Chaplaincy

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A Ministry of Presence

Law Enforcement Chaplain

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Since January 2021 I have served as a law enforcement chaplain in Sonora, California, primarily with the city’s police department. As needed, I have also served other agencies in both our own and neighboring counties, working with sheriff’s deputies, highway patrol officers, ambulance crews, fire fighters, and more; as well as community members who have suffered tragic or unexpected losses.

The purpose of a law enforcement chaplain is to provide spiritual and emotional support to law enforcement officers, employees, and citizens that they contact; and to students, faculty, and administration in schools (through the School Resource Chaplaincy program). Chaplains may also provide pastoral services as necessary: counseling, weddings, funerals, sacraments, invocations, benedictions, etc.

Chaplains are volunteers with the law enforcement agency, serving at the request of and with permission from the agency, and under the guidelines of the agency’s chaplain program policy. Like other volunteers, chaplains undergo extensive background checks; and must complete a rigorous, 40-hour training through either Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) or the International Conference of Chaplains. Ongoing Continuing Education Training is recommended, and may be required by the agency.

School Resource Chaplain

My time as a substitute teacher and a volunteer in numerous schools has granted me favor with administrators, faculty, staff, and coaches; and opened doors to serve both students and adults on campus.

A School Resource Chaplain is a law enforcement-certified chaplain who has been invited by a school principal to support the health and well-being of young people. Through their presence on campus, the School Resource Chaplain can play a significant role in helping to maintain a safe, healthy, and stable learning environment by developing relationships with students, staff, counselors, and administrators; as well as by supporting sworn School Resource Officers. They may also provide short-term crisis counseling after an incident that impacts students and/or staff.

School Resource Chaplains meet constitutional guidelines for involvement in public schools because…

  • they provide a practical, secular service;
  • they are non-sectarian, serving people of all faiths and no faith; and
  • they are free of excessive government and religious entanglement.

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602. 1971.

Resources and References

For additional information about law enforcement chaplaincy and existing School Resource Chaplain programs, please see the following:

Want to Back Me Up?

One principal of law enforcement is: never go in without backup. I’m grateful to have the backup of a team that prays, encourages, and financially supports the work I do. If you’d like to “ride along” with me in this, please send me a message or sign up here to receive my mostly-monthly newsletter.

If you would like to become a financial supporter you can do so through PayPal (link will open in a new tab) or by mailing a check payable to WIXIM Ministries, Inc. to PO Box 21734, El Cajon, CA 92021. Please include acct #2375 in the memo line.

WIXIM Ministries, Inc., is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Find out more at www.wixim.com.

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