Welcome to the Recruit Memorial Chapel, a centrally featured refuge amidst the landscape of RTC is the Recruit Memorial Chapel, which houses the Religious Ministries Department. In providing divine services, prayer, and confidential counseling to recruits, staff, and staff families, the Religious Ministry Department is privileged to support RTC’s mission of transforming civilians into Sailors. Chaplains may be reached through your chain of command, the chapel office, or through your RTC workspace. Our Religious Ministry Team (RMT) will meet you where you are, when you need it, with what matters.

The chapel staff is committed to assisting RTC’s overall mission of transforming civilians into Sailors. RTC chaplains are assigned to recruit barracks and staff work centers, in order to be readily available for the spiritual and emotional needs of all personnel.

In honoring those who serve our country, chaplains, assisted by Religious Program Specialists (RP), provide religious services for those from their own faith tradition, facilitate for the religious needs of those of all faith traditions, offer care to all personnel, regardless of religious affiliation, through counsel, pastoral care, and "deckplate" while advising command leadership in areas pertaining to religious and spiritual issues.

As chaplains and RPs, we pride ourselves in defending the Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion for all people. Religious services are conducted at the Recruit Memorial Chapel regularly on Friday evenings, Sunday mornings, and on special religious holy days. An array of faith tradition services are offered each weekend, utilizing chaplain, uniformed military, and civilian volunteer worship leaders.

In caring for all, RTC chaplains are available for individual counsel at the Recruit Memorial Chapel. Recruits requesting to speak with a chaplain may do so through their chain of command. Staff may contact their chaplain or the RTC chapel directly. As an extension of care, a duty chaplain is available 24/7 to handle any urgent needs that our staff and recruits may encounter. The RMT also participates in Recruit training by providing instruction on the Navy core values (honor, courage, commitment), and operational stress control.
On-base Emergency Numbers:

Police: 3333  
Fire: 9911
RTC SAPR Hotline: 847-561-3884
Great Lakes SAPR Hotline: 847-489-8196
National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Nat’l Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
American Red Cross Emergency Communication Services: 1-877-272-7337
NAVY311: 1-855-NAVY-311 (NAVY311@Navy.Mil)
It is the policy of RTC to provide for the free exercise of religion for every uniformed staff member, civilian staff member, and Recruit assigned to this command. All are afforded a time and place to express their faith tradition and have access to chaplains of various faith backgrounds, uniformed volunteers of various faith backgrounds, and civilian volunteers who assist specific chaplains with services.

Navy Policy guiding religious ministry at RTC is drawn from various instructions and regulations, to include, SECNAVINST 1730.7D, SECNAVINST 1730.8B, SECNAVINST 5351.1, OPNAVINST 1730.1D, OPNAVINST 5380.1C, and U.S. Navy Regulations section 0817.
Memorial Chapel regularly offers services on Friday evenings, Sunday mornings, and on special religious holy days. An array of faith tradition services are offered each weekend, utilizing chaplain, uniformed military, and civilian volunteer worship leaders.

Religious services are provided based upon the represented need of RTC personnel and the availability of chaplains, military uniformed, or civilian volunteers to meet those needs. Examples of faith traditions currently or previously served are Baha’i, Buddhism, Christian Science, Protestant Christian, Earth Centered Worship, Eastern Orthodox Christian, Gospel Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, Roman Catholic Christian, Seventh-day Adventist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Unitarian Universalist, and more.

Our battery of religious services is constantly adapting to meet the needs of our population. Contact the RMT for an up-to-date list. Schedules for weekly religious services are posted throughout the command and in Recruit barracks on a weekly basis.
Understanding that it is impossible to fully meet all religious service needs of the RTC population or that some Sailors simple require private time for spiritual devotion, each Sunday from 0930-1030 space in the RMC is set aside for self-directed time, where religious material from various faith traditions is made available for meditation, reflection, and spiritual awareness. Our collection is always expanding.
Religious Ministries Department
Recruit Training Command
3355 Illinois Street, Bldg. 1301
Great Lakes, IL 60088
Phone: 847-688-2405

All RTC chaplains are available to speak with authorized personnel (service member, staff, or family member). If you are seeking a chaplain to meet your specific faith needs, the RTC chaplains are of a variety of faith backgrounds and are happy to assist in connecting you with a faith leader of your tradition if one is not present on our staff.

 

 

 

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Recruit Training Command ~ 3355 Illinois Street, Great Lakes, IL 60088
Naval Service Training Command is the parent command for Recruit Training Command.
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