Chaplains, who are they?

As your read this over morning coffee, four area pastors will have just returned from a three-day conference in Sacramento. Unlike that old television show, our three-day tour was not about being tossed and lost on some deserted island. Rather it was about how we might better serve when you find yourself tossed about by the winds of time or simply set adrift by the circumstance of events that befall us all.

Just who are the "we" I refer to? We are Leo Kruger, Rich Lammay, Albert Vacek, and Pete Nelson, who volunteer our time as Douglas County Sheriff Chaplains. We are available to be called out by any Douglas County Sheriff's deputy at a time when the presence of a pastor might be helpful. We are a varied group. While we may not always preach or teach the same way we agree that when it comes to pastoral care we want to serve together.

Ours is a ministry of service and I liken it to St. Paul's words to the church in Corinth. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

And this ministry we share has two main purposes. First, we serve you, the citizens of Douglas County, as you who may find yourself in a situation where we may come and accompany you through some hardship or difficult time. Such times happen to us all.

Second, we also serve the deputies, staff and families of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement is a very demanding career. Few persons are at more risk physically or emotionally as a law enforcement officer. Just consider the situations and circumstance of an average 10 hour shift in a patrol car, then consider the recent incident in Florida where two young officers gave their lives in a routine traffic stop gone terribly bad. Chaplains were there for all the families involved.

So, just what did we do with our three-day tour? We learned how to walk beside our officers as they respond to a wide variety of situations and crisis. We heard of new ways of serving those behind the scenes and of extending our care beyond the initial incident. We were reminded of the privilege we have in serving our community along side those who have sworn themselves to protect and serve you, that we are indeed ambassadors for Christ together, seeking to bring reconciliation wherever and whenever we are called. And we are grateful.

The Rev. Pete Nelson of Carson Valley United Methodist Church is a member of the Carson Valley Minister's Association.