Retired Air Force Chaplain Norris Burkes is 830 Times newest columnist.
“I’m thrilled that my column will be offered in the Del Rio, Laughlin and surrounding community,” said Chaplain Burkes, from his California home.
Norris’s column, Thriving Beyond Surviving, also called Spirituality in Everyday Life, is offered in newspapers across the country. He’s the author of three books and keeps a busy schedule as a professional speaker.
In 2015 Burkes retired as an Air Force Chaplain and began serving as a hospice chaplain. He often highlights his chaplain experiences in his column, taking a funny, sometimes comical and irreverent look at every day spirituality.
His Air Force assignments included Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.; Izmir Air Station in Turkey, and Onizuka Air Station in California. He served three deployments that include Saudi Arabia, Panama and a tour as a combat hospital chaplain in Iraq.
His second book, “Hero’s Highway” highlights his experiences serving as an Air Force chaplain at the Air Force Field Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq.
He knows plenty about Texas as he earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity degree from Golden Gate Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif. He’s also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Pacific University in Portland Ore. and is currently working on his Master’s in Journalism at University Nevada, Reno.
In recent years, Chaplain Norris has run two marathons of 26 miles, completing the Air Force marathon in a little over 5 hours. In 2013, he took up golf, but says he is not yet to be trusted with keeping an accurate score.
He is also the author of “No Small Miracles,” the father of four grown miracles and living proof that 39 years of a happy marriage is still God’s greatest miracle.
Chaplain Norris’s column will appear on 830 Times every Monday morning.
“At 830Times, it’s a real honor for us to offer Chaplain Norris’s words to people in The 830 area code,” said Joel Langton, publisher of 830Times. “We want to bring the greatest amount of value to our audience here and we think our readers are going to find his words invaluable.”
Readers can find out more about Burkes and his books at www.thechaplain.net.
