LACONIA — Before moving to Laconia and starting a business, John Bethell served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. After settling in the area, Bethell found himself drawn once again to the communal aspect of being a chaplain and offered his services to the Laconia Fire Department.
“I got here about two years ago. I had been a Navy chaplain for years, and I think Laconia is a small enough town that everyone should do something for the town,” said Bethell, who owns Piedmont Print & Frame downtown. “Whatever your strength is, I think you should apply it to where you’re living to make it better.”
Bethell decided to offer his skills as a chaplain to Fire Chief Kirk Beattie.
“I don't remember the last time we had our own [chaplain],” Beattie said. “We’ve used Father Marc, which is the same as the police. He’s been wonderful to us and we’ve had a lot of success. This just puts more of a dedicated person within the department.”
Laconia isn’t Bethell’s first fire department. He also worked with FDNY while in seminary.
“I missed the firehouse,” Bethell said. “The dining table in a firehouse is the most sacred space in the building. That’s where real community is built. In the Episcopal Church we call that a table fellowship. I missed that.”
While chaplains are always ordained ministers of some faith, they are able to offer support to all types of believers and non-believers alike.
“So for some individuals, when we come forward, we know that we’re of a religious nature, some people say ‘well, what do you do?’ They're just kind of questioning. I think that’s the role of clergy in general today,” said Father Marc Drouin, chaplain for the Laconia Police Department. “To be honest, I would have to say religious conversations have not been the primary conversation. What’s happened through being involved in their struggle, to be a person they can talk with and consult with or be with, it's been able to leave them to think about the bigger picture.”
A chaplain’s role doesn’t always have to be a religious one. Often, the chaplain is a safe, supportive person that any member of the department can go to with their troubles.
“John Bethell told me he visited every part of his ship every day, so his sailors knew who he was and what he did so he wasn’t a stranger when bad things happen,” said Father Stephen Harding, who knew Bethell during his time in New York. Harding has worked as a chaplain for around 25 years.
“[Bethell] didn’t, I know I didn't, push religion. It was ‘hey, I’m your chaplain, how are you doing?’ Then you talk about the Celtics, or whatever it is they want to talk about, and you listen. And you do that right and often enough, when something bad happens, they’ll find you.”
In the world of emergency services, something bad happens quite often. For first responders, death is a constant companion, if not a daily visitor. Viewing accidents, killings, or other tragedies eventually takes a toll and can lead to a slew of difficulties both at home and at work.
A blog post from the Centers for Disease Control in 2021 cited an alarming study regarding first responders' mental health. According to the study, police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than on the job, while EMS providers were 1.38 times more likely to die by suicide than the general public. The CDC also stated that suicides in first responder communities are likely under reported.
“The fire service is becoming more aware of the need for mental health and peer support and certainly someone like Father John fits perfectly into that mix,” Beattie said. “I think it’s going to make a big difference having somebody that is spending a lot of time in the firehouses and talking to our members and growing that relationship,” Beattie said.
“There are times when you speak, times when you’re silent, times when you can help them steer if they’re open to that,” said Drouin. “It's most important to be a person who can listen and understand where they're at in their pain, or lost in their struggles.”
When death hits a member of the emergency responder community, proper support is vital.
“God forbid you have a line of duty death, a police officer, EMT or paramedic killed. Who do you want to talk to the family, talk to their partners? A therapist? I don't think so,” Harding said. “You want someone who knows how to pray, and who can help the people who are still there through that initial shock and grief.”
Despite a growing number of adults that identify as secular or non-religious in the United States, Harding says the role of chaplains has not diminished or changed in the emergency responder community.
“It’s an inherently dangerous place to work. When you work in dangerous places, you’re always thinking, 'that could be me.' You train really hard so it isn’t you, but stuff still happens,” Harding said.
“I think there’s a whole lot of spirituality there that doesn’t get talked about, but it’s there and it’s real. So even though secularism in the country may be more common, I don’t think that’s true in the first responder community from what I see.”
As for John Bethell, it’s the sense of community and service that compelled him back into the role of chaplain, not the religious aspect. “I thought I would get away from it by coming here and opening up my shop,” Bethell said, “but I couldn’t.”
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.