UMEA Celebrates 3 New Chaplains at USAF Graduation

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Retired Lt. Col. Rev. Mitchell Lewis of the U.S. Army, a United Methodist Endorsing Agency (UMEA) consultant, attended the May 23 graduation of three chaplains from the U.S. Air Force Basic Chaplain Course at Maxwell Air Force Base.

Representing three annual conferences, the United Methodist graduates are Chaplains 1st Lt. Phil Antinone, 1st Lt. Andy Black and 1st Lt. Sam Cha. “All three chaplains were extremely appreciative of the visit,” Lewis said.

Because the Air Force sends new chaplains to their bases before sending them to chaplain school, these graduates had some military experience, in addition “Phil Antinone had participated in the Air Force Chaplain Candidate program while at Yale under our endorsement.”

During a luncheon preceding the ceremony, Lewis had extended conversations with the chaplains. Black, assigned to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, was one of four graduates selected to speak. He shared how a pastoral crisis led him to consider military chaplaincy. “It was a conversation with Bob Phillips that convinced me that God was calling me to ministry as a United Methodist chaplain,” Black said.

Antinone, serving at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, also credited UMEA with helping him discern his call after his home church disaffiliated. “He spoke very forcefully about UMEA’s importance to his hearing God’s call in his life,” Lewis said.

Of the 23 graduates, The United Methodist Church had the largest representation. “I’ve never seen that in any service school,” Lewis said.

Lewis also met with deputy chief of chaplains and other endorsers to discuss chaplain policy proposals and shared insights from his tenure. “This class was described as one of the smartest groups to come through,” he added. “Each of our chaplains will be strong leaders in the corps.”