By Dave Feldin
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
GERMANTOWN, Wisc. — A teenager has just died in a traffic crash, and a police officer has been handed the daunting task of breaking the news to the child’s parents, who the officer sees laughing in the kitchen as they prepare dinner after a long day’s work.
The officer knows the information he is about to convey will alter the lives of the couple forever.
The Rev. Greg Young oftentimes shares this type of hypothetical scenario in classes he has developed in an effort to get officers thinking about the importance of compassionate death notifications - a task that some professionals will have to contend with at some point in their careers.
Young wears a number of hats in the areas of compassion and ministry. Locally, he is the Germantown Police Department’s chaplain and the head pastor of a growing place of worship, Brown Deer Congregational Church, a role he assumed more than a year ago.
Prior to his role in Brown Deer, Young was the head pastor at St. John United Church of Christ in Germantown for 15 years.
Young said the old adage that actions speak louder than words is certainly true when it comes to working with people involved in a particularly critical situation.
“The ministry of presence is a very profound thing,” Young said. “What you say in a tragic situation isn’t as important as what you represent. I think we underestimate the power of caring and having a presence.” While he is a pastor, Young said he has no hesitation ministering to people of different faiths while serving as Germantown’s chaplain. “To be a good chaplain, you have to be interfaith,” he said.
Training others Drawing on his experiences, Young has developed a course on crisis communications that touches on a number of topics, ranging from death notifications for surviving loved ones to jail suicide attempts. He also has been sharing his insight in a variety of trade magazines for law enforcement professionals.
Young, who has degrees in theology and psychotherapy, said working in the overarching area of crisis intervention was a notion he began more than five years ago - not long before Hurricane Katrina struck. Coincidentally, he served in and around the Mississippi and Louisiana coast in the immediate aftermath of the devastation.
“I felt a need to do something different, and as this ministry was unfolding, I worked with a number of faith-based groups,” Young said. “I had the chance to de-stress some of the staff (who worked on cleanup efforts) and helped determine some of the most basic needs of the people in those areas.” Young said the disaster relief experience was excellent training for his role with the Germantown Police Department, which he does on a volunteer basis.
Kudos from the chief Police Chief Peter Hoell, who began heading the department about the same time Young started, encouraged Young to consider serving as a chaplain - a position not all departments have.
“We’re very happy to have him here,” Hoell said. “I think (having a police chaplain) has been a very positive impact for our department. Greg fills that missing piece and allows our officers to handle the nuts and bolts of an investigation.” Hoell also lauds the development of Young’s course, which is gaining widespread attention throughout the country.
“There really hasn’t been a course out there prior to this,” the chief said. “I never had this kind of training when I first became an officer.” Young acknowledges the work he performs is difficult, but said he has no hesitation attempting to meet the needs of people in the Germantown area when a tragedy strikes.
“It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience,” he said. “At the age of 59, I see everything starting to come together in my life.”
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