Trained and Ready To Respond
Chaplains in Virginia were trained and ready to respond for the recent destructive tornados. For a number of years, the Chaplains Commission has been in partnership with Dr. Michael Baker, State Administrative Bishop, in helping train hundreds of pastors and laypersons to respond to the crises within their communities. Over 150 Virginia pastors and key laypersons have taken the 27-hour Community Service Chaplains Course and were certified for this ministry. This course prepared them to be immediate responders when tragedies hit, such as the tornados, which destroyed areas in Suffolk, Virginia. The course gave them training in trauma/grief counseling, death notification, guidance for working with other disaster response agencies and many other vital resources.
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Community service chaplains assist in such disasters as tornadoes. |
The course was also taken to local churches. Reverend Bobby Collins, Pastor of the World Outreach Worship Center, under the directorship of long-term chaplain, Jack Smith, trained more than 100 key workers in their local church. From this church, five chaplains gave immediate response to the disaster in Suffolk. Those chaplains were Jack Smith, Tammy Carnegie, Paul Lambiott, Warren Smith and Micah Walden. This group was reported to have given pastoral counseling and ministry to some 300 victims and relief workers. Other trained chaplains on site were Peggy Coke, Linda Cobb and Randy Wooten.
Sincere thanks go to State Administrative Bishop Michael Baker who caught the vision to train his pastors and laypersons for “such a time as this.”
For more information on chaplaincy training and disaster response ministries, contact the Chaplains Commission by visiting our website, www.cogchaplains.com, or by calling the Coordinator of Disaster Response Ministries, Tom Offutt, 423-478-7218.
