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What are Chaplains?
Chaplains are theologically educated and specifically trained, according to the ministry context, to provide spiritual care. They can be found in a large variety of settings from hospital and long-term care facilities, to prisons and military associations, from fire and police services to educational institutions. There is also a growing field called 'marketplace ministries' where chaplains provide pastoral care to community organizations and the private sector (see City in Focus, Tom Cooper for Marketplace chaplaincy). Chaplains may work either full-time, part-time or voluntarily.
Chaplians offer a ministry of presence, prayer, counselling, worship and other services within the community they serve. They spiritually journey with people of various cultures and religions as individiuals search for meaning, forgiveness, love, hope, and healing.
Bruce Rushton started the Emergency Response Chaplaincy to provide counselling, stress and crisis management training, and chaplaincy to fire and police departments throughout the Lower Mainland.
Fire chaplains train in Crisis Counselling
The world has changed since the attacks of 9/11, necessitating changes in the duties of a fire chaplain.
Alliance chaplain Bruce Rushton reports that the first body taken out of the World Trade Centre was a fire chaplain, which propelled his job to a new level. He adds that helping people deal with the aftermath of major disasters like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina has become part of the job for many fire chaplains across North America. That’s why fire chaplains are now training in how to deal with a disaster or emergency. They are looking at their role in an emergency so they can be better prepared. They are learning the chain of command, how to become an asset and not a liability and how to offer non-denominational support to those facing serious injury or death.
They are also learning how to act on the scene of an emergency and how to deliver news of the death of a loved one. Just like emergency personnel, chaplains need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice when devastation strikes. Rushton notes fire chaplains must create a balanced life that can deal with the many challenges of the job, such as helping families in crisis or with the death of a loved one. They also minister to firefi ghters at emergency scenes and in their private lives.
For more information please go the Christian and Ministry Alliance in Canada.
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