Public Safety Ministries Inc.

So how do I begin a post that is my first in several months.  I guess I just begin.  Some may have wondered about the recent absence of posts.  I received a few emails, phone calls and personal coments about the significance of February 15, 2009.  It took me awhile to realize it was the date of my last post.  I was at a MESCA chaplain graduation ceremony last week (more on MESCA later) and one of the graduates said he enjoyed the website but it hasn’t been updated since 2008.  So I figured it was time to get “Back At It”.

First of all, I want to let everyone know that the ministry is thriving!  That is the primary reason for the absence of posts, too much going on, not enough time to do everything the way I’d like it to be done.  But the model for this ministry is one of traditional chaplaincy: A Ministry of Presence, Service and Relationships.  This website provides a ministry presence to a larger public safety community so again, time to get “Back At It”.

Here are some of the ministry services that have been filling my time:

MESCA - The recently established Minnesota Emergency Services Chaplain Association that was developed by Dr. Jeff Stewart of the Minneapolis Police Chaplain Corp and endorsed and supported by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association.

MN National Guard Yellow Ribbon Communities Initiative -  I have been working on a variety of Yellow Ribbon initiatives for almost three years now.  As we gain more experience the project has grown and seen significant tangible results.  This increase in activity has resulted in a partnership between Public Safety Ministries, The MN Chiefs Assoc and the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute.  We have created a training curriculum that will be implemented throughout the state in the coming months.

Spiritual Fitness Gatherings - We have started to gather public safety professionals and those who support the professions for monthly (fourth Wednesday of the month, noon to 1:00 pm) gatherings at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church in Minnetonka.  It is a time to gather specifically to grow in our spiritual fitness.

The business and devlopment part of the ministry has also filled much of my time:

ELCA Ordination - I continue my seminary studies and internship responsibilities.  I can now see the end of that journey.  With a little luck (class availability) I’ll be ordained by this time next year.

PSMI Board Expansion - We have expanded our board of directors adding  business, fire service and clergy perspectives to the group.  I am excited about learning from the additional insights.

Ministry Partner Affiliations - We are establishing more formal ministry partneships with organizations supportive of the mission “Serving Those Who Protect”.

Well, that’s a brief overview.  More detail to come on the above initiatives.

I want to close with a prayer I try to say every day:

Dear God,

I ask for the strenght to serve, the peace to rest, the wisdom to discern and most of all the humility to acknowledge that all that I am and all that I have are gifts of Your gracious love.

Amen

And let’s all say a special prayer for our troops as they prepare for the withdrawal of US troops from cities in Iraq.

Take Care!

As I’ve traveled down the road of career transition these past two years, the one thing that has been constant throughout the journey is the experience of discovery.  I had the opportunity last week to share the mission and vision of Public Safety Ministries with the Ramsey County Chiefs of Police Association at their monthly meeting.  It was a great experience and I was overwhelmed with the response of support I received from them.  I gave an overview of the ministry, the mission, the outreach and the services projects we are involved in.  As I was talking about the Chaplaincy Services Coordination project that I am working on in partnership with The Minneapolis Police Chaplain Corp and The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, I used an image to describe the project that I had never used before.

The day before the presentation I was reading for a book that I received from one of our police chaplains, Father Tim Power, at my retirement from Eden Prairie PD.  My Grandfather’s Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. holds a regular place in my collection of books I use for meditation and devotional reading.

In one of the stories she shares she tells of how she struggled with an assignment she had where she was supposed to “build community” among the employees of a hospice organization.  They set aside one morning of a retreat to accomplish the task. When she sought out advice from a colleague she was give the following advice: “You don’t need to make that happen (building the community), Rachael.  You just need to make it visible.”

As I described the efforts we have made towards identifying and coordination chaplain services around the state I have found the same thing to be true.  We don’t need to create a chaplain services community, we just need to make the existing one visible.  Of course there is a lot of other work to do as we strive towards building continuity of services, standards and identities and professionals in police chaplaincy, but the community is there and it is active.  Making it visible, first to ourselves and then to others is a great first step.

There always seems to be plenty of visibility in our society of the problems and challenges we face.  A simple story in a book has given me an image, an image of making visible all that is good in life, that will become a guiding light of this ministry.

Take Care.

Here in Minnesota we’ve had a bit of a cold snap now and then this winter.  As some of you know, my son Pete lives, goes to school and works as a firefighter in Fairbanks Alaska.  When he was home for a couple days to join us for Christmas he noted that it was cold here, with the wind and the humidity that doesn’t exist in Fairbanks.  Well, I know it’s a dry cold up in “The Last Frontier” (just like the “dry heat” down in Arizona), but I’m sorry, I’ll take the humid windy cold of Minnesota over the stuff they’ve been getting up in Fairbanks lately……

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!

