Let’s Talk with Paul St. John

By day, the Rev. Paul St. John, 49, is a ministerial associate at Dutch Fork Baptist Church in Irmo. By night, and on Fridays, he’s the lead chaplain for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

A volunteer program, the chaplaincy currently has 15 members including eight active and seven reserve chaplains. Typically, chaplains ride along with deputies but can be called to crime scenes or respond to a crisis situation.

Recently, St. John talked about his work.

What are some of the services chaplains provide?

St. John: We cover a wide spectrum of pastoral care from birth to marriage to funerals — anything that a pastor would normally cover we cover.

(Also), we try to get to know the officers. That’s why we’re assigned specific regions so we can get to know officers in that region. We go to where the deputies are. We don’t expect them to come to us.

Do they come from different denominations?

St. John: We don’t limit ourselves to a particular denomination, because there are a wide range of belief systems within the department. We’re not here to preach to them or convert them. We’re just here to help them in anyway we can.

What’s a typical day like, or is there a typical day?

St. John: If there is a typical day, that means you’re not doing your job. But the average day that I have as a chaplain is, on Fridays I come into victim services and I take care of any administrative duties ... Then, outside of that, I ride with the deputies. I try to ride with someone different every time. That way, they get to learn who we are. What we’re trying to do is build trust. When they trust us, they will take us on calls. The main thing that I do when I ride with them is to stay out of their way.

And you talk in the cars?

St. John: Yes. The cruiser is their office, so anything they tell us stays in that car. Everything they tell us is confidential. But I don’t limit myself to the car. I can meet with them for coffee or in a place where they’re comfortable and I try to meet with them on their schedule. I don’t do the ‘pastor across the desk thing.’

You are trained in marital counseling. Is that a big stressor for the men and women of law enforcement?

St. John: It is a huge stressor, because it is a stressful job and it puts a lot of pressure on families. It is very difficult for a law officer to clock out and go home and not take it with him. And then you have officers who try to self-contain everything, which is not good. That creates a whole different set of issues. My job is to talk with them and just listen, give them a place where they can vent. We don’t ask them to watch their language or what they say. They can say whatever they need to say to help relieve whatever stress they’ve got.

Does that seem to help – talking things out?

St. John: Usually if they’re able to unload you can immediately tell a difference. Once they unload they don’t have to take it home or take it back to their squad. And I have to say, there are two caveats to the confidentiality agreement. If I perceive they are a threat to themselves or a threat to me or anyone else, I will call their captain and ask to take them off the road or we try to resolve the issue right there. I haven’t come across that issue yet and I hope I don’t.

I noticed on the program’s webpage, the personal interests of the chaplains seem to be as varied as the people themselves and often include things like traveling, reading or motorcycles.

St. John: Yes I think that shows we’re people like everyone else. We’re not afraid to go have a cigar with some of the guys. They can see that we’re real. If they perceive that we’re fake, our job is over.

You describe one of your interests as listening. That seems to be a highly underrated skill. Is that what your group of chaplains brings to the table?

St. John: Yes. When they come to us, they’re not looking for us to give advice. They are looking for someone to listen. Once they tell us what they’ve told us, they have two options to pursue. It’s ‘what do you think’ or the other is, ‘OK, I’m done and that’s over.’ But a lot of them don’t want our advice; they just want us to listen.

You seem to really enjoy your job.

St. John: If I could do this full time, I would do this in a heartbeat. It’s what I was called to do.