Sheriff Jeff Grey shakes hands with the newly deputized volunteer chaplains (from left), Br. Nick Renner, Fr. Donald Gibbs, Fr. Jim Dugal, Fr. Tom Hemm and Fr. Al Naseman.
(8-3-18) Law enforcement officials experience stress unique to their duty to protect and serve. Four priests and one religious brother were sworn in on Wednesday to act as volunteer chaplains with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office to offer spiritual support to deputies and staff members. The five, all of whom live at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio, are Missionaries of the Precious Blood Brother Nick Renner and Frs. Jim Dugal, Tom Hemm and Al Naseman; and Fr. Donald Gibbs, OSB. They’ll be available to anyone on the sheriff’s staff—including the sheriff—who needs a listening ear.
Sheriff Jeff Grey, who came to St. Charles to administer the oath, told them:
“Thank you for your willingness to help. . . . Even in Mercer County we see things that most people don’t see, and it takes a toll on us.”
The spiritual support program is the result of outreach by Colleen Kammer, coordinator of peace, justice and ecology for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Mercer County Outlook 