Rev. Cynthia L. Kane

Rev. Cynthia L. Kane in front of chapel in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Iguana in front of Post Office

Called to Witness, Called to Serve

"I go to sleep, surrounded, knowing I am held by the love and support of these amazing people."

The Rev. Cynthia L. Kane is called to serve, and also to witness. Kane, a US Navy Chaplain , has been profiled on uua.org and in UU World earlier, and discussed her calling in a July/August profile in UU World by Neil Shister. Shister wrote,

Kane sees no inconsistency between her faith and her duty. "A lot of my work as a Navy chaplain is no different than when I was in civilian ministry," she says. "People come to me for support and I provide companionship. My job is to affirm and to promote the integrity of the individual and then counsel them to conscience."

Kane's journey into the military required fourteen years of what she calls "a circuitous discernment process." Despite being a pacifist, she has long felt a calling to be a Navy chaplain...Her internal conflict seethed over last year when she was a student at the Navy War College studying the military strategist Karl von Clausewitz, famous for his dictum that "war is merely a continuation of politics by other means" and must thus be accepted as an eternal fact of life. Leaving a lecture one evening, she caught sight of the rows of soldiers' graves in Arlington National Cemetery glimmering in the amber light of the setting sun-human testimony to Clausewitz-and began crying. "I threw my hands up to a seemingly impassive heaven and asked, 'What am I doing?'" The answer that soothed her was the acknowledgement that if military conflict is, indeed, etched into the social fabric, then "to do the work of peace, I must understand the making of war."

Now, Kane has been sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to serve as part of a religious ministry team of eight. There are four chaplains - three from Army (2 National Guard), one Navy (Kane), and four Chaplain's Assistants/Religious Professionals - the support staff, also coming from the Army and the Navy.  Kane says, "Each of us is endorsed by a different religious tradition --- the other three chaplains come from Christian backgrounds.  We work 10 hour days, Sunday through Friday, and a half day on Saturday."

Kane, who would neither confirm or deny her access to detainees, indicates that her responsibilities include:

• Visitation throughout the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay (JTF-GTMO), with particular attention to include the Detention Center, Joint Aid Stations, and Naval Base (NAVBAS) Hospital .
• Provide the Chaplain Brief at the weekly Newcomer Orientation.
• Lead the weekly Deployment Cycle Support (DCS) briefs -- a day-long brief for military personnel at the end of their deployment, just before they return home. 
• Coordinate Special Worship Services:  9/11, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, Winter Holidays, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• Coordinate the music program for both the JTF-GTMO and NAVBAS.

Kane arrived at GTMO two weeks ago, "to a typical muggy afternoon on this tropical desert island." She says her quarters are "modest...yet more comfortable than a trench in the sand.  My two roommates are Army Captains who work as psychiatric nurses within the detention center." She adds that the military personnel on the base are all friendly and all have been moved from active duty assignments and relocated to Cuba "for support of Operation Enduring Freedom."

She says, "Homesickness is rampant, as is combat stress. We usually don't talk about our days.  Sometimes we vent to one another, though it's more a silent knowing nod to one another about the challenges." The heat and the presence of iguanas have required some adjustment, including a slowed-down pace...the latter forcing the speed limit to be reduced to 25 MPH! Looking ahead she says, "Once my schedule settles a bit, I look forward to taking diving and sailing lessons as an outlet."

Kane is able to get through each day, she says, "because of the love, support and prayers from folks back home. People send me cards and letters, and sometimes include photos of their lives back home, or poems, readings, and inspirational quotes.  (A woman I only met once at the Kitsap UU Fellowship -- where I am a member -- sent a card and told me she'd keep a lit candle in the window until I returned!)" She continues, "All the cards are hanging on the wall above my bed, the letters in a box at my bedside -- and I go to sleep, surrounded, knowing I am held by the love and support of these amazing people. "

Reflecting on her new assignment, she says, "It's a humbling honor to be chosen for such a mission, and I pray daily for wisdom and patience.  It's also a struggle, given our UU Principles and Purposes, for at every moment, I'm living their meaning in an extreme environment.  A particular challenge is our second one:  affirming and promoting justice, equity, & compassion in human relations.  Before arriving here, I felt removed from the War on Terrorism and didn't feel it was a part of my life.  Now, I'm in the midst of it --- and know the war is real."

• Also Read: "Called to Witness, Called to Serve: Rev. Danita Noland "

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