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A Bridge in Babylon: Stories of a Military Chaplain in Iraq by [Owen R. Chandler]

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Owen R. Chandler

A Bridge in Babylon: Stories of a Military Chaplain in Iraq Kindle Edition

by Owen R. Chandler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Army chaplain Owen Chandler takes us to the battlefields of Iraq in this gripping spiritual memoir of war, love, family, church and God.
As an Arizona Army National Reservist, Rev. Chandler was deployed to Iraq as chaplain of the 336th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, leaving behind his wife, three young children, and a congregation for more than a year.
In this honest and eloquent memoir, Chandler shares his story of serving as an “embedded presence of hope” in Iraq through personal letters, journal entries, scriptures and photos exchanged with family back home.
Expanding far beyond the military chaplain caricature of M*A*S*H’s Father Francis Mulcahy, Chandler reflects on the brutal realities of war, his fellow soldiers, and the families waiting for them all to come home. He shares the struggle to hold onto faith and hope in the midst of battlefields, opening readers’ hearts to the challenges of military chaplaincy and the plight of veterans shattered by their experiences.
A Bridge to Babylon inspires readers and provide tools to create bridges to our veterans, especially Reserve soldiers with shockingly high rates of suicide and substance abuse.

Print length

202 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Chalice Press
Publication date

June 15, 2021
File size

2260 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Captivating, original, honest. Seeing war—and peace—through a chaplain's lens is a necessary and insightful read."—Kathryn Bertine, author, STAND: A memoir on activism. A manual for change.

“Owen is the voice we need right now as a nation engaged in endless war. With both humor and hope, he offers a blue print for congregations to better support soldiers and their families as we wake up to the terrible cost of war upon the soul of our nation.”—Alison Harrington, Pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona

“A Bridge in Babylon is a must read for every church leader whose congregations and classrooms include veterans, military reservists and military family members. This intimate and authentic record of one chaplain’s deployment and return home clearly demonstrates the joys, frustrations, sacrifices, doubts, fears and successes of ministry within highly diverse, pluralistic, and often, lethal environments.”—Kyle Fauntleroy, Captain, Chaplain Corps, USN (Ret.), and Director of Development, Brite Divinity School

“Owen Chandler’s A Bridge in Babylon is searing testimony about the effects of war abroad and at home, a tender love-letter to his family and the Tucson congregation he left for more than a year, and a compassionate tribute to those whom he served as “padre.” A master storyteller – with an ear like Raymond Carver’s, an eye like Tim O'Brien’s, and a heart like Carolyn Forché’s – Chandler proffers a gift we didn't know we needed so desperately: compelling inspiration to care with renewed commitment for soldiers whom we have sent into “perpetual war.”—Robert Lee Hill, Minister Emeritus, Community Christian Church, Kansas City, Missouri

“Chandler invites us into the realities of ministry in the context of war and the emotional and relational costs of deployment for families as well as troops.”—Nancy J. Ramsay, Director of the Soul Repair Center, Brite Divinity School

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

A recipient of the Bronze Star, Rev. Owen R. Chandler serves Saguaro Christian Church (Disicples of Christ) in Tucson, Arizona. His ministerial emphasis centers on discovering the healing, transformative power of the intersections between our story and God's story. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B096MSQWQN
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chalice Press (June 15, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 15, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2260 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 202 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0827203179
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #1,550,930 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #353 in Biographies of the Iraq War
- #418 in Biographies of the Marines
- #521 in Biographies of the Military Navy

Customer Reviews:
49 ratings

About the author

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Owen R. Chandler

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OWEN R. CHANDLER is an active duty army chaplain. Previously, he served as a congregational minister for fourteen years within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. He pastored his beloved Saguaro Christian Church, an Open & Affirming faith community in Tucson, Arizona, for eight years. Concurrently, he served as an army reserve chaplain for nine years, deploying to Iraq in 2016 . While in Tucson, Owen was also the nonprofit founder of the Sol Food Initiatives, a community kitchen that alleviates hunger, fosters nonprofit collaborations and cultivates community. He earned an Army Bronze Star (2016) and 40 Under 40 from Arizona Daily Star (2019). Whether in the pulpit or in his duty uniform, Owen’s ministerial emphasis centers on discovering the healing, transformative power of the intersections between our story and God’s love. Most important to Owen’s story, he is a husband and father of three. When there is free time, he plays ukulele, obsesses over the NBA, and enjoys the outdoors…with lots and lots of sunscreen.

Customer reviews

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1 star		4%

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Randy B

An enlightening account of the sacrifices soldiers make in service of their country

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

Owen Chandler's story of his journey from church pastor and Army reservist chaplain, through deployment to Iraq, and then transitioning back to civilian life with his family is amazing. His stories evoke many different emotions. The full time Army treatment of reservists was an issue I had never considered. Deployment impact on spousal relationships, children, jobs, and mental state were all covered from different perspectives, including very sensitive issues. He didn't avoid the hard stuff. Many very personal situations were discussed in detail. Once I started reading, I hated to put the book down.

