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Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship 11-1-2015 The Importance of Ritual in Helping Heal Veterans Who Suffer with PTSD/Moral Injury: A Chaplain’s Role in the Body of the Church Matthew Prince Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Prince, Matthew, "The Importance of Ritual in Helping Heal Veterans Who Suffer with PTSD/Moral Injury: A Chaplain’s Role in the Body of the Church" (2015). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 38. https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/38 This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPORTANCE OF RITUAL IN HELPING HEAL VETERANS WHO SUFFER WITH PTSD/MORAL INJURY: A CHAPLAIN’S ROLE IN THE BODY OF THE CHURCH A Major Applied Project Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Doctor of Ministry Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Ministry By Matthew G. Prince November, 2015 Approved by Bruce Hartung Advisor William Carr Reader Wallace Becker Reader To my friend Chris (Major, USMC) and those sheepdogs like him CONTENTS DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... vi ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER THE PROJECT INTRODUCED .......................................................................................... 1 The Problem of the Project ...........................................................................................1 The Purpose of the Project ............................................................................................8 The Process and Parameters .......................................................................................18 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................22 THE PROJECT IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ..................................................... 23 Subjective Justification ................................................................................................23 Two Realms of God’s Kingdom ..................................................................................27 Just War Theory ...........................................................................................................29 Insights from Numbers 31 ...........................................................................................31 Insights from King David and the Psalms ...................................................................34 Insights from the Gospel of Mark ................................................................................35 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................45 THE PROJECT IN THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ....................................................... 46 Historical Context .......................................................................................................46 Purification Rituals in Various Cultures .....................................................................49 Literature Review .......................................................................................................52 Conclusion .................................................................................................................65 iii THE PROJECT DEVELOPED .......................................................................................... 66 Background ................................................................................................................. 66 The Design of the Study ............................................................................................. 66 Presuppositions ...........................................................................................................67 Implementation of the Project ................................................................................... 68 Research Tools and Methodology ............................................................................. 69 Training Interview Sheets ...........................................................................................69 Workshop (Training) .................................................................................................. 70 Summary of ReEntry video ........................................................................................ 83 Combat Veteran Purification Rite .............................................................................. 83 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 90 THE PROJECT EVALUATED .......................................................................................... 92 Field Research ............................................................................................................ 92 Findings of Study ........................................................................................................ 93 Findings of All Workshops ....................................................................................... 109 Data Analysis of All Workshops............................................................................... 111 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................... 113 Contributions to Ministry ........................................................................................ 113 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 116 Contributions to Personal and Professional Growth ................................................ 118 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 120 APPENDICES APPENDIX ONE CVPR GENERIC TEMPLATE ........................................................... 121 iv APPENDIX TWO REENTRY DRAMA ............................................................................ 126 APPENDIX THREE WRITTEN RESPONSE TRAINING INTERVIEW SHEETS .................................................................................................................... 152 Workshop # 1 ........................................................................................................... 153 Workshop # 2 ........................................................................................................... 165 Workshop # 3 ........................................................................................................... 183 Workshop # 4 ........................................................................................................... 194 Workshop # 5 ........................................................................................................... 212 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 225 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Bruce for his patience and insightful advice. To Paul for his Barnabas like encouragement to finish this major applied project. To my Mom Barbara and Dad Montie for their unending support. To my dog Biscuit for listening to me on our many walks. To my wife Susan and my four wonderful children: Hannah, Rachel, Sarah, and Luke for loving me and giving me much joy. To God Almighty, the ultimate healer, be all honor and glory now and forever. Amen. vi ABBREVIATIONS 3/7 3rd Battalion 7th Marines CVPR Combat Veteran Purification Rite D.Min. Doctor of Ministry LW Luther’s Works (American Edition) PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder OSCAR (O.S.C.A.R.) Operational Stress Control and Readiness vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION “You can reach into the well of courage only so many times before the well runs dry.” Ardant Du Picq The Problem Identified In 2007, after a seven month deployment to Ramadi, Iraq1 with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines,2 an infantry battalion of approximately 1200 Marines, I began my search in the Holy Scriptures and in Church tradition to find a “purification rite” that I might use to help those military combat veterans coming to me seeking help. I had heard secondhand about various cultures, such as the Native Americans and the Spartans, who had ceremonies to help their warriors return to normal life after battle. So I began to read and study about these various warrior cultures and learn about their purification rites. As an active duty Navy chaplain, endorsed by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, I wondered where did these purification rites from these societies have their roots. Had some of their ideas come from the purification rituals in the Pentateuch? Did the early or medieval church have any purification rites? Had the early church fathers written

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