<p>I was wondering if we would be allowed to attend church services on Sundays during Beast. I doubt we can, but wasn't sure.</p>
<p>i will wait for others who are more familiar... but i believe indeed you can attend church and is reported to be a reasonable respite from some of the ardors of beast</p>
<p>My daughter told me you can attend church on most sunday's during Beast. In addition she mentioned something called "chaplain's time" which was on one of the weeknights--she said most of the new cadets went to chaplains time as there was always lots of good eats there. In particular she mentioned going to the Roman Catholic chaplains time (even though she is Episcopalian) becuase they had the best snacks! :)</p>
<p>can you bring a bible with you?</p>
<p>I heard...
- there's mass and service on Sunday
- there's service (and food!) on Wednesday
- the services really help people get through Beast, (one chaplain relates the readings to the current week of Beast or what the kids are thinking)</p>
<p>They probably have Bibles there...</p>
<p>Yes, you will be able to go to Church or attend a Chaplain's service every Sunday. On Wednesday night there's Chaplain's time, where you can attend Mass (at least for Catholics) and then eat homemade goodies afterwards. It's a nice opportunity to be able to get away.</p>
<p>What's nice about West Point is that there is both the Catholic Chapel and Jewish Chapel as well as the Cadet Chapel (non-den and mainline den services for Protestants) on post. Additionally some smaller denominations of churches in Highland Falls have bus services for cadets.</p>
<p>ADA: You can bring a book of religious reading material. I'm bringing my mini King James bible.</p>
<p>the gideons gave me a NKJV, but that was a messed up translation. I'm sticking to the KJV</p>
<p>great! thanks :)</p>
<p>Go straight to the source with translations. I always read the KJV but started reading others such as the NIV and such and noticed some major inconsistancies. I personally (no joke) am starting to learn Greek in order to read the Greek New Testiment (in greek of course)...its not easy, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to read it with out aide (especially since WP is about to grab all of my free time), but I enjoy the idea that I am reading (or trying to anyhow) the most accurate version available.</p>
<p>shogun - does your daughter regularly attend an Episcopal church? My son will be entering the Class of 2010 and we're unsure whether he should attend Sunday service at the Cadet Chapel or venture into town each week to an Episcopal church.</p>
<p>During the first day or so of Beast you will identify your religion if you choose. During the first week you will have your first chaplain's time - last year it was on Thursday evening. It's a time to break away from the intensity of Beast and highly recommended by cadets of all religions.</p>
<p>My experience with the Jewish Chapel is that both cadre, new cadets and the yearlings from Buckner attend the Friday night service. We attended the night before A-Day and learned that Jewish veterans from NYC had been coming each Friday night during Beast to make sure the kids had good food and a connection to vets. Many were WWII vets and as you can imagine, it was both a sacrifice and a joy for them to be there. Rabbi Huerta (Major Huerta) has a wonderful bond with the cadets and both the Jewish and non-Jewish cadets who attend have a tremendous amount of respect for him.</p>
<p>A nice bonus is that cell phones that don't work so well on post have excellent connections just outside the Chapel - probably because you're up on a hill. Really nice cadre will occasionally let the new cadets use their cell phones to call home.</p>
<p>To all the soon-to-be new cadets--GO TO CHAPLAINS TIME!! This is a great time to break from the cadre and get "cokes and cookies," may sound menial now, but it's a morale booster during Beast. Yes, you can take a Bible, and I definitely found that taking a small one was best for all the things you have to lug and carry, etc. If attend any of the Christian Clubs or church or what not, you'll be able to sign up to receive a nice, compact size, engraved "Plebe Bible" that you can hang onto. And yes, Sunday's are also available for church. It is not mandatory, but again, an opportunity to escape the cadre...and let me tell you, there is something truly amazing about a beautiful Sunday morning on Trophy Point worshiping God. It's awesome. I am not familiar with services for the other faiths, but I know they are there...and there is both a Protestant and Catholic Christian service. During the school year you can also have he opportunity to join several Christian organizations--Officer's Christian Fellowship (OCF), Navigators, TEC, help out with Young Life, Baptist Student Union, and others. I was in OFC and it was an awesome time. OCF has a house in Highland Falls where cadets can go to relax during the school year, and they host events, and often they will put up family on a needs basis for events during the year...and it is always packed with cadets and dates during the special weekends (YWW, 500th, 100th, etc.)</p>
<p>Don't forget about the choirs! Every denomination has a choir on post, and they get to take some awesome trips. Something else to look forward to is the Plebe Retreat, normally the first weekend of the school year. Nothing is mandatory besides one formation a day, but it's a great chance to get off post (Protestants and Catholics go off to Buckner) and veg for the weekend. I actually went all four years, once as a participant, twice as a squad leader, and once as a reg commander...GOOD TIMES! There's an ice cream social and pizza as well as daily Mass and a talk from COL Jones, the admissions officer, about God's participation in his life, which is always moving. No matter how much homework you think you have (and you can bring it with you) GO TO THE PLEBE RETREAT!</p>
<p>They will give you a small leather covered Bible with the WP Crest embossed in gold. My son took one from home (on the list of what to bring to Beast). So he brought the WP Bible home during Thanksgiving his Plebe year to keep it in mint condition.</p>
<p>bzzzt,</p>
<p>You're right about the choirs. Not only do they provide a good break away from post, they provide some incredible opportunities. The WP choir my daughter sings with sang at the White House for the President this past winter.</p>