From a story which begins in AD 315, a grand celebration will take place at Faith, Lake Forest during church services on October 21 and 22.
Pastor James Buckman will receive a Bronze St. Martin of Tours Award for his exceptional meritorious service as a military chaplain. No more than one of these prestigious awards in support of the LCMS Ministry of Armed Forces are presented each year.
The award, named for St. Martin of Tours, remembers the Bishop of Tours, France, after whom Martin Luther was later named after, that came to faith, as tradition has it, after he gave half of his Roman military cape to a beggar and then saw Jesus Christ wearing the other half of the cape in a dream the same evening. Following his death, the French army carried Martin’s half of the cape into battle with a priest watching over it. The word for these priests gave us the word “chaplain” we use today.
The Bronze St. Martin of Tours Award is an award for military chaplains presented by the LCMS Ministry of Armed Forces to select chaplains who normally have 20+ years of active duty, Reserve, and/or Civil Air Patrol service.
Pinned as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015, Pastor Buckman exudes that same humble generosity as Martin of Tours. Pastor Buckman has served God and country with the military since he volunteered for the Army on his 18th birthday. During his 2014 deployment to Qatar, he served over 10,000 military personnel with creation and implementation of three programs: a flightline worship service, small group studies, and Worship with Warriors, a program which used technology to connect personnel and family members for counseling, worship, and Bible studies.
Pastor Buckman moved to Lake Forest in 2016 and serves as Lake Forest Police Department’s first ever police chaplain, a unique position that allows officers in uniform a confidential place to talk. Pastor Buckman will deploy in March 2018 as Wing Chaplain at a United States Air Force base in Al Dahfra, United Arab Emirates. Pastor Buckman is an inspirational and gracious leader. We thank God for him and pray the Lord guides each of his steps as he serves police and military personnel.
For more information on the service, visit Faith Lake Forest’s website.
The LCMS Northern Illinois District is a Military Caring Organization