SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane County Sheriff’s Chaplaincy has been serving wildfire victims, law enforcement officers and crime victims throughout 2024, making it an especially busy time for the organization. The pastoral association has also worked to diversify its spiritual support resources, given the religious homogeneity of the pastoral association itself.
Senior pastor Robert Kinnoon said the pastors felt the need to tell their stories again after the federal government declared a disaster, opening the door to more funding for victims. He said he has been assisting fire department chaplains and FEMA workers working with victims of the Gray and Oregon wildfires.
“It’s been a challenging year. It’s been busy and service activities like this come on top of everything else we’ve been doing,” Kinune said.
Kinnoon, who took over as senior pastor under former Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, said his staff has worked hard to serve Spokane’s people of all faiths.
“We have 10 pastors, including myself. To participate in this ministry, you must join the nonprofit Christian Outreach for Police and Their Spouses…We have a pluralistic We have a strong division and focus on recruits who can serve in a pluralistic community,” Kinune said.
Spokane County is majority Catholic and Protestant, but as nondenominational evangelical churches spread throughout the county, attendance at mainline denominational churches has declined significantly. Over the past 20 years, Spokane has also seen an increase in its non-religious and non-Christian population.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, Washington.
Although Kinune’s office reflects only Spokane County’s Protestant and nondenominational demographics, he said his office is able to meet the spiritual needs of a diverse range of residents. To tell.
“This is something I had in mind when I took over as senior pastor. The free exercise of religion is very important, so we started looking at the demographics of the county and knowing who to turn to.” “We reached out to as many religions as possible to help,” Kinnune said.
Currently, the chaplaincy requires all recruits to take an oath that includes language that references the county’s wide range of religious traditions.
The sheriff’s chaplain is funded by taxpayer-funded contracts with the department and donations to Christian Outreach for Police Officers and Their Spouses. Kinune said she works with volunteers representing several non-Christian spiritual traditions to meet the needs of all county residents.
In what has been a busy year for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and chaplain corps, Kinnoon said the nine-member chaplain corps will continue to serve officers and victims.
“If someone needs help and asks for it, we’re going to say yes,” Kinune said.
Kinune concluded his interview with Non-Stop Local by encouraging interested area residents to consider applying for the chaplaincy position and asking that Spokane County continue to pray for the sheriff’s office and the chaplaincy.
