A helpful silence

"Don't just say something, stand there."

The Rev. John Harth said that's the best advice he ever got.

Harth, pastor of Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran, Mo., is one of three police chaplains for the Oran police department, Scott County sheriff, Oran Fire and Rescue and the North Scott County ambulance district.

Police chaplains are a special breed of minister who know the right thing to say at a tragic time. And sometimes they know when to say nothing.

As a chaplain, Harth has seen ambulance crews deal with the death of an infant in a car accident.

"Children's deaths really affect emergency service workers," he said. "I was able to have a debriefing for ambulance, fire and rescue personnel and help them understand their reactions are normal."

He has accompanied police officers to homes where domestic violence has erupted and a spouse was arrested. Sometimes he stayed behind and lent an ear.

Often he doesn't say anything; he just stands there.

"A lot of times I don't have to do anything," Harth said. "Having somebody there is sufficient."

Harth said he has been a police chaplain since he was ordained in 1987, and has served in that capacity in other communities.

"I'm an activist at it," he said. "I've been through the law enforcement academy at Southeast Missouri State University and graduated. I understand what makes these people tick. If problems come up they might not necessarily want to talk with their own pastor or other people they don't know very well. They might be willing to talk to me."

The Rev. David Dissen, a retired Lutheran minister in Cape Girardeau, drops by the police and fire stations at least once a week; he is one of three chaplains in the city serving both agencies.

"I get to know them as human beings who have spiritual needs," Dissen said, "and as people who will say to me, 'Rev, do you have a few minutes?'"

Often Harth said the people chaplains minister to may not want to draw attention to the fact that they're seeking him out. They'll simply approach him when he's nearby and available. He's always available.

"John works real good with us," said Oran police chief Howard Stephens. "He has a radio. He's always there when we need him."

'It's a nice break'

Police chaplains don't hold appointments on a per-hour basis, and they take care not to proselytize. They're just there to listen if they're needed. Or just to sit and chat.

"I've had Rev. Dissen come in and visit with me in my office," said Cape Girardeau police chief Steve Strong. "It's a nice break just to talk."

Like Harth, Dissen accompanies police officers or firefighters to crime or accident scenes.

"I have been at the airport here in Cape Girardeau after a private airplane coming in did not make it," Dissen said. "The plane dived nose in and the people on board were killed. I met with the family there. I've gone to homes occasionally to tell people a relative has been killed in an accident."

The Rev. David Allen, another Cape Girardeau chaplain and pastor of St. James AME Church, recalled the time when he talked a man off the old Mississippi River bridge and kept him from jumping to his death.

"We've had chaplains out working with us when we had some tense times in the south part of the city," Strong said. "They were out on the street talking to people."

Sgt. Larry Plunkett of the Missouri State Highway Patrol says the Troop E's three chaplains fill in where law enforcement leaves off.

"We deal with the law enforcement side," Plunkett said. "We need to leave at some point."

When the troopers must walk away, the chaplains are there to step in and offer their own kind of assistance.

Some happy occasions

Sometimes chaplains are on hand for happy occasions. Strong recalled a wedding one of the department's chaplains performed in the city jail. Police personnel sometimes ask the chaplain to officiate at their own weddings.

Strong said chaplains in the city might get a shirt and a ball cap but they volunteer their time. The chaplains themselves say they get more out of it than they give. Harth frequently rides along with police officers and spends time with them because he enjoys the camaraderie. Dissen said it's a way of giving back to a community he has come to cherish after 23 years in the ministry here.

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department does not have a chaplain, said Capt. James Mulcahy, opting instead for counseling and providing it as a benefit through the employees' insurance. But if someone wants more spiritual guidance, he said, a minister will be made available.

The chaplains say they often recommend counseling for those who need more help than he can give. Strong said the city also offers counseling as a benefit, but sometimes people want something more spiritual. Sometimes they just need to know someone who understands is nearby.

"A lot of times it's just being physically present," he said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160