2 people found this helpful

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Leandra

Amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

From the moment I started this book, I was enthralled! I have no military connection, but that didn’t matter. This book is filled with stories of love and emotion, of heartache and struggle. You can feel the sense of danger as suicide bombers are attacking a few miles away. Your heart will break with theirs as his sweet family struggles with goodbyes and not being together on special occasions such as Christmas. It is a book that I feel anyone who likes to read will enjoy!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Sunny H

Great insight!

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2021

Verified Purchase

Pastor of my church, who resigned to join the military. After reading this book, and understanding why he chose this path, not the easiest one for sure, I am at peace and saying prayers for him daily.

Helpful

Ryan P. Estes

Insightful and meaningful

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

Excellent book. Gives a great peak into the life of what sacrifices those we know who serve. Not just while away but when they return. Opens people’s eyes to the battles our military members face even from the country they serve.

One person found this helpful

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Ricky Collins

Do not buy this book.

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

Was a bad read, and couldn’t help but spread a false narrative of an “armed insurrection”. What a joke from a military individual and not even true.

Helpful

CG

This book is a Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021

A Bridge in Babylon is a beautifully written and intimate memoir that alternately made us laugh, tugged at our hearts, brought tears to our eyes and made us think. As members of Owen's congregation in Tucson, Arizona, we can say the book is written in much the same conversational, storytelling style as his weekly messages were delivered. His insight, compassion, faith, humility and humor are reflected throughout every chapter as he tells story after story of his deployment experience in Iraq as an Army reserve chaplain who left his wife and young children to travel a world away for one year and the lasting emotional impact this had on his life. He word-paints stories of behind the scenes preparations, the tedium and isolation of deployment, the unexpected disparity of respect felt by reservists in their interactions with their active Army peers, the dangers outside the walls, and the paradox of a Starbucks cafe in such a place. He does not shy away from sharing his fears, his mistakes and accomplishments, his honest emotions and the self-knowledge he gained from this experience. We'll never forget our experience of reading this very personal and affecting account. This is a book that deserves reading again.

Carl & Peggy

4 people found this helpful

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CROCKS

A MUST READ for Civilians as well as those who serve

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021

For those of us who have never experienced military life, or deployment and haven't known the questions to ask our returning military - THANK YOU! This book builds bridges between those who have served, and those of us who haven't; between Active Duty and Reservists; troops who are Stateside and troops deployed; between the many faiths and backgrounds we bring to any human situation. In reading this book, we're given the opportunity to grow in awareness for what it would be like to walk in another's shoes.

Chaplain Chandlers gift as a Master Storyteller, laced with humor, compassion, empathy, faith, doubt, honesty and more had me laughing, crying and more importantly, learning about a world I'll never know firsthand. I have a new appreciation for the toll it takes to be deployed, and the price our troops pay in doing so.

I appreciate and respect Chandler’s sensitivity and ability to tell stories while maintaining the privacy and details countless troops confided in him during their deployment - a rare gift indeed in the intimate role as their trusted "Padre".

Told through the eyes of a Chaplain, I was honored to glimpse what life is like for someone in that sensitive and important role - away from his family, church, friends - a stranger in a strange land - being called to minister to others amid his own loneliness, fear and struggles. I am grateful he kept journals and is willing to share his experience with others. What a gift he gives with his candid honesty of that journey as he gently shares his humanity with the reader.

I have the utmost respect for this author, for his story, and highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been directly or indirectly touched by war...which I believe is ALL of us!!

I pray the best for Chaplain Chandler in his upcoming deployment. And from the bottom of my heart, I say to him, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!”

Helpful

Michael Wagner

An Honest Story of Being a Chaplain During America's Longest War

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021

Rev. Chandler has written a book that is the real deal. A young chaplain Army reservist gets the call to Iraq. He is a senior minister at a thriving church in Arizona and is married with three young children. I raced through this book. My heart pounded. I chuckled and laughed and teared up many times. I resisted his challenge to jump ahead to Chapter 9, the sex chapter, and took each story in one by one. Being trapped in a porta-potty during an ISIS bombardment, ping pong matches, cigars and poker games, chapel services, lots of change and even more waiting and gut wrenching counseling sessions with his soldiers. And then the anguishing thoughts about leaving Iraq and going home. I almost couldn't get through the thoughts and conversations with his wife and children. Owen has given us a real account of what it's like to be a chaplain during America's longest and never-ending war. What it's like to be a soldier with no weapon. What it's like to be the counselor and then flipping the script and seeking out counseling himself. This is a very good read. Thank you, Rev. Chandler.

2 people found this helpful

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