Take Care and KEEP WARM!

For several reasons, I’ve move to a new office space.  After two years of occupying a small office in downtown Excelsior, I moved to a home office this past summer.  Since a photo will spare you from reading a thousand of my words, here’s a shot of the new digs. Clearly I’ve settled in!

There is a story behind most of the “stuff” in the photo, I call it my “comfort stuff”.  Like the red fire helmet on the wall is my dad’s MFD captain helmet form the old days.

He passed it on to my son who is folowing in grandpa’s career footsteps.  I get to have the helmet until Pete gets a place of his own where he can keep it.

Take Care

The mission of Public Safety Ministries Inc. is “Promoting Spiritual Fitness in the Public Safety Professions”. The fundamental tactic used, simply stated is “Just Showin Up”.  It is becoming more and more frequent for me to get a call from someone and the message contains the comment “No need to call right back, I was just “checkin in”.  I was talking to a friend once who was dealing with some very challenging issues.  I asked if there was anything I could do to help?  His response was simple but yet so powerful.. Without hesitataion he responded “Yeah, check in on me when you can.”  Though the practice of “checkin in” isn’t complicated, but like so many things in life, it isn’t always easy.  But it is the one thing that I am trying to get good at.  That’s what I Iove about the the simply stated strategy of traditional chaplaincy ministries, they are “ministries of presence”.

The nice thing about the act of “checkin in” is that its never to late or never inappropriate or never unappreciated.  So here’s the gift I ask everyone out there to consider giving.  Give the gift of checkin in with someone who needs it.  You know who they are, because you think about doing it from time to time but never get around to it (just like me with checkin in and making a post at this site!).  It’s not complicated, just pick up the phone, leave a message, drop a note in the mail, send an e-mail, stop by the local bookstore or auto repair shop and ask how business is, just do some “checkin in”

Take Care, Dan

I always get excited with the first snow of the year.  I love winter, I love the Christmas holiday season, dog-sledding and everything that comes with it.  Today was our first snow of the year, and unlike the previous post from Fairbanks, this snow will probably be gone by tomorrow.  Which is OK with me since I still have a few outdoor chores to accomplish.

Last year I think I posted my first snow message with pictures from the dog yard.  This year I bring you a snow shot from Faith Lutheran Church in Waconia.  It is the place where I serve as Pastoral Assistant / Intern Pastor.  It has been, and continues to be, a great place for me to go and get experience in parish ministry.  I never thought I’d be looking at parish ministry as part of my ministerial career, my intentions were for specialized ministry and mission ministry in the world of public safety chaplaincy.  But after having a couple years of experiences in both environments, I’m pretty sure my future ministry identity will involve parish and specialized / chaplaincy ministry.  I’m still a little over a year away from ELCA ordination, but it is fun to see my future developing some definition.

There are two building that make up the Faith campus, my office is in the South building:

The flag on the hydrant points to my office.

My view from my office looks at the North Building which houses the sanctuary and the other offices:

So, here’s to our FIrst Snow 2008!  Let it be a great winter in Minnesota!

Take Care

As I write this morning, the time and place that I am in is “A CBS Sunday AM”.

For many years now, I’m not quite sure when it started, my favorite TV ritual has been watching the CBS news show “Sunday Morning”.

I like to write and keep journals, logs, notebooks or whatever you want to call documenting thoughts ideas feelings etc. It’s a way I purge all the clutter of thoughts and ideas that constantly invade my brain.  Why and how I write these “brain invasions” is material for another post.  The point here is that I write a lot and often the writing is is titled with the date and description “A CBS Sunday AM” followed by the location from where I write.  The show is a collection of stories, stories that often inspire me to write.  It also gives me some comfort in ritual.

My CBS Sun AM ritual is to wake up, start the coffee, do the dog chores, get the paper, then settle into the big chair with paper, coffee, notebook (in today’s case notebook computer, I’m a Mac guy by the way) and listen to the stories.  These are stories about art, science, travel, politics, news, people, nature, humor, commentary and more.  Some day I want to write a story about how these stories have impacted my life over the past 15 - 20 years (I need to figure out how long I’ve been watching).  Then I head off to church for the 11:00 service, a traditional service where my wife sings in the choir.

Well, I’ve gotta go, the show is ending and I’ve got places to go and people to see.

