Chaplain Capt. Kevin Lockett is collecting local recipes from across the country along with the stories behind them that he plans to post on a special website. The individual submitting the top winning recipe will receive $50 or, if the winner desires, a $50 donation will be made in their name to the church of their choice or to Covenant World Relief. An additional $50 will automatically be donated to Covenant World Relief in any case, Lockett says.
As surely as there are unusual stories behind some of the recipes, just as unusual is how a Covenant chaplain got involved in collecting them. The assignment actually is part of an honor bestowed on Lockett.
Each year the Air Force Chaplain Service selects four or five chaplains to attend graduate school – usually a seminary – to study in an area of special interest, Lockett says. “It is generally a very high competition, so it was a huge honor to be selected,” he adds. Generally they are nominated by the wing chaplain, wing commander and the command chaplain because of the nominee’s exemplary record.
After their studies, the chaplains are usually assigned to the Air Force Academy, the Chaplain Service Institute, or most frequently the Chaplain Resource Board, where they research and create new programs to enable and equip all Air Force chaplains, Lockett says.
Lockett was not the only Covenant chaplain selected. Capt. Patrick Genseal was assigned to a school to study pastoral care for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. While the need for chaplains to help victims of domestic violence seems understandable, the need for free recipes on the Internet would seem a low priority, Lockett admits.
Lockett received the unusual assignment as part of his appointment to study information technology at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Auburn University in Alabama. “I think I’m only the third person to go through the IT program,” he says.
Although what he will be doing with his training is uncertain – “it is the Air Force and nothing is guaranteed” – Lockett says the chaplain service is moving all of the individual chapel web pages to a central Air Force portal and probably will need help with that program. The service also is interested in better telling its story and that will require posting information on the Internet, Lockett says.
Lockett developed the recipe site as part of an e-commerce class – he needed to design a website of his choosing. “My wife, Peggy, and I had been brewing over an idea for a home school project for our four kids and this seemed to be a natural fit,” he says. “So we combined my education with theirs, and we’ve had a blast.”
The result was Kids Cook America – this is the website to visit for those interested in submitting recipes. “Not just any recipes, but recipes that celebrate local flavors, crops, or cultures, and not just the recipes, but the stories behind them,” Lockett says.
Lockett says he has had few recipes submitted, however, and is turning to other Covenanters for assistance. “Even if just a few recipes came in – as long as they aren’t for lutefisk – it would help me immensely,” says Lockett, demonstrating his characteristic sense of humor.
Lockett expects to conclude his studies next summer. He has the option to pursue a Master of Science degree in Management of Information Systems on his own time. While studying, Lockett says he would like to offer low-cost services to help small and medium-size churches develop websites.
Lockett joined the Air Force as a reservist in 1997 while a pastor at Audubon Park Covenant Church in Orlando, Florida. He switched to active duty in April 1998. Since then, he has been assigned to several locations, including F. E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas; and Izmir, Turkey. He also was deployed in support of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
(Editor’s note: the kids cooking website contains an email address and rules for submitting recipes. Individuals can email Lockett’s recipe project at kidscook@kidscookamerica.com.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
