FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — The Rev. David Oravec is leaving his congregation to answer a call he knew might come someday: active military service as a chaplain in Iraq.
Lt. Cmdr. Oravec, 39, a member of the Naval Reserve, said yesterday he views the mobilization order with a mix of anxiety and peace.
“I’m proud to go and give it my best shot,” he said.
Cmdr. Oravec has been pastor for nearly 15 years of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in downtown Frederick. He said he has been a reservist for about the same period, fulfilling his obligation by serving one weekend a month and two weeks a year as chaplain to Navy, Marine and Coast Guard units in the region.
Earlier this month, he was reassigned to Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 23, which received mobilization orders July 20 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion, based at Fort Belvoir, will help rebuild utilities damaged by the war, Cmdr. Oravec said.
“You live with the idea that it might come,” said the minister, who is married with two daughters. He acknowledged some apprehension about the violence in Iraq, but said “There’s a job I have to do, and I’m going to do my best to take care of those people in the best way I know how.”
Military chaplains carry no weapons. Instead, Cmdr. Oravec will be assigned an armed service member as his assistant and bodyguard.
For his last sermon before departing, Cmdr. Oravec said he preached Sunday about a text from Paul’s letter to the Romans “that reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God and that we have hope in all situations.”
He will be missed by parishioners, including Lois Spurrier, who calls Cmdr. Oravec “Pastor Sweet Boy.” Cmdr. Oravec said he baptized some of her grandchildren and officiated at her second wedding.
He said he plans to return to the Evangelical Lutheran pulpit.
“There’s a lot of people praying for me,” he said. “I trust everything will be OK, and I’ll come back home.”
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