Just a quick post to share a thought or two and ask the question “What rituals do yuo have in your life?  Rituals that inspire your creativity?”

Take Care

We had a lot of rain around here yesterday, but today was beautiful.  My drive to Camp Ripley started with clouds, but as I headed north it was blue sky, colorful trees and bright sunshine.

When I got home I was greeted with an e-mail from my son Pete.  A nice surprise from my oldest kid who lives, works and goes to school in Fairbanks….Fairbanks Alaska. In case you’re wondering what Alaska looks like this time of year, well, here’s what it looked like yesterday as he drove home from work:

And today, more snow, about a foot on the ground, and oh yeah….5 degrees.

You know, Alaska is the last frontier, a great adventure, but me, I’ll take Minnesota.

I’m up early this morning getting ready to drive to Camp Ripley.  I’m scheduled to give a short lunch presentation to the annual Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Leadership Academy.  I’ll be talking about the continuing efforts of the Governor’s “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” military reintegration project that I’ve been a part of for almost two years now.  It is a project that has a foundation in providing care and support to our returning military service personnel and their families.

However, this morning’s post is not about the BYR project (that will come later), it is about care and support of our peers in the law enforcement professions who are battling cancer.  Just as cancer spreads throughout a body, the impacts of cancer spread just as wide throughout our profession.  There are two cops whose battles with cancer were just recently brought to my attention.  As I looked a little deeper, there are many more people in the profession who are impacted through family and friends fighting the fight.  And my deepest prayers go out to them all.

But here is my prayer to all of you blessed with good health.  Give thanks for the blessings of life you receive each and every day.  Life, and this present moment and sacred gifts to be cherished.  And with that gift of life, cherish the opportunity you have to care for and serve others.  The strength you have and share with others is what keeps our professions and our professionals strong.

Take Care

Well, it’s almost 6:30 AM and Pastor Dave should be here in a few minutes to give me a lift to the airport.  This morning I fly out to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary for my twice a year visit for my participation in the TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) program.

I took my summer courses at Luther Seminary in St. Paul and now I head out for a week in the “Bay Area” specifically Berkley California.  Summer in MN, fall and winter in CA.  A pretty good deal as long as it doesn’t get in the way of my skijoring.

People often ask me if I am pursueing ordination.  The answer is yes, and the TEEM program is the process I am utilizing.  I am about a year and a half away from completing the program, a little less if I can get the stars to align just right so that I can get the classes I need when I need them.

So, I’m off.  I just might make a post while I’m out there, if not, I’ll write when I get back.

Take Care

NOTE!! This is a follow-up post to the previous post below.

No sooner did I publish my last post, when I got a call from Griff, my blogging techie coach. Just Like Duane, he new where to look for the problem, discovered it wasn’t me but another tech issue and came up with the solution. I was uploading correctly, but it had been so long since I’d “trained” that I assumed it was my fault and I wasted a lot of time today trying to fix “me” when I wasn’t even broken! That’s why we need help, we need coaches, we need trainers and most of all we need honest people to give us a fresh perspective.

So here is the carburator ready to be pulled off and degunked.

Here is the Honda in bad need of a wash but soon to be mechanically sound.

And here is Jasper, he’s retired, likes to dig holes (see the fresh dirt he’s laying in?)  and waiting for me to pet him, play with him, care for him, but NOT work him. He likes to do nothing in retirement but dig, be happy and hang out!

That’s it for this post.  Thanks Griff, you are the blog coach extrordinare, thanks Duane, you are the best free, neighbor backyard mechanic coach I know!

Take Care!

I’m not much of a mechanic, just like I’m not much of a techie. I had an idea for a post as I struggled to get my 4-wheeler running to train the dogs. The thing won’t start, wouldn’t start last year either so my solution was to not train until snow fell. I’m trying to get a head start on training this season so I started puttering with the old Honda before it got too cold, but with no luck. Fortunately my neighbor Duane has been willing to teach me a thing or two and the problem has been narrowed down to the carburetor. I have this great shot of the carb torn apart and I was gonna post it but it’s been so long since I’ve posted a picture I couldn’t figure out how. You’ll have to settle for a downloaded picture (something I still remember how to do) from the Honda site for a graphic:

So what’s my point you might ask? Mechanic fitness training, 4-wheeler fitness, technology fitness training, just like spiritual fitness training requires consistency and care if you want to develop and maintain your ability to perform.

