Howard's Dissertation Project

TITLE: Empowering Clergy to Serve as Crisis Counselors in their Communities

PROBLEM: What is the PROBLEM or AREA of STUDY you wish to explore?
In the North American urban ministry context, gang violence is claiming the lives of far too many young people. In the City of Los Angeles there are forty thousand gang members; most of whom were baptized in Latino Catholic and African American Protestant congregations. In the Rampart Division of LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) it has become evident that many of these grieving families are not receiving immediate pastoral care following a gang related homicide. This is due in part to communication gaps between the Police and the faith communities, but there is also the stigma of being the bereaved parent of a child who is presumed to be a gang member. Like the LAPD, many police departments have clergy councils that could serve as referrals and first responders to provide emotional and spiritual support for these grieving families. Many of the clergy representatives on these councils, however do not have adequate crisis counseling training to serve in this capacity.

PURPOSE: 1. Given the problem what do you want to CHANGE?

Improving the communication and response time between the Los Angeles Police Department and the volunteer clergy councils in Los Angeles, CA, where I've worked for 3 years. Such an arrangement of clergy councils will also be assessed with the St. Paul Police Department and the St. Paul, MN communities where I am slated to relocate within the year. My aim is to facilitate the ongoing training with LAPD Clergy Council members and assess the benefits of this model being replicated with the St Paul Police Dept. An increased number of clergy would be equipped with crisis counseling skills and training to decrease the psychological and social barriers that hinder traumatized and grieving families from gaining access to pastoral care and counseling.

2. What GROUP will join you in bringing about this change?

An interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals, civil servants and pastoral theologians will be enlisted to facilitate the teaching of the psychological, sociological and theological skill sets related to pastoral counseling in a situational crisis. Clergy representatives in both LA and St Paul will be engaged as well.
This program shall serve as a model that can be replicated in other police and fire departments.

3. What will you DO to bring about the desired change?

1. Survey representatives from the St Paul Police Dept and faith communities about the extent and quality of their interactions.
2. Recruit the LAPD trainers and volunteer clergy to attend the ongoing training sessions in Los Angeles.
3. Evaluate the program with the LAPD Clergy Council and revise the protocols for replication in other divisions of LAPD and other police departments.
4. Meet again with St Paul Police and clergy to consider the LAPD clergy council model as an enhancement to their community relations efforts.

METHOD:
1. What QUALIFIES you to do this D/P? (Experiences and/or involvement that have raised this issue for you and make it a current practical and academic concern)
Over the past three years, I have worked with the LAPD and the Mayor’s Crisis Response Team to provide pastoral care and counseling to dozens of grieving families following a gang related homicide in the West LA and Rampart Divisions. The City of Los Angeles and the City Attorney’s have presented several commendations for this work.
My new context in East St Paul does not have nearly the number of violent crimes compared to Los Angeles, but the community surrounding Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church (AHPC) has the highest crime rate for the entire city. The AHPC session has endorsed my community outreach to the Police Dept and the ecumenical community.

2. How is this topic related to YOUR MINISTRY?
Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church in East St Paul is committed to their ongoing transformation as an urban, multicultural congregation. Their surrounding community is comprised of many immigrant families whose children are at-risk of joining gangs. The police and clergy need to be prepared to respond quickly with compassion when there has been incident of gang related violence. We can’t wait until there is an emergency and then try to make a referral. There needs to be some intentional training to equip clergy to respond to these crises effectively.

3. SOCIAL ANALYSIS: What will you do to place the problem in its historical, cultural, and social context? What literature will you read and with whom will you interview or talk to about it?
In our urban centers, there is often mistrust and strained relationships between the community and law enforcement. Many residents are undocumented and they fear deportation if they cooperate with the police. Other family members fear retaliation from the gangs. Clergy often serve as liasons and bridges to the broader community. I will research the historical role of clergy in urban community organizing and examine some of the contemporary models and case studies. In particular, how clergy as crisis counselors can integrate the psychotherapy and sociological literature that addresses the anxiety and stressors associated with urban life and the increased incidents of violence.
To contextualize this problem, I will research the relevant psychotherapy, urban ministry and criminal justice literature.

4. THEOLOGICAL RESOURCES: What are the biblical/theological lenses you will use to examine this problem? Identify 3-5 writers who help you deal with this problem theologically. With whom will you discuss the problem theologically?

Many clergy still narrow their scope of pastoral care and counseling primarily to active members of their congregation. The definition of parish ministry in an urban setting needs to be expanded to include noncongregational members who do not have adequate pastoral care in times of crisis. I will explore how liberation theology and missional models of ministry inform this pastoral praxis in an urban context. Authors will include: Craig Van Gelder, Darrel Guder, Ronald Peters, Stephen Pattison, David Switzer and Howard Stone.