Rev. Melissa Culbreth, Asbury United Methodist, “Call to Community’’
Call to Community ------ Rev. Melissa Culbreth, Asbury United Methodist It was 2010 and I had just returned from my deployment to Iraq where I served as a chaplain with the North Carolina Army National Guard as the 230 th Brigade Support Battalion Chaplain for the 30 th Heavy Brigade Combat Team. In Iraq, I was responsible for medical and mortuary emergencies. It was a challenging deployment and complicated by my being medically evacuated before my unit’s return due to a breast cancer diagnosis. Back at home, I faced re-acclimating to civilian life and processing my experiences in Iraq while undergoing breast cancer treatment. I went to my mandatory Army mental health assessment conducted by a civilian psychologist. He looked at my file, then looked up at me and said, “Oh, you’re a chaplain. You have God, so you are fine, right?” In that moment it became readily apparent that the mental health world was not going to be helpful in navigating my new reality. Retur...