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Grants will provide training for crime victim chaplains

 Applications and resumes for
crime victim chaplains can be sent
by Dec. 15 to:
askcvac@aol.com
or
CVAC
3101 Paces Mill Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30339

Callers can reach the Rev. Bruce Cook at (770) 333-9254

Nov. 18, 2005

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*


The Crime Victims Advocacy Council has received a grant of $28,650 from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries to recruit, train and supervise crime victim chaplains.

The Rev. Bruce Cook, director and chaplain of the Atlanta-based council, wants to use the grant to recruit 64 crime victim chaplains - one for each of the denomination's annual (regional) conferences in the United States. Cook is currently the only United Methodist-endorsed chaplain working with crime victims. Deadline for applying is Dec. 15.

"Crime victims are an underserved population in our churches," he says. "We are going into prisons and ministering to prisoners, but we don't think about ministering to the many, many thousands of victims in the community who are suffering."

Chaplains trained in ministering to victims of violent and serious crimes are needed when victims ask the "God question," Cooks says. "After a violent or serious crime, there is a real potential for them to lose their faith completely."

The 10,000 victim service providers in the United States are helping restore mind and body but are not doing anything to help restore the spirit, Cooks says. Crime victims are often sent to their pastors, who can provide them with initial comfort and prayer but are not trained to help beyond that point, he says.

A 1982 report by the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime found that in most cases, 65 to 70 percent, the first person a crime victim calls is his or her pastor.

"Sometimes they (pastors) even say hurtful things like, 'It is God's will that your mother was murdered and tortured,'" Cook says. "That makes them angry with God. It is never God's will for someone to be murdered and tortured or anything like that."

Crime victim chaplains will be an access point for people who need help healing, he says.

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose

The Rev. Bruce Cook, director of the Crime Victims Advocacy Council, is seeking 64 people to be trained as crime victim chaplains.
The grant continues the commitment of the Board of Global Ministries to restorative justice ministries, says Elliott Wright, information officer for the agency. The board directors approved the one-time grant to the council in October.

"CVAC has positioned itself well among other crime victim groups and can play a significant role in both encouraging and providing models of ministry to crime victims and their families," Wright says. "Our grant will expand the outreach of CVAC, especially within the United Methodist Church.

"Funding is also coming from the North Georgia Conference, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and the U.S. Department of Justice," he said. "The General Board of Global Ministries is pleased to be among the coalition of funders for CVAC expansion."

In addition to offering pastoral care, the Crime Victims Advocacy Council provides a crime prevention program for schools, churches, and businesses, and advocates for crime victims through the legislative process.

Ordination in the United Methodist Church and a year's experience in clinical pastoral education or counseling are required for anyone interested in becoming a crime victim chaplain.

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose

Each meeting of the Crime Victims Advocacy Council support group begins and ends with prayer.
Federal, state and local funds have been identified to assist in start-up costs, Cook says. "One funding source will require that a grant of $48,000 be written by Jan. 1, 2006, so time is of the essence."

Applications and resumes should be sent by Dec. 15 to askcvac@aol.com, mailed to CVAC, 3101 Paces Mill Rd., Atlanta, GA 30339, or called in to Cook at (770) 333-9254.

There is often no place for victims of serious and violent crimes to turn after their first contact with pastors. "Nothing in the church happens next," Cook says.

"There is no mid- to long-term care - there is not even a real good crisis care response among the churches other than just immediate responses. This is an effort to change that and bring about some spiritual care for folks who are hurting after a serious crime."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Resources

Crime Victims Advocacy Council

Crime Survivor Support Groups

National Center for Victims of Crime

Office for Victims of Crime

Restorative Justice Ministries