Feature 16 and

Loitering with pastoral intent

Continuing a series on Salvation Army chaplaincy in diverse settings, Simon Hope talks to a police chaplain about his experiences

THE police service is a vital part of our functioning society. Every day hundreds of thousands of officers and staff work to protect communities and neighbourhoods, despite the many challenges of a stressful role.

With ever-increasing strains on officers today, there is more awareness than ever of the importance of holistic wellbeing – care that includes body, mind and spirit. This is where chaplains have a part to play.

Major Peter is a retired Salvation Army officer and served as a police officer in the 1970s and 1980s. As a chaplain within Kent police, his ministry is spread across Kent Police College and a police station.

At the college he makes himself visible and available in all the communal areas for anyone who wants to talk. He spends his most productive time, however, loitering outside the canteen at lunch time. Following this, he spends half an hour sitting in the care room.

Supported by the charity Police Care UK, the care room is a quiet space that anyone can use to take a step away from the clamour of their job. Some people use the room to pray – there are prayer mats and religious resources available – but care rooms are primarily a wellbeing tool. Peter points out that an equally valid use of the room would be to ‘kick the door shut and burst into tears’. His regular presence in the care room gives people an opportunity to talk to him in private.

The police station has a very different atmosphere, but Peter’s role there is remarkably similar. Immersing himself in the continual scurry of activity, he always receives a warm reception from staff members and officers, who will often sit down for a chat over a cup of tea.

In many ways, Peter’s role is much like that of chaplains in other settings. The responsibilities revolve around praying for people and coming alongside them in confidential support as an independent friend. In Peter’s words: ‘A chaplain is there to look after the spiritual welfare of officers, staff, volunteers; everybody who works within the environment.’

The key difference for police chaplains lies in the context.

‘Police officers have all sorts of concerns,’ he explains. ‘Sometimes they’re job-related but more often than not they’re personal. Police staff and officers are people too, and they have elderly parents, kids that play up, marital problems. All those things you deal with as a church pastor are there, plus the pressures of the job itself, which can be extreme.’

Working in such a secure environment, people in the police service can be wary about sharing their thoughts, feelings or problems. This can make it exceedingly difficult to find somebody to talk to about the pressures that come, not only with life but also with the job. Having a dedicated chaplain, whose job is to do just that, provides them with a secure environment in which to decompress.

‘It’s really about getting to know people so that they trust me when they’ve got something to talk about. I think that’s where being an ex-police officer helps,’ Peter suggests. ‘I understand their concerns and they know that. That doesn’t stop others being chaplains, but I think it helps.’

This is especially poignant in relation to situations that are sadly all too common for those working within the police service.

Peter talks about instances where colleagues have been murdered or have died by suicide. Losing a member of the team – a friend – in such a way affects everyone. In these situations, Peter’s simple presence matters.

‘I just move among the people, talking to them, letting them let off steam. Some of them are very close to the victims and they just want to talk about them.’

Peter shares an incident from his past, when several officers were killed by an IRA bomb, including a sergeant who had recently worked with Peter and his team.

‘The atmosphere that night was absolutely dreadful,’ he remembers. ‘And if we’d had a chaplain then, believe me, I’d have been on the phone to them straight away. Things like this actually do have an impact, and that’s where I need to get alongside people and offer pastoral support. Just listening. Just being there. I don’t talk about my experiences, necessarily, but I draw on them. I know what it’s like to be in that situation. To be honest, every police officer with more than a few weeks’ service carries scars mentally, and that includes me.

‘I think that our police officers work under extreme pressure. People generally don’t realise the pressure they’re under! And they are extremely conscientious. Most of them try very hard to do their job really well.

‘They get so much negativity from the press – from all sorts of people, really. I think being able to reassure them and affirm them is an important part of my job.’

It is in this intense context that chaplains make a marked difference – cultivating the grounded, confidential friendships that allow them to protect the wellbeing of those who are working to protect us all.

SIMON HOPE

Editorial Assistant Salvationist

Fulfilment brings freedom and favour

Major Graham Mizon reminds us that fulfilment is found in Jesus

ISAIAH 61

AFTER being baptised by John in the Jordan, and full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led ‘into the wilderness, where for 40 days he was tempted by the Devil’ (Luke 4:1 and 2). Jesus then returned to his hometown of Nazareth.

Fulfilment of Scripture

On the Sabbath day, as was his custom, Jesus went to the synagogue (see Luke 4:16). When he stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Jesus chose this setting and occasion to announce the beginning of his earthly ministry. He unrolled the scroll and read from Isaiah 61:1 and 2, which is quoted in Luke 4:17–19 as: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

After reading from Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. While the gathered people looked and waited, Jesus amazed them with his claim: ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:21).

Like Jesus, the gathered Jews would be familiar with these ancient words of Isaiah. However, Jesus proclaims that these words, initially addressed to captive Jews in Babylon, are now being fulfilled in him. They take on a fuller and deeper meaning when spoken by Jesus in the Roman province of Galilee.

The usefulness and purpose of the Old and New Testament writings are highlighted in a statement attributed to Saint Augustine: ‘The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.’

QUESTIONS

What are the advantages of us being familiar with Scripture today? Who are ‘the poor’ to whom the good news is to be proclaimed?

Spirit and anointing

‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me’ (Luke 4:18). Jesus took this ancient text to testify to being filled with the Holy Spirit and being God’s anointed Son. Jesus had recently been baptised and witnessed the Spirit of God descending like a dove on him (see Matthew 3:13–17). The resurrected Christ would later commission his disciples to proclaim the same good news in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:5–8).

Kings and priests were usually the ones to be anointed – especially the high priests who were consecrated to God’s service. The only other anointed prophet was Elisha (see 1 Kings 19:16), who was

Through the week with Salvationist

– a devotional thought for each day

by Lieut-Colonel Brenda Oakley

SUNDAY

No condemnation now I dread;/ Jesus, and all in him, is mine./ Alive in him, my living head,/ And clothed in righteousness divine,/ Bold I approach the eternal throne/ And claim the crown, through Christ, my own. (SASB 241)

MONDAY

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1 and 2)

TUESDAY

In Christ alone – who took on flesh,/ Fullness of God in helpless babe!/ This gift of love and righteousness,/ Scorned by the ones he came to save:/ Till on that cross as Jesus died,/ The wrath of God was satisfied,/ For every sin on him was laid;/ Here in the death of Christ I live.

(SASB 861)