About Federal Chaplains

At Sunday's worship New Year's Day, Chaplain Butler shared Word and Sacrament with Sailors and Soldiers who gathered to begin pre-deployment training bound for Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kuwait, Bahrain and points undisclosed.

The Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries provides:

A continuing education and spiritual nurture for chaplaincies
Liaison between federal agencies and the ELCA
Recruitment of chaplains (administrative assistance)
Ongoing communication with chaplains
Deepening and strengthening of ties between chaplains and the ELCA
Active participation within the interfaith chaplain community
Materials to support chaplain ministries

Staff

Pastor Eric Wester
Assistant to the Presiding Bishop for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries
Email: Eric.Wester@elca.org
Phone: 202-417-3692

Terry Fulton Viscardo
Administrative Assistant
Email: Terry.Fulton@elca.org
Phone: 202-417-3693

Contact

ELCA Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries
305 E Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001

ph. 202-417-3693
fax 202-822-1902

Origin
The Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries finds its origin in the ELCA Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions, where the responsibilities of the presiding bishop are listed. It reads:

15.11.B03. Responsibility for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries

To assist in the fulfillment of constitutional provision 13.21.j., the presiding bishop shall have a staff member appointed by the presiding bishop who shall be an assistant to the presiding bishop of this church to carry out duties related to the chaplaincies of this church in the U.S. armed forces, the Veterans Affairs Administration, and other federal agencies and institutions. The assistant to the presiding bishop for federal chaplaincies shall:

a. Supervise the operation of the Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy
Ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America;

b. Fulfill the requirements for endorsement of candidates for services in
federal chaplaincies; and

c. Seek periodically the advice and counsel of the inter-Lutheran
committee for federal chaplaincies whose members of this church
shall be appointed by the presiding bishop.

Place in the Organizational Structure:

- Office of the Presiding Bishop

- Department for Synodical Relations: Bureau for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries

- Assistant to the Bishop for Federal Chaplaincy Ministries

- Administrative Assistant