The White Falcon - 14.12.1984, Side 1

Vol . 27 No. 49 _______________NATO Base, Keflavik, Iceland_____________________December 14, 1984
CHAPEL DEDICATION SET TOR SUNDAY
Story by JOC John Petersen
Sunday at 4 p.m., a ceremony
to dedicate the new NATO Base
chapel will be held. Attending
will be the Chief of Navy Chap-
lains, Rear Admiral Neil M.
Stevenson;The Bishop of Iceland,
Petur Sigurgeirsson; The Bishop
of the Catholic Church of Ice-
land, Hinrik Frehen; the Atlantic
Fleet Chaplain, Capt. Robert
Ecker; the Naval Air Forces At-
lantic Chaplain,Capt. Blant Fer-
guson; the Commander Iceland De-
fense Force, Rear Admiral Ronald
E. Narmi; the Naval Station Com-
manding Officer, Capt. George T.
Lloyd; the Iceland Defense Force
Chaplain, Capt. Philip D. Ander-
son,and other NATO Base and Ice-
landic dignitaries and Defense
Force residents.
The Chapel of Light
Chaplain Anderson explained
that the new facility will be
named The Chapel of Light, a
name suggested by Naval Station
Chaplain Paul Williams, because,
"Light,both solar and spiritual,
is a precious commodity here in
Iceland."
The new building has 12,400
square feet of floor space where
the old chapel has only 8,650.
It contains a main chapel that
will seat 300, a multi-faith
chapel for 50, a prayer chapel,
a large fellowship hall , kitchen,
a reception area and office
space.
The chaplain's staff indicated
that the multi-faith building
will allow the Chaplain's Office
to accommodate all its programs
more easily. Another advantage
is that The Chapel of Light is
centrally located and therefore
more accessible to patrons.
RADM Stevenson
Rear Admiral Neil M. Stevenson
became the 16th Chief of Chaplains
in July 1983. A minister of the
Presbyterian Church, he was or-
dained in 1955. He has served
civilian pastorates in Pennsyl-
vania and Nebraska.
Chaplain Stevenson has served
as the Deputy Chief of Chaplains,
Fleet Chaplain for the Pacific
and as the Assistant for Plans,
Programs, Budget and Administra-
tion for the Chief of Chaplains.
Other duty assignments in-
clude duty at the Naval Training
Center in Great Lakes, Ill.; on
the staff of Destroyer Squadron
10; at the Naval Station in New-
port, R. I.; on board USS Saratoga
(CV-60); at the Naval Air Sta-
tion in Glenview, Ill.; with the
3rd Marine Amphibious Force in
Vietnam; as a student of the Ad-
vanced Course, Naval Chaplain's
School; and as Senior Chaplain
at the Naval Training Center in
Orlando, Fla.
NOTICE
The WHITE FALCON will publish four
news pages on Dec.28 and only an
Entertainment Section on Jan. 4.
History of religious support
The history of military reli-
gious instruction in Keflavik
contains some interesting high-
lights. The early religious pro-
grams were conducted by chaplains
on a space-available, weather
permitting basis. The Icelandic
clergy provided support many
times during these early years
when military chaplains were not
readily available. Early Air
Force chaplains provided reli-
gious support in a quonset hut
chapel attached to the headquarter
building.
In the fall of 1954 a new,
free-standing chapel was con-
structed with volunteer labor.
Working around the clock in ad-
verse weather conditions, it was
made of two metal buildings. A
deadline for completion was set
for December 23 in order to pro-
vide for Christmas services.
Chaplain Stevenson will be the
principle speaker on Sunday at
the 11 a.m. Protestant services,
12:30 p.m. Catholic Mass and the
dedication service. Chaplain
Ecker will conduct Mass at 5 p.m.
on Saturday and at 9:15 on Sunday
morning.
On the night of December 22,
1954, overflow crowds attended
the first services at the new
chapel. The exterior hadn't
been painted and the floor wasn't
even laid, but the worshippers
didn't mind, they finally had a
real chapel.
In the spring of 1955 a new
cork floor was laid and the ex-
terior painted. Preparations
began for dedication ceremonies.
Visiting dignitaries from the
United States joined with members
of the Lutheran and Roman Cath-
Please see CHAPEL on pg. 5