1	Can We Talk About God? An inquiry into the practices of emergency services chaplains
2	Can We Talk About God? This presentation was prepared originally for the International Conference of Police Chaplains at the Annual Training Seminar, Spokane, WA July 2003 and has been revised because the suit was eventually settled when the chaplain program was disbanded.
3	Can We Talk About God? By the Rev. Dr. Gerald W. (Jerry) Montgomery President/CEO of The Workplace Institute A Master Chaplain for ICPC and the Federation of Fire Chaplains Serving as a chaplain for police and fire services since 1965 Served as a reserve police officer, firefighter, EMT and chief executive officer of an EMS agency Serving as a local church pastor since 1983 Ordained in the United Church of Christ
4	Can We Talk About God? This headline appeared in May, 2003 “Firefighters want chaplains dumped - file lawsuit to have program disbanded”
5	Can We Talk About God? Who filed the lawsuit? The plaintiffs, who referred to themselves as the Satanic Six, include a Baptist, an Episcopalian, a Christian Scientist, a Jew and a self-described "rationalist agnostic”
6	Can We Talk About God? The mid-level officers who brought the suit said the chaplain corps was made up almost exclusively of Christians and that the clergy had improperly tainted the government agency with religion.
7	Can We Talk About God? The spokesman for the firefighters said he doesn't doubt the sincerity of the chaplains, but objected to their use of religious language at department functions.
8	Can We Talk About God? "I know it comes from their hearts," said the firefighters’ spokesman, who is Jewish. "But it's not my heart. It's not my religion."
9	Can We Talk About God? The chaplain corps was just two years old when the suit was filed and served a force of more than 4,000 firefighters and staff. Of 52 chaplains in the program, only two were from faith traditions other than Christianity. In its 2^nd year, the program added a Buddhist and a Jew.
10	Can We Talk About God? The chaplains' corps replaced a peer-counseling program. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the chaplains were led by a command officer of the department who also was an evangelical Christian pastor.
11	Can We Talk About God? The complaint said the chaplains improperly injected religion into a government organization.
12	Can We Talk About God? The complaining officers also objected to the chaplains' wearing religious insignia while on duty. They said it was only a short step from chaplains counseling fellow firefighters to proselytizing them.
13	Can We Talk About God? Resolution of this type of controversy comes in each individual chaplain’s daily practice of a common ministry Resolution will not be legislated Resolution may be adjudicated Resolution ultimately will be decided by those whom we all serve
14	Can We Talk About God?
15	Can We Talk About God? What is the problem? Some chaplains and their faith communities feel that chaplains may or should engage in uninvited religious activities while serving within a public emergency service agency. Others – courts, other chaplains, some faith communities, community groups – disagree.
16	Can We Talk About God? The key issues are: Understanding the history of chaplaincy Definition of appropriate chaplain conduct while serving within the context of a public emergency services agency Conflicting goals of different religious traditions Consequences of one chaplain’s act for all chaplains!
17	Can We Talk About God? Let’s examine these key issues in reverse order to ensure that we all understand why our individual actions are important to all chaplains.
18	Consequences Like it or not, this controversy will produce at least one of three possible consequences. Even inaction by the chaplain community will have a consequence.
19	Consequences Option #1 Chaplains will continue to be invited to work among emergency service personnel and the communities their agencies serve New limits on chaplains may be imposed
20	Consequences Option #2 Chaplain programs will be excluded from working within emergency service agencies
21	Consequences Option #3 Chaplains will continue to ignore these issues and let the courts and those oppose chaplaincy services of any kind define chaplaincy work and those whom chaplains may serve
22	Conflicting Goals Controversy about religious practices of chaplains is caused by chaplains and is the result of: Religious intolerance rather than religious pluralism Past and current practices by some Christian traditions that engage in uninvited evangelism
23	Chaplain Conduct Keywords: Service Presence Appropriate chaplain actions On-the-job expectations
24	Chaplain Conduct Service and Presence A chaplain has only two basic tasks: To serve the needs of individual agency personnel as invited To be present, especially on the “battlefields” and during the ceremonies
25	Chaplain Conduct Appropriate actions in our role as chaplains include: To be prepared to meet the needs of those whom they serve at all times
26	Chaplain Conduct Appropriate actions in our role as chaplains include: To be mindful and respectful of others who share the same task – or who are being served – and who have different perspectives, traditions, and values
27	Chaplain Conduct Appropriate actions in our role as chaplains include: To be accountable to both religious and civil authorities in all things “Lone Rangers” aren’t welcome as chaplains
28	Chaplain Conduct Appropriate actions in our role as chaplains Are not easy to identify May not be comfortable for us to do Might require us to step aside so another chaplain can provide needed services
29	Chaplain Conduct A simple test: You are a Jewish rabbi serving a local police department as a chaplain You have just been called to the scene of a natural death The family asks you to pray with them They are Christians. What do you do? What words do you choose?
