USACCRA: Making a Difference Where It Matters
Important things are happening in the USACCRA, the Chaplain Corps’ professional association. First, the pulse rate of a professional association is gauged by its membership metrics. So far in 2023, we are pleased to report that the heart of professionalism in the Army Chaplain Corps is healthy and beating stronger than in preceding years. We have steadily gained new life members, as well as annual members over the first half of 2023. The Chaplain Corps is steadily falling into the formation of its professional association. As with a physical body, the greater the heart rate of an organizational body, the greater the capacity of that body overall. As our membership grows, the USACCRA will be able to provide increased resources and opportunities to those we are called to serve: the Chaplain Corps past, present, and future. Join us today and advance the professional interests of yourself and your branch.
The second important dynamic for any professional association is access to influence. Influence breaths oxygen into the effort of professional advocacy. A professional association with access to influence is postured to make real, positive change happen for its members. As a recent parent of college students, I’ve been a member of multiple social media parent groups at my daughters’ colleges. Some are officially sponsored and some are more loosely connected. The reality is that those that are unsponsored are full of opinions and assertions, but with no official access to influence. The USACCRA, on the other hand, is the official professional association of the US Army Chaplain Corps with a regulatory relationship with the Office of the Chief of Chaplains and with members who serve in positions of influence across multiple other professional and veterans’ associations. In those venues of influence, we are making a difference for the Army Unit Ministry Team. There is value in joining online support groups on social media, but that cannot be the end of your professional connection to your branch and its interests. You and the Chaplain Corps need you in the ranks for your professional association because it is the official representative of your professional interests and because it has access to influence. For example, our President, Scottie Lloyd, does not just attend (along with other USACCRA board members) the Religious Leader Symposiums sponsored by the Chief of Chaplains but also served as one of the speakers recently addressing the active leadership across the Corps. Through our USACCRA leadership, we have ongoing, regulatory connections and conversations with our branch leadership, as well as other key leaders, and are able to represent you and your interests effectively in the real forums of influence.
So, in summary, we’re excited that the professional heart of the Chaplain Corps’ association is beating strongly. More members of the Chaplains Corps (past, present, and future) are joining our ranks to ensure the best future possible for our members and for the Chaplain Corps. Now is the time to “fall in” and join the true professional formation of the Army Chaplain Corps. Join the ranks of those making an official, professional impact on our branch and those invested in the long-term religious support interests of our Army. We need each other and together the future of our Chaplain Corps is stronger. See you soon in the ranks of the USACCRA, your professional association!
