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news for Sonoma, Marin & Napa Counties

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4GCA0 B4C >5 70=3B Police chaplains volunteer to help support crime victims and other ordinary citizens who come into police contact for a variety of reasons.

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Police chaplains ride the thin blue line of compassion By Neal Ross Attinson

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piritual practice and police work may seem an unlikely pairing, but for more than 50 volunteers with Sonoma County’s Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service (LECS), the combination is a way of life. “I wanted to contribute in a way that included spiritual practice as a focus and center,� explains Teresa Franklin, a registered nurse and graduate of last year’s LECS academy. “One thing that surprised me is how closely I identified with the chaplaincy community, and also the work of law enforcement. I felt a kinship—like it was not a stretch to understand the personality type and loyalty toward serving the community that goes into those professions.� The interfaith, nondenominational agency, which begins its 11th training

academy Sept. 23, describes its mission as one that provides solace and “emotional support� to law enforcement personnel and the community alike. Officially, that mission includes acting as spiritual adjunct to Sonoma County’s 18 emergency-response agencies by making death notifications and sitting with accident or crime victims—tasks which require an emotional depth that often receives short shrift in police training. In practice, says assistant senior chaplain BreeAnn Crespan, it also means doing what’s needed for those having the worst day of their lives, “whether it’s making phone calls, picking kids up from school, doing the dishes—we’re there to be an extra set of hands, and a shoulder to cry upon if they need it. We are just there to be there.� Crespan acknowledges that there are those who may be reluctant to engage with

someone whose job description includes any mention of God. But she stresses that the chaplain’s job is primarily to listen—and never to convince. “When people think ‘chaplain,’ there may be a stigma. People, in my experience, have automatically thought that means that we’re going to proselytize,� she says. “That’s exactly the opposite of who we are. Our purpose is not to go in there and tell people our stories, but to be able to help them in an emotional way because we may know how they feel.� Franklin, who received her commission in April, was gratified that the need to serve others reached across lines of faith and into something universal. “One thing that was a real pleasant reality was how diverse and interfaith it is; it doesn’t require any particular religious affiliation,� Franklin says. “In addition to having excellent leadership and &(

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