Chaplain Barry Black
When the cameras are off and the lobbyists aren’t listening, Senate Chaplain Barry Black’s door remains open. Since 2003, the 60-year-old retired rear admiral and chief of Navy chaplains has served senators, their families and staffs through counseling and spiritual care. He shared with The Examiner by e-mail his thoughts on the position, and the faith that has always guided him.
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. I appreciate the fact that my faith assures me that nothing can separate me from God’s love.
Did anyone or any event especially influence your faith, or your path in life?
One event that greatly affected my life was my mother’s baptism. While pregnant with me, she was immersed into water. As she entered the water, she prayed and asked God to place a special sanctification on her unborn child. I was that child. During my formative years, my mother repeatedly reminded me that God set me apart in her womb for holy use. This knowledge strengthened me when tempted and motivated me to avoid many youthful pitfalls. Her words inspired me to believe God had a wonderful plan for my life.
In a nation that values the separation of church and state, why is a Senate chaplain appropriate?
A Senate chaplain is appropriate because our nation’s framers intended that government should have a spiritual dimension. To make this happen, the legislative chaplaincy was created three days before the establishment clause in the Constitution’s First Amendment. The Supreme Court affirmed the validity of the legislative chaplaincy in Marsh v. Chambers, 1983.
It has become increasingly difficult for public figures, like senators, to find the privacy to deal with their faith and personal shortcomings. As someone who shares a private confidence with representatives, what are your thoughts on the level of privacy the public should allow its elected officials?
Regarding the privacy of our lawmakers, the public should follow the golden rule, “Treat others like you want to be treated.” Having said this, I must add that public officials must be held to a higher standard of ethical conduct.
What vice most needs God’s grace on Capitol Hill? And what virtue goes most often unappreciated or unnoticed?
I don’t believe Capitol Hill has a distinctive vice or virtue. The besetting sins of our lawmakers are as varied as their fingerprints. From my vantage point, I think many lawmakers are tempted by the sin of cynicism, while others manifest the often unapplauded virtue of exemplary diligence.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
At the core of my faith, I believe that in everything God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. While a teenager, the simple act of gazing at the starry heavens in rural Pennsylvania introduced me to God. I was suddenly aware of the infinity of the universe and cognizant of my frailty, weakness and brevity. I recalled Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare God’s glory.”
