General Rebecca Halstead to speak at St. Christopher’s, Sunday, November 13, 2011

Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead will speak during the Veterans Day Sunday celebration at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 3200 N. 12th Avenue.  She will give the sermon at the eight o’clock and ten-thirty services and will speak to the adult class at nine-thirty.

Gen. Halstead is a graduate of West Point and was a member of the second class which accepted women. Further, she is the first woman to command a unit in a war zone. When she was on tour in Iraq from 2005-2006, she commanded 20,000 soldiers, 5,000 civilians and was responsible for 55 locations.

Halstead said,” During my year in Iraq, I experience the highest highs and the lowest lows. When you soldiers get killed on missions, that’s the lowest low. The highest high is when you know you’re part of accomplishing tremendous mission on a daily basis.”  She said the most difficult job she had was writing letters of condolence to families of soldiers in her command who were killed. They always were personal letters, handwritten and on her general-officer stationery.

She now lives in Charlottesville, VA and works with the Previous Group, a motivational and leadership training group. She is also writing a book about how faith, family and freedom have shaped her life. The Rev. Susan Sowers, associate rector of St. Christopher’s, has a similar background. She, too, is a West Point graduate from the third class which accepted women. She got to know Halstead at the Academy. Sowers said, “She is considered, perhaps, my closest Christian friend. We played together on  a women’s team handball group, an Olympic sport but not well-known in the US, when we won the world championship twice!” Sowers was captain of that West Point team.

Sowers describes Gen. Halstead, whose height is only 5′1″, as a compassionate, effective leader. ”She can be very sympathetic to her associates and those under her command, but at the same time can cut through the confusion and motivate one to be the best he/she can be.”

Sowers said, “We are pleased to have Becky speak to our congregation. It is especially appropriate for a Veterans Day commemoration. I think the congregation will come to know and love her.”

For further information, call St. Christopher’s Church 850-433-0074 or visit the website www.scpen.org.