A Thread of Hope
Hope. We have said from the beginning that we wanted to be a thread of hope in the fabric of our community. Where there is fear, we want to bring courage. Where there is grief, we want to bring comfort. And where there is despair, we want to bring hope. Every day we bring hope to the first responders we serve, their families, and the citizens with whom the first responders interact. It is a joy to serve those who serve!
(This post is a reprint of our monthly newsletter, which included photos of our partners and work. Send us an email if you would like to be on the mailing list)
This past month was filled with wonderful opportunities to
Serve our first responders and their families
Serve those impacted by crisis
Build community
Serving First Responders
Rochester Police Department. RPD has been able to staff up in the last few months with 10 new officers joining the Police Department in June!
Chaplains Kwasi Kyeremeh, Rachelle Bernard, and George Beech were honored to meet and spent quality time with these new officers during their orientation this past month. We know they will face many challenges and difficulties as they seek to serve and protect our community, so building trusting relationships from the outset is crucial to their long-term spiritual and emotional well-being. We have found the new officers are more open to speaking with chaplains if they meet us within the first few weeks.
We continue to build relationships and develop trust with first responders through many hours of one-on-one engagement with those we serve. This month there were numerous evenings where our chaplains drove along with the officers on patrol, gaining insight into their work and having time to get to know them.
One of those ride-alongs was with RPD Patrol Officer Sarah Cronk and her K9 Finn. She is the first female K9 officer at the Department!
RPD Patrol Officer Eric Christenson received an award for his work to prevent drunk driving at the annual Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) awards ceremony.
Executive Director George Beech was invited to give the invocation at the awards ceremony.
Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO). We are very excited to be launching our support to the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and our chaplains began meeting this month with many of the staff and Correction Officers in the Adult Detention Center to begin building relationships.
Rochester Fire Department. While S&L has been supporting the RFD unofficially for more than 10 months, all is now on track for these chaplains to begin their work in earnest in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more about this effort as the chaplains begin to provide support to RFD.
We are excited to support each of these organizations and their leaders!
Serving the Families
This month we also began work on an "RPD family academy" with a goal of welcoming new family members into the culture of police work. We are collaborating with a planning team that includes officers, staff, spouses, and our chaplains to design a 3-hour orientation for the family members of new officers.
This idea was born out of the military's family readiness group concept, which helped families adjust to their service members being deployed. The work of our law enforcement community can result in the same types of stressors for their families, as the officers are "deployed" daily as they go out to serve the community. We desire to ensure the families feel supported and see us as a resource from the very beginning.
Our work also continues with the larger Family Readiness and Outreach Group (FROGS) which continues to meet and plan events such as dinners, date nights, a Twins game outing, and a formal ball/gala in the spring for officers and their significant others. This group is designed to come alongside the officers and their families throughout their time of service and support the health of the families and their relationships.
What We Do
Our Chaplains are serving alongside officers
and supporting the community when disaster strikes
On June 23rd, there was a motorcycle accident involving 16-year-old Jack O'Neil who was killed near the intersection of Broadway and East Circle Drive.
Chaplain Rachelle Bernard responded and ministered to the RPD officers, the driver of the second vehicle, and Jack's family. Chaplains Jorden Johnson and George Beech provided support to the RFD.
Jack was in the RPD Explorer program and his death was personally felt by many in the Department. Please keep Jack's family and the RPD officers who knew and cared for Jack in your prayers.
The Chaplains response at the scene and subsequent support of the officers and the O'Neil family were greatly appreciated. Officer Jarrett Manson said he felt deep gratitude for the chaplains' response to this accident and has been playing gospel music in his squad car ever since.
Meet Our Chaplains
Workplace chaplaincy is a ministry of presence. Each of these chaplains has a background in ministry, a passion for serving those who serve, a willingness to take the late-night calls, and above all the care and compassion needed to walk alongside people in their time of need.
This month we brought on three new chaplains to complete the staffing for the Rochester Fire Department and the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office. We are pleased to introduce you to Tara and Jay Maier who will serve OCSO and Travis Kingsley who will serve the RFD.
With 14 chaplains now on board, we now are staffed to be present and support the first responders, their families, and our community across Olmsted county.
Thank You!
Thank you, chaplains, for doing the work that God has directed
(Psalm 37:23-24)
Thank you, board members, for your selfless service to the Lord and our community
(1 Peter 1:12)
Thank you, donors, for making it possible to honor chaplains with wages for their work
(1 Timothy 5:18)
and to reach into our community with love and compassion to those in need
(Matthew 25:36-40)
Thank you, prayer warriors, for enabling this work to be powerful and effective
(James 5:16)
Our Challenge
Serving two new organizations, the Rochester Fire Department and the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office will be challenging and we are confident that this is a part of God’s plan for us and our community. If you would like to partner with us as we provide hope to every person with whom we come in contact, please consider a monthly donation to Salt & Light Partners.