I’ve neglected the Honda so the carb gunked up and quit performing. I’ve neglected my tech skills, they got gunked up and I couldn’t perform a photo upload. But…… with the help a friend who is mechanically in shape, I’ve been able to work on the four wheeler and I see performance right around the corner. With any luck, one of my weblog consultants (Griff, you out there?) will come through in the near future and my photos will soon be up and running too.

Does your soul ever get gunked up due to over use and neglect of care? When it does stop running or is running rough do you have the skills to get it back in shape? And if all seems lost and you’re ready to just park your soul and give up on using it, do you have someone to call to help you get it running again?

Consistent training and available training resources are important aspects of any fitness training programs, physical, intellectual or spiritual. So keep on working out, and if you start running rough, ask for help, and if you don’t know who to ask, give me a call - I know people who can fix things!

Take Care, Dan

Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association
Invocation - October 2, 2008

Dear God,

Once again we give thanks for the opportunity to gather in the spirit of Law Enforcement Leadership.

Today we ask for your blessings on our organizations and our personnel as the face they challenges created by our current economic and political situations. Economic instability and political change often cause fear, which often is expressed as anger, which often results in unrest and disorder in the communities we serve. Guide us and our organizations as we combat that unrest and disorder and help us keep the peace.

Please bless the food we receive today as nourishment for our bodies, the information received as nourishment for our minds and the fellowship we share as nourishment for our souls.

Amen

Here is a simple message to all of the public safety professionals out there who wonder “Am I making a difference?” The answer is yes. As we go about our daily responsibilities I think we all know, in the big picture, that our jobs have an important purpose. But often we forget that and just see ourselves performing a task and then moving on to the next one. Well I got an e-mail last week that reminded me that, although our duties sometimes become routine, what we do and how we act does have a lasting impact on those we deal with.

Dan,

Some time ago I shared this story with a good friend who is a 27 year
veteran of the DeKalb County department in GA. He suggested that if I was
able, to send you a quick thank you note for helping me years ago.

During the summer of ‘83 we were involved in a high speed fleeing incident.
I was on the motorcycle. Thank you for your diligence to stop me that
morning then your kind “hello” 1 week later near the 13th tee at Dahlgreen
Golf Club as a buddy and I played through your threesome on the par 3.

You were doing your duty as an officer but also participating in the
kingdom plan for my life. It’s been more than a couple years since my
friend suggested I write the note and I’m not sure why it came to mind this
AM.

May God continue to bless you and your endeavors,

We have all received a message like this, or like the cop in Georgia, heard one about one of our partners in the professions. I remember the incident, it ended with him dumping his bike on a gravel road, no significant injuries, no resistance, just a kid making some poor decisions. The thing I remember most was that the chase entered a neighboring community and I became a bit “misplaced” (ok, maybe it was lost in a tangle of streets through a lake community tangletown). Fortunately a guy in his yard pointed me in the direction of the speeding bike. Anyway, I’m glad things worked out for the kid and I look forward to having a cup of coffee with him the next time he’s in town.

What you do matters. At work, at home, even on the golf course. It may be 26 years before you have the “proof”, but do your job with a healthy spirit of service and it will matter.

Take Care!

It’s Saturday morning as I write this post. Fall is in the air this morning after a hot summer day of 85 degrees yesterday. It is in the 50’s this morning, a cool mist hanging over the yard, gray skies, light breeze, and my coffee couldn’t taste better. As I sit in my basement office, surrounded by my books, pictures, memories, and with family upstairs …. this .875 acre plot in Shorewood Minnesota is my haven.

“Adventure and a safe haven, that’s a good mix”. I love words and I love the stories that they tell. Over the years I’ve got in the habit of saving quotes that inspire me, words that are good for my soul. The “good mix” quote comes from James A. Michener’s Alaska and it has stuck with me ever since I first read it over 20 years ago.

As I sit in my haven this morning all I can think about is the “adventure” that surrounds me. I see it in my two oldest kids who have picked education adventures in opposite directions and opposite sides of the continent. They have had success and learning experiences in those adventures, but I’ve always seen the importance of the havens in their lives as their adventures unfold. I think about the adventures of the law enforcement professionals I serve as their chaplain. The challenges they face in crime, politics, leadership, career decisions, personal tragedy… all adventures that depend on their skills and abilities to keep our communities safe. And I look at my own adventure, leaving the haven of a career I loved to pursue another that calls to me.

This is what life is all about folks. Often it seems to complicated and overwhelming, but if you work at it you can pare it down to “adventure and a safe haven…a good mix”

Today I pray for blessings on your adventures and I pray for your awareness to the wonderful havens that surround you. Often they get lost in the clutter, but they are there and they are “safe”.

Take Care.