Subsequent to the events of September 11, 2001, it is now apparent that a new generation of military personnel will become active. The need for published spiritual material becomes great. Soldiers placed in harm's way by the circumstances of war are facing eternal concerns not encountered in everyday life. The publication of a devotional book with an inclusive ecumenical character takes on an urgent timeliness that it previously did not have.

The vision for the publication of a new edition of the World War II-era devotional book Strength for Service to God and Country began with an Eagle Scout project by a young Boy Scout in Southern California. Evan Hunsberger began with a battered copy of the original book published in 1942 by the then Abingdon-Cokesbury Press an imprint of the Methodist Publishing House. The book contained daily devotional writings prepared by many of the leading protestant pastors and theologians of the time. A near complete representation of prominent church leaders supported this wartime inspirational volume. The book also contained writings from several leading corporate executives and presidents of some of the nation's leading academic institutions.

Evan Hunsberger's vision was to fully reproduce the 1942 edition. He made only slight changes in the text where references to ethnic groups or nationalities were inappropriate. He also solicited additional contributions from a number of today's religious leaders. These will be inserted throughout the new edition. The result will be a new edition with uniform new typesetting which will be inclusive of the old and also reflect a contemporary flavor addressing the present day considerations.

For nearly three years Hunsberger has been working toward the completion of this project. Staff members at the General Commission on United Methodist Men and the publishing staff at Providence Publishing Corporation had been developing publishing arrangements for several thousand copies of the new edition. The book was to have been produced and promoted on a limited scale as time and money permitted.

Following September 11, the vision now is to rapidly pursue financial support to enable the completion of editorial work and enable publication of sufficient copies to be distributed to all men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces worldwide. This is an ambitious goal but one that seems quite reasonable if a sufficient coalition of funding partners are willing to support the initiative. Subsequent editions for domestic public servants and other civilians are also planned.

The following is the supporting information and documentation that will explain the nature and details of this project. We invite you to give serious consideration to supporting this important publication at this critical time in our nation's history.