George Pickle, CBF’s associate coordinator for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling, congratulates CBF-endorsed chaplain Keith Ethridge, left, on receiving the Chapel of the Four Chaplains 2004 Legion of Honor award.

ATLANTA – The Chapel of the Four Chaplains recently awarded its 2004 Legion of Honor distinction to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-endorsed chaplain Keith Ethridge during the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) convention in Portland, Maine.

Ethridge, of Hampton Roads, Va., is acting deputy director for the National Chaplains Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs. A former U.S. Navy chaplain, Ethridge has been a Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor for 17 years. He leads the Veterans Affairs Chaplains School and is currently chair of the Mid-Atlantic region for ACPE.

"The Chapel of the Four Chaplains has for years and years been the symbol of interfaith cooperation service among military and veterans chaplains," Ethridge said. "It truly is something I’ve tried to embody in my own ministry. For me it is a great honor. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to serve the Department of Veterans Affairs."

The Chapel of the Four Chaplains, a national non-profit organization established to encourage cooperation and promote unity without uniformity, annually recognizes individuals from all walks of life who render selfless service.

Dedicated by President Harry S. Truman in 1951, the Chapel was inspired by the courageous acts of four U.S. Army chaplains serving aboard the U.S. troop carrier Dorchester, which was sunk by a torpedo off the coast of Greenland in 1943. The chaplains – Catholic, Dutch Reformed, Jewish and Methodist – went down with the ship after surrendering their own life jackets to service men aboard.

Previous recipients of the Legion of Honor Award include presidents Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; Bob Hope, John Glenn, Martha Raye, James Michener, Mariah Anderson, C. Everett Koop, Tommy Lasorda and Shirley Chisholm.

Ethridge is a member of Hampton Baptist Church, a CBF-affiliated congregation in Hampton Roads, Va., where he teaches the college and career Sunday school class, serves on the personnel committee and previously served on a denominational relations committee that helped the church clarify its identity and become solely affiliated with the Fellowship.

"Chaplain Keith Ethridge is an outstanding presence of leadership as a clinical pastoral education supervisor," said George Pickle, CBF’s associate coordinator for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling. "CBF celebrates the distinction, competence and service for God by Chaplain Ethridge. Through Chaplain Ethridge, CBF is a primary presence of ministry in the National Veterans Affairs Chaplains Center and 172 VA medical centers through the United States. We thank God for Chaplain Ethridge and his presence in ministry in CBF."

There are currently 442 chaplains and pastoral counselors endorsed by the Fellowship. Ethridge has been endorsed by CBF since 2002.

"I am very proud to be endorsed by CBF," Ethridge said. "I believe CBF carries forward the great tradition Baptists have maintained over the years."

For more information about CBF chaplaincy and pastoral counseling, contact Pickle at (770) 220-1617 or gpickle@thefellowship.info. Information is also available at http://www.thefellowship.info/Church%20Life/Chaplains%20PC/Endorsees.icm.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.