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First Responders not getting lost

 
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Kimberly Kiefer



Joined: 02 Apr 2021
Posts: 5
Location: South Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:51 am    Post subject: First Responders not getting lost Reply with quote

One of the essential tasks of shepherd leadership is the arduous retrieval of those who-for whatever reason- have lost their way. Most don’t even know that they’re lost until it is too late. Anguish over the lost expresses itself in passionate intercession and determined action. I find this anguish too often missing in my own self-absorbed existence. It’s easier to just let them go. I think, They aren’t interested in what I have to say, anyway. Leadership means looking for the lost. Page 80, day 10, Lost and Found

When I read this part of the book about people who have lost their way, I thought of First Responders and their work situation day after day, shift after shift, crisis after crisis, tragedy after tragedy. I wondered how does it affect them, how many get “lost” and need help finding their way back? My passion as a First Responder Chaplain is for the profession to which they have been called does not destroy them spiritually, mentally, physically or psychologically. Most First Responders work twelve hour shifts with rotating days off, so just that fact makes them different from the majority of society’s work schedule. They work every other weekend, so worship service on Sunday is missed at least twice month. If their family still goes to church each week, the First Responder is not here two out of the four. Then, a twelve house shift is a very long day because it is much longer than twelve hours. That does not include time to get ready for work, handle chores before work, commute to work, get off work-hoping the twelve hour shift actually ended when it was supposed to, if not-the twelve hour shift can easily become thirteen, fourteen or fifteen hours- then chores after work, spend time with family or do a relaxing activity before it is time to go to bed.

On top of the long shifts, rotating days working, rotating working days and night shifts, their schedule generally does not matching their spouse’s or family’s schedules. Their twelve hour shifts are filled with crisis, death, destruction, tragedies, and seeing the worst that people do to one another-abuse, homicide, sexual assaults, arson-and trying to deal with a lot of pain and suffering. With all of this going on in their daily work life, how do they not get lost? How does a First Responder healthily handle dealing with all this and not get lost? What steps do they take? What boundaries do they set? How do they separate it in their minds? It seems getting lost would be very easy to do. How does a First Responder believe that God is good, loving and compassionate, when all they see is the Fall of Man and the sins committed against one another, shift after shift? What can I do as a Chaplain, what can we do as the Church to help them not get lost? How do we help them stay grounded in God’s goodness, love and compassion? How can we support them?

The way I live out my calling as a Chaplain is how I try to help them not get lost. I spend time at the Law Enforcement Department I am serving on a regular schedule, so I can get to know everyone and begin building relationships. I attend shift briefings for officers working patrol. When an officer invites me to ride-a-long with them on patrol, I know our relationship has gone to a deeper level because I am being invited into their scared space, their patrol vehicle. I walk around the department visiting with each person, to learn about their role at the department and who they are as a person. I bring snacks to the department on holidays for those working to remind them they are not forgotten. I coordinate meals for them twice a year. I give each employee a birthday card and a Family and Marriage Bible for newly married couples. I coordinate the Adopt-A-Cop Prayer of Protection Program, which is connecting a church member with a Law Enforcement Officer to pray specific points each day. I visit employees in the hospital before surgery and any time they are hospitalized. If I am told about an issue or prayer request, I make note of it and check on the situation in the days and weeks ahead. I support and help the Sheriff or Police Chief with special events, for example, National Day of Prayer, Police Memorial week, community events, public prayer and any other assistance they request my help. I answer their theological questions and have candid conversations with them about healthy self-care. I do whatever I can to help them not be negatively affected by their profession.

In addition to serving a Law Enforcement Department, I serve on a Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM) which consists of leading and co-leading debriefings for First Responders after traumatic events or calls for service. “This is a specific, 7-phase, small group, supportive crisis intervention process. It is simply a supportive, crisis-focused discussion of a traumatic event (which is frequently called a critical incident). The debriefing aims at reduction of distress and a restoration of group cohesion and unit performance.” Dr. Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph.D., American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and Clinical Professor of Emergency Health Services University of Maryland. I have co-led many debriefings and I have seen numerous First Responders get their foundation and confidence back, which supports them in not getting lost. The main point we teach them after a traumatic incident is, they are having normal reactions to an abnormal event. This is a significant way I can help First Responders not get lost.

I look forward to the days ahead as God reveals even more ways I, as a Chaplain, and we as the Church, can help First Responders not get lost and lose their way. In my eleven years serving as a First Responder Chaplain, I have seen many churches take various actions to support First Responders and I look forward to this becoming a reality on a much larger scale for the whole Church.
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Kimberly Kiefer
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