AUBURN - After a weekend of scattered thunderstorms, Sunday's weather was refreshingly serene, perfect for Falcon Park's annual Baseball Chapel.

Since 1994, Falcon Park, home to the Auburn Doubledays minor league baseball team, has hosted a yearly church service, inviting sports figures from teams as wildly popular as the New York Yankees and the Buffalo Bills to speak about their relationship with God.

This year, however, was a little bit different. The representatives at Falcon Park asked chaplain Brett Charsky, a veteran of the Iraq war, to share God's word.

The event opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by an opening prayer. Then the audience was treated to a performance by the Freedom Village singers, a group of dedicated Christians with inspiring testimonies hailing from the largest Christian home for troubled teens, just north of Watkins Glen. They were followed by the Harvesters quartet with Joe Bordanardo.

When it came time for Charsky to address the crowd, he first led a prayer and then asked members of the audience who had served or were currently serving in the military to stand and receive applause.

The chaplain, a member of the Army Reserves since 2000, said that life's most difficult and frightening circumstances are the very times when God is needed the most.

When he was called to Iraq in February 2007, his son was only 1 and he and his wife were expecting another child.

Charsky, who in his entire tour of duty never carried a weapon (only his Bible), says little of the fear he must have experienced but recounts how soldiers often confided in him “chaplain, I'm scared.”

“When you watch (war movies) #- it always makes it look so glamorous #...” he said, “but war is ugly. I'm not a magician. I have very few answers, but I go to the one who does have all the answers.”

Charsky said he hoped his steadfast faith, even in the face of such distressing circumstances, helped inspire his fellow soldiers.

“I'm right there,” he said, “ready to point (them) to Christ.”

He also manages to find humor in even the darkest times.

He introduced his favorite phrase, “hooah-llelujah!”: a cross between the Army's “hoo-ah!” cry and “hallelujah!” Laughter arose when he recounted how he once made a Bible cover out of an MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) package.

But Charsky's message, overall, was serious. He challenged each to share what they'd heard on Sunday.

He closed with a quote from Josh McDowell: “If you were on trial #( would anyone know that you are a Christian? Or would the jury say there's not enough evidence to prove you guilty?”