Chaplair - The Official Newsletter of the AEHC

Rev. Canon George Packard to be
5th Suffragan Bishop

"Bishop Keyser is pleased to announce that The Rev. Canon George Packard, was elected Fifth Bishop for the Armed Forces at the meeting of the House of Bishops on Tuesday, September 21, 1999. Consents are being solicited from the Standing Committees of each Diocese (normal procedure). Assuming receipt of sufficient consents, the Consecration will be held at Washington National Cathedral, on Saturday , February 12th, 2000.

Father Packard’s service with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam is marked by his receiving the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for valor. He enlisted in the Army soon after graduation from Hobart College in 1966 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1968. He was then assigned to the Ranger Training Command and later after Vietnam to the General’s Staff for Plans and Operations at Fort Lee, VA.

Upon graduation from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1974 he transferred his commission from the infantry to the Reserves as a chaplain.

He was Assistant Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Lynchburg, VA (1974-75), Rector of Christ Church, Martinsville, VA (1975-80), and then Rector of Grace Church, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY (1980-89). While building Grace Church from a mission he was the director of a social service agency in the Bronx. During this time, and based on this inner-city experience, he completed a thesis for the STM degree coursework (1983) in Psychiatry and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY.

From 1989 through 1995 George was the Canon to the Ordinary for the Bishop of New York, The Right Reverend Richard F. Grein. He is currently Priest-in-Charge of Christ’s Church, Rye, NY.

IN 1991 with the approach of the Gulf War, he was assigned to the Pentagon. This tour of Duty required that he serve on alternate weekends during Operation Desert Shield and then full-time during Operation Desert Storm.

Chaplain Packard’s unique experience as an ordinary soldier combined with pastoral sensitivity and organizational ability prompted the Army to direct his assignments from installation chaplain, to hospital chaplain, to an operational unit, to teaching at the Army Chaplain’s School, to the mobilization of a Field Army in Egypt (where he was decorated for increasing troop morale), and ultimately to the Pentagon during Desert Storm.

While at the command headquarters, he was decorated by the Chief of Chaplains, Major General Zimmerman, for writing the national policy on pastoral treatment of casualties. The citation notes his “tact, clarity of thought, and creativity … reflecting great credit upon his church, his country, and the armed services.”

After the War the Pentagon retained George for policy development in race relations, multi-cultural diversity, and grief-loss programs. In 1995 Bishop Keyser asked George to be the staff officer for the inaugural visit to Russia which initiated the support of the chaplaincy in the Russian Army. George retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1996.

He is married to Brook Hedick, a musician and Christian educator; together they have three daughters, Helen, Cleary, and Clara.

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