William Bevins Receives Professional Naval Chaplain Excellency Award
Anam Cara CPE Training Supervisor-Educator and former supervisory CPE student recognized for excellence in Navy chaplaincy and clinical pastoral education.
Lt. William Bevins
U.S. Navy Chaplain & Training Supervisor-Educator, Anam Cara CPE
Image area prepared for Lt. William Bevins. (Reference provided from DVIDS Pastoral Care Residency ceremony pending verified copyright release).
Press Release
Portsmouth, Va. — September 14, 2026 — Lt. William Bevins, a U.S. Navy chaplain and Training Supervisor-Educator with Anam Cara CPE, was awarded the Professional Naval Chaplain Excellency Award at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia, on August 21, 2026,
The recognition honors Bevins’s contributions to professional Navy chaplaincy and clinical pastoral education. At Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Bevins serves as an instructor in the Navy’s Pastoral Care Residency program, an intensive year-long Clinical Pastoral Education program preparing Navy chaplains for clinical and operational ministry.
Bevins completed his CPE Supervisor-Educator training at Anam Cara CPE’s School of Military Spiritual Formation. He now helps supervise and develop the next generation of chaplains and CPE educators.
“Will understands that CPE about forming an individual to be the kind of person who can sit with others in their most difficult moments,” said Dr. Rick Capezza, Director of Anam Cara CPE. “We had the privilege of being part of Will’s development as a Supervisor, and today he is doing significant work forming chaplains within the Navy. We are glad to have him back on staff at Anam Cara.”
Bevins recently returned to Anam Cara in the role of Training Supervisor-Educator, where his focus is on developing CPE educators. Bevins is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Board Certified Chaplain, and a doctoral candidate at Wesley Theological Seminary. His vocational background also includes service as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Korea, Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania, and AmeriCorps volunteer in New York City.
Bevins’s recognition reflects the continuing connection between Anam Cara’s CPE programs and the broader work of professional spiritual care within the Armed Forces. What began as supervisory formation through Anam Cara’s School of Military Spiritual Formation now continues through Bevins’s work as an educator of chaplains serving in some of the Navy’s most demanding clinical and operational environments.