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Christ, Georgetown rector heads for Iraq

Washington Window
Vol. 75, No. 2, February 2006

The Rev. Stuart Kenworthy, rector of Christ Church, Georgetown, is on his way to Iraq as chaplain of the 372d Military Police Company of the Army National Guard. Kenworthy, who spent much of last month in training at Fort Bliss, Texas, left for Germany on Jan. 20, and will travel to Kuwait and then Iraq.

Kenworthy, who holds the rank of major, had been a member of the 372d for 10 years before resigning his commission in May. When he learned this fall that his former unit was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq, he rejoined the Guard for a rotation that will end this summer.

In Iraq, Kenworthy will minister to all branches of the United States' armed forces. "As soon as he arrives, he becomes the pastor to thousands," said the Rev. Lyndon Shakespeare, assistant to the rector at Christ Church. "And those thousands include all shapes and sizes and various traditions."

As one rector departs for Iraq, another rector's son is already there. Ben Hayward, son of the Rev. Steve Hayward, rector and his wife, Kathleen, of St. Peter's, Poolesville, recently began a one-year rotation in the northern part of the country. An Army captain and West Point graduate, the younger Hayward is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot attached to the 10th Mountain Division.

Although his son has been stationed overseas before, this is his first tour of duty in a war zone, said the Rev. Hayward. Ben has been keeping in touch with his family by e-mail, and usually writes home each Sunday morning, after waiting in line to use his unit's computers, his father said.

The Rev. Hayward concedes that this is an anxious time for his family, and says he thinks his son "tells us quite little to keep our anxieties down."

But Hayward also said he has received a great deal of support from the families of two other young men in his parish who also have served in Iraq.

"Those families are a particular help," he said. "We talk about mutual ministry - I think this is it at its best."

While Hayward and other Episcopal priests minister to the families of those serving in Iraq, he believes that Episcopalians in the military are not being well served as there are relatively few Episcopal chaplains.

"[My son] has said in the past that basically he has two choices: he can go to the Roman Catholic mass, or he can join the more evangelical groups, and neither of them suit his worship style," Hayward said. "Maybe that's why he e-mails on Sunday mornings."

The Rev. Phillip Cato has been working to gather both active military who have served or will serve in Iraq and their families. His aim is "to talk about what is happening and be of mutual support," he said.

Cato, who was asked to establish this group by Bishop John Chane at the 2005 Diocesan Convention, believes it is important that military families support each other in this way.
A number of military families gathered in the summer, and Cato would like to get in touch with other military members and their families.

Serving in Iraq can wreak havoc with people's lives, he said.

"Having someone to talk about it with when they get back is really very important," he said. Cato can be reached at phillipcato@yahoo.com.

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