Lesson 6 ~ Chaplaincy Studies ~ Where One Ministers ~ Part 3

Chaplaincy Studies

Lesson 6 – The Chapel – Where One Ministers:

Police Departments, Prisons, Fire Departments – Part III

By:  Rev. Trent Murman

 

If you know a chaplain in a police department, fire department, prison, or part of an emergency response team, interview them and discover what their chaplaincy is like.

 

Once again I had the pleasure of chatting with a chaplain assigned to the Emergency Services of the city which did include the Police Department, Jail House, Fire and Rescue.  He stated there are times when he has been required to work with these different agencies in his official capacity. 

 

In the jail house he has been called to meet with both men and women learning to cope with being incarcerated and being away from their families and loved ones.  The most sad was those mothers of young children being incarcerated, remembering their children are suffering also from not being with their mothers.  Or the young teenagers being thrust into the general population of the older more seasoned male inmates, because they barely know what life is all about, but since they have committed this crime, they have now put themselves in this situation.  But, he also reminded me that a chaplain is there to listen to the inmates regarding their concerns and must not get emotionally or personally involved. 

While working with the Police Department he has been required to attend suicides and other acts of violence.  Tragically when this happens the chaplain ministers not only to the victims, but their immediately families and may be called upon to help with crisis care for the police officers themselves to cope with the tragedy they have just witnessed.  

He doesn't get called out much with the Fire and Rescue teams, but has occasionally been called for assistance in motor vehicle fatalities where part of his duty was to go with the State Police officers or local police to notify the next of kin of a death.  This he remembers was very stressful and as a chaplain you need to silently evaluate the family's need for your services and know when they should be referred to other counseling agencies either because of non-believers in faith or the stress of the incident was too much for them to handle and they needed more than immediate counseling.

The chaplain stated to me he feels he does play an intricate part in Emergency Services and he feels he has always been accepted by the victim's families and members of the emergency teams.  In fact there have been some situations that when he arrived on scene it did have a profound calming affect on everyone involved just seeing and knowing he was there to assist, guide and just plain listen.  Which we as ministers we are primarily taught and sometimes that is all people want….just someone to listen.

Go In Peace