, who was homeless for a time after serving in the military, was one of the featured guests during a recent virtual discussion in the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People’s “The Struggle is Real” webinar series, which encourages engagement and activism by churches to eradicate poverty. “We have to be veteran-friendly every day, not just one day, not just two days.” “It’s sad because after Veterans Day and after Memorial Day, then I think, ‘What happened to all that enthusiasm?’” she said. Wendy McClinton, president and chief executive officer of Black Veterans for Social Justice in New York, said there’s a flurry of attention given to veterans by civic leaders and other individuals during special holidays but not enough at other times. A woman with lived experience as a homeless veteran brought home the importance of ongoing support for veterans during a recent webinar that explored issues related to poverty among veterans and how churches can help.
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