Episcopal Press and News

Burcreen Honored by Churchwomen's League

Episcopal News Service. November 10, 1988 [88245]

NEW YORK (DPS, Nov. 10) -- On October 20, at their 70th Annual Fall Meeting, the Churchwomen's League for Patriotic Service honored the Rt. Rev. Charles L. Burgreen, Episcopal Bishop for the Armed Forces. Burgreen, who has announced his retirement as Armed Forces Bishop for January 1, 1989, has worked closely with the Churchwomen's League over the last 15 years.

Burgreen received many tributes from people with whom he has worked and whose lives his unique ministry has touched, including a bronze plaque from the League, which has strongly supported his ministry. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Chalmers Dale, president of the Churchwomen's League. She was assisted in the award ceremony by Mrs. James P. Gallatin, who made the presentation.

Burgreen's area of responsibility as Bishop for the Armed Forces has been vast, including Episcopal chaplains in the United States and at all American bases around the world. His responsibilities extend to the work of the Federal Episcopal Chaplaincy in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, including those in the Veteran's Administration and in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Chaplaincy recruits, screens, and trains candidates, and supervises their work. The chaplains provide counsel to servicemen and their families wherever they are stationed, and attempt to help them in life problems of all sorts. The Bishop's Special Fund, to which the League has contributed over the years, helps enable the quick and caring response for which the Episcopal Chaplaincy has become known.

Many distinguished guests offered tributes to Burgreen. Bishop Alexander Stewart, senior vice president of the Church Pension Fund and a longtime friend and colleague, spoke, as did the Rev. Donald C. Latham, rector of the Church of the Ascension, in Rockville Center, New York, Burgreen's home parish, where he assists. IvanW. Marks was present, representing the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, of which Burgreen is national chaplain. Another speaker honoring Burgreen was Lt. Col. Peter W. Booke (USAF), chaplain of the League's interdenominational chapel at Plattsburgh Airforce Base, in Plattsburgh, New York. The chapel, originally founded in 1920 to honor those who served in World War I, has a long history of serving military personnel of all faiths.

A very personal note was added by the presence at the ceremony of Chaplain Donald C. Beers, Burgreen's executive assistant, and his office staff who carry on the work at home while the Bishop follows the call of his ministry around the world.