FASNY Chaplains

Information on Emergency Services Chaplains

What is an Emergency Services Chaplain?

Chaplains are first and foremost a ministry of presence and must respectfully represent all those in the departments they’re embedded with, including those of different faith traditions and denominations. Chaplains do not proselytize or evangelize those with whom they serve, their dedication, actions, and good work should speak for them. They are professionals who may be ordained clergy members (e.g., minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam) or recognized laypersons (e.g., nun, aspirant, elder, eucharistic minister, catechist, trustee, congregant). Emergency Services Chaplains serve within secular organizations to provide a range of spiritual and emotional services within the first responder community. They are completely volunteer-based, and individuals who are not compensated for their time.

What Does an Emergency Services Chaplain Do?

The Emergency Services Chaplain provides faith-based guidance, moral support, and counseling to first responders, dispatchers, and their families, helping them navigate challenges with reassurance and trusted resources.

Emergency Services Chaplains frequently work alongside emergency responders, assisting the wounded in dangerous environments. Proper training is essential so Chaplains know how to navigate themselves when responding to the scene.

A Resource for Fire Chiefs and First Responder Leadership.

An Emergency Services Chaplain is intended to be a trusted individual who provides confidential emotional and spiritual support to firefighters and their families, especially during difficult times like critical incidents, injuries, or fatalities. Emergency Services Chaplains can offer grief counseling and religious ceremonies, while respecting diverse faiths. The Emergency Services Chaplain needs to have emotional intelligence and possess an institutional knowledge of their own religion’s spiritual traditions to reflect on and be a compassionate caregiver to others. 

If you know a firefighter or member of the EMS or law enforcement community who is recognized as an active leader in their religious community and feel that they could help your agency and its members, contact us at Chaplains@fasny.com.

FASNY Firefighters Home | Rev. Wayne F Jagow Chapel

Liturgy of the Word (Christian) with Distribution of Holy Eucharist (Catholic)
Every Monday, 3:00 p.m., in the Rev. Wayne F. Jagow Chapel
Morning Prayer (Christian)
Every Friday, 10:00 a.m. in the Rev. Wayne F. Jagow Chapel

FASNY Chaplain’s Committee

Rev. Barrie-Lyn Foster, Chair
Vicki Dichian, Vice Chair, LAFASNY 
Rev. Mr. Richard H. A. Washburn, Chaplain
Rev. Wayne F. Jagow, Chaplain Emeritus