30	Chaplain Conduct Another simple test: You are a Christian minister serving a local police department as a chaplain You have just been called to the scene of a natural death The family asks you to pray with them They are Muslims. What do you do? What words do you choose?
31	Chaplain Conduct Expectations of chaplain services vary widely among police officers and firefighters, staff, chiefs, and citizens Each group has different needs, hopes and responsibilities Often are in conflict with one another
32	Chaplain Conduct Should or Can a chaplain choose to serve only one group? Chaplains cannot – and should not place themselves or their services so one person or group is favored and another is excluded Chaplains must serve everyone
33	Chaplain Conduct Expectations of the community Unlikely to see widespread agreement Decibel levels from various religious groups are an invalid measures of size within a wider community In the United States and Canada, religious pluralism is a fundamental cultural, community and legal value It also is an ordinary fact of daily life
34	Chaplain Conduct Make NO ASSUMPTIONS that Your way is the right way Or that your way is the only way Or that anyone from a different tradition will agree with you
35	Chaplain Conduct Chaplains, emergency service workers or communities DO NOT honor or value a single set of common religious values and practices. Accept the fact that no religious tradition or community CAN presume to be the group that defines religious values or practices for any other group or community!
36	Chaplain Conduct Expectations of the faith traditions that sponsor a chaplain’s work vary widely! Examples are the obvious differences between: Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, Reform Judaism and Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Buddhists, Quakers and Mormons
37	History of Chaplaincy All types of modern emergency service chaplaincy have deep roots in the model of Military Chaplains Those roots so far have survived a federal court challenge . . . but with limits.
38	History of Chaplaincy Chaplains have been a part of the United States military since the 1770s. Their service always has been characterized by Service to the needs of military personnel Presence on the battlefields and in the ceremonies of the military services Inclusive of all religious traditions
39	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court In the middle of the 19th century some Southern states had petitioned Congress to eliminate chaplains. These “memorials,” were not acted upon favorably by the Congress; consequently they were never introduced as cases to be heard in court.
40	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court The relative calm of the Army Chaplaincy ended November 23, 1979, when two Harvard University law students filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the chaplaincy as an establishment of religion.
41	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court This was the first time the constitutionality of the military's religious program was questioned in a formal legal procedure. The Harvard lawsuit finally was settled six years later without going to the United States Supreme Court.
42	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court Other challenges dealing with government support for religion in general have occurred periodically and were decided in a series of court cases ranging from local and state courts to the United States Supreme Court level.
43	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court What happened as a result of the Harvard lawsuit again the United States Army Chaplaincy?
44	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court First, the case forced the entire United States military chaplaincy into a major (and healthy) self-examination. It placed all of chaplaincy programs and activities under the microscope. The chaplaincy eliminated some programs that did not contribute to free exercise.
45	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court Secondly, it required every chaplain to focus clearly on providing for the free exercise of religion as the raison d'etre of the chaplaincy. It also made chaplains conscious that at all costs they must avoid any excessive entanglements between church and state, or any perception of a violation.
46	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court Thirdly, it made clear that there are certain vulnerabilities to the chaplaincy as an institution. There also may be limits to what the chaplain corps can do under the United States Constitution.
47	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court While the threat of the courts evaluating every chaplain program has been reduced, it undoubtedly will surface again in any new court challenge. THAT HAPPENED IN MAY 2003 IN CALIFORNIA!
48	Chaplaincy Challenged in Court IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!
49	What’s Next? User groups representing police and fire chiefs and sheriffs, need to aggressively address the issues of Religious intolerance Professional chaplaincy services Chaplains’ Standards of Care
50	What’s Next? Chaplain groups such as International Conference of Police Chaplains or the Federation of Fire Chaplains need to aggressively address the issues of Religious intolerance Professional chaplaincy services Chaplains’ Standards of Care
51	What’s Next? Individual chaplains need to make personal commitments to Provide the highest possible level of professional services as a chaplain Eliminate from their chaplaincy any act or word of religious intolerance Serve humbly as chaplains letting their work speak as a testament of their religious faith