Valdese Chaplain's recap experience

While the Rev. Bill Roberts departs from the program, the other six continue to serve the Valdese Police Department.

Here are their thoughts on how the program is going so far.

Dr. Rev. Rachel Matthews, of Waldensian Presbyterian Church, feels that the program has been helpful to the police department. She is also one of two chaplains who has ridden along with an officer.

“Officer Tyler Watson and I took an hour tour of Valdese and showed me a lot of the community and where he spends time. People were friendly. They waved at us when we came through and different places. That was a good experience,” Rachel said.

She looks forward to taking advantage of educational resources to enhance her chaplain skills.

The Rev. Matt Matthews, of Waldensian Presbyterian Church, said that the chaplain’s program is “continuing to keep on, keeping on.” The department and chaplains are slowly getting to know one another.

“It takes time, but it’s been a good time,” Matt said.

He explained that Chief Marc Sharpe has been an exceptional leader for the community and his department, and he is grateful to have him in Valdese.

One of the key topics they’ve emphasized is the importance of self-care. Sharpe, Matt, and a Charlotte-based officer will lead a four-hour session focused on self-care for officers.

Pastor Wesley Hendrix, of Mountain Zion Missionary Baptist Church, sees the chaplain’s program as “an immense source of camaraderie and fulfillment.”

“We are not just colleagues, but friends as well. This sense of closeness is felt between the chaplains as well as the officers,” Hendrix said.

The program has given him “great insight” on how to address and deal with trauma more effectively.

“The Valdese Police Department, along with the Town of Valdese, is blessed to have the leadership, insight, and wisdom of Marc Sharpe. We are thankful for his vision of the Valdese Chaplains Program,” Hendrix said.

The Rev. Tamika Garrison, director of Carolina Caring’s Community and Faith Relations, has participated in various ride-alongs that showed her the complexities and the “‘under the surface’ service that our police department serves the community and citizens of Valdese with a quiet stoicism.”

The ride-alongs offered her the chance to have personal interactions with the officers, and she looks forward to scheduling more.

She explained that what the public knows of the department does not scratch the surface of what they deal with behind the scenes.

“The thing I hope that continues to gain momentum is normalizing conversations between professions that are, by design, to serve others,” Garrison said. “There are many parallels to the way people who are called to public service experience life and having trusting and confidential conversations are paramount in how we respond to our own self-care and relationships. I hope more departments and ministers will see the value in this and create similar spaces for their workplace.”