An aerial view shows McMurdo Station, built on the volcanic rock of an island in Antarctica. “Except for the wind, Antarctica is incredibly quiet,” Ron Faith says.
Every year in the providence of God and under the auspices of the Air National Guard, three military chaplains are sent to the coldest, windiest, driest continent in the world—the one classified as a desert but that, in fact, holds the world’s largest supply of fresh water (in frozen form). Antarctica.
In 2022, Ron Faith, a Regular Baptist chaplain, was one of those three chaplains.
Until the previous year, Ron had been on staff at Evangel Baptist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, for twenty-two years—first as associate pastor and then as pastor beginning in 2004. Then in October and November 2022, he accompanied the 109th ANG from New York State to Antarctica to support Operation Deep Freeze. . . .
As Ron says, “Chaplains go places in our communities that pastors cannot reach.” And sometimes, they even go to Antarctica.
- You have reached the end of this article preview. This article was published in the Summer 2023 Baptist Bulletin. Subscribe to the Baptist Bulletin or purchase a gift subscription. If you already subscribe to the print edition, sign up for free digital access.
Jonita Barram is assistant editor of The Baptist Bulletin.
