As a graduate of The Citadel, and also as a chaplain going on my seventh year at The Military College of South Carolina, I still firmly believe that our Citadel community is the most demanding collegiate experience in this country. You all should know by now that no one navigates this experience as an individual, but each of us must learn to rely upon our classmates, our friends, family, and spiritual community. If you’re receiving this, at one point in time, St. Alban’s Anglican Chapel was part of a network of support that helped you achieve success. Now is your opportunity to pay that support forward, by helping us get off to a good start this 2023/24 academic school year.

This coming Saturday (Aug 12), a new crop of young people will begin their journey along the road less travelled. If you know of any, then please pass this information along with a hearty recommendation to check us out:

• FRI: Incoming knobs and their families can meet Chaplain Rob, Tripp, Walt, Anna, and a few of our upperclassmen after The Gathering, an optional religious orientation at 1730 in Summerall Chapel. We’ll register knobs for our communications list, sign them up for the BBQ, and show the lounge and offices. IF YOU’RE ON CAMPUS AND FREE, we could use your help setting up, tearing down, and escorting families up to the lounge and explaining our community to them.
• SUN: Encourage the knobs to “fall out” for Anglican/Episcopal for Sunday morning chapel. IF YOU’RE ON CAMPUS AND FREE, you’re welcome to attend. We’ll need help serving coffee and donuts, as well as signing knobs up for the BBQ.
• BBQ AND FIRST CHAPEL (AUG 21): This BBQ is a welcome to the knobs, and a welcome back for our upperclassmen. Encourage your knobs to sit with Chaplain Rob at the religious orientation dinner, and they will be marched to Summerall for our BBQ and first chapel. We need them to sign up for this event. They can do so at either of the Sunday morning worship during Hell Week, or even during chapel orientation during Hell Week. If you’ve been away for a while, we would love to welcome you back to the chapel and reintroduce you to our community.

We have been listening to many of you about challenges navigating the chapel as rank holders and cadre, and we will be doing things a little differently this year to minimize interactions with knobs in your direct chain of command, to free you up to represent Christ to the campus without some of the awkwardness that can come from our military system. Nevertheless, as Christians our primary purpose is to represent Christ, and I trust our whole community will take this seriously.

Finally, a last word of encouragement for the cadre. Young people come to this school for a challenge. Do not deprive them of one. Be tough. Be hard. Be fair. But remember, you are here on Christ’s behalf. You can be intense and demanding while keeping your Christian witness intact, but if you get lost in the role and give in to demeaning behavior, foul and unnecessary language, humiliation, etc., then it will be very hard for these knobs to take your Christian life seriously. However, if you perform your duties with excellence and intensity over the next six weeks, you will be responsible for shaping a new generation of cadets into the kind of young men and women we can all be proud of, and you will also increase the reputation of Christ on our campus. I will be praying for you!

If you’re around and can help at any of the events above or would like to personally connect an incoming knob to Chaplain Rob, text us at 843-516